i have a 1999 dodge dakota and want to put a new or used hellcat engine in it for more power and torque i have a stock dodge engine in it 3.6L V6 4WD i want to know if it’s possible and what i need to do this i plan on taking all the old stuff out and replacing it with much newer nicer stuff as far as engine parts go so i can use it as a reliable source of transportation because the truck already has a few problems like rough idling not wanting to start unless i have my foot on the gas a little i need to replace the device in the gas tank that reads the amount of fuel in there when i’m using the truck if i go to drive 65 mph on the highway it lags behind so if it’s supposed to be doing 3000 rpm then it gets stuck on like 1500 or 2000 rpm’s when accelerating anyways i just wanna know if it’s possible to do that type of engine swap on the older model i have

 

Anything is possible..... if you have enough time, and money..... A hellcat motor in a dak though? I seriously doubt the t-case, or axles would stand up to the power for very long.... not to mention, trying to adapt a trans that will live behind a 700 horse motor, yet still bolt to the t-case? Don't think that's gonna happen.

 

should i buy new axels? also what should i do about the T case then? do i take it to like a local dodge dealer ship and get them to customize it and reinforced to be able to hold that type of engine?
should i scrap the idea and just LS swap it or what would you recommend i just saw a bunch of videos where a guy did a hellcat engine swap and he has all new hellcat technology like the dash board digital display and the engine it’s self i really wanna do the hellcat swap but if i should to a 392 swap instead then ig i could do that but idk if you can supercharge a 392 or if they make supercharged 392’s

 

I don't think it would possible to build the stock t-case to the point it would stand up to Hellcat power levels. Rear axle you could likely upgrade without much trouble, front axle? Nope. nothin' available for that application. LS swap would have the advantage of being able to use the engine/trans/t-case out of a truck, but, the elctronics becomes a stumbling block. On your truck, EVERYTHING is driven via the communications bus.. to include everything on the instrument cluster. It gets its information from the PCM via the comm bus..... it doesn't get direct data from anything at all. I think the easiest route would be doing a swap from a similar year dodge vehicle.... Keeping in mind, that a fair bit changed in 2000 as well.....

For the truck in your pic, was that one 2, or 4 wheel drive, and how much did he spend putting that all together? My guess would be north of five figures.....

 

he says 4 wheel in the vid i think also t case is the mounting part in the engine bay right? i’m amateur to any of this vehicular work so i don’t know jack im 17 and i have a dream and i am trying to achieve having done my first engine swap even if i am not the only one working on it i’ll have some help but i wanna know what all i should replace i will replace anything you tell me needs to be replaced just so i can use my truck and have more power whatever engine you recommend would be nice i just want somthing that’s V8 and reliable i want to get the most out of whatever monster i put in my truck 😁

plus it will be my daily i just figure tho i should replace nearly everything in my truck so i don’t have any issues and can get the best out of it as i said before

 

T-case is transfer case. It sits at the back of the trans (bolted to it, generally) and splits power front and rear.

If you are new to automotive work, taking on a project of this scope is going to be WAY outside of your skill set..... While it IS a cool dream, I think it might be a bit over-ambitious for a first project..... Might wanna cut your teeth on something a bit more straightforward.

 

well while i agree with your response i need to get as much knowledge as possible and plus i plan on going to trade school sooner or later so i can learn welding automotive and maybe even carpentry so it will be a wonderful project in my opinion but i do understand you and i wanna know as much from a pro such as your self i’m sure and maybe you could give me a list of things needed for the engine swap if i have to get a new computer system like the fuse box new dash instruments like the thing that displays the speedometer and motor temp oil level or fuel level and other things like a general list of all the things i need for this project so i can get it all i really wanna do this project it would be amazing to get to do plus my uncle will be helping me as well as i can maybe ask his friends who a lot of them can help with the engine swap plus i’m asking on here for advice bc i won’t be able to do this till i go to florida where my uncle is which i won’t be leaving to go over there till January i’m honestly more then excited to try and do this project


also i will be 18 on october 22 this year 😁

 

Happy (early) Birthday. Yes, I am suitably jealous. Your life is just beginning.

In all reality, I have been out of the game for so long, a project of this nature would be outside my skill set as well. (keep in mind, when I started, points and condenser were still a thing....) Not to mention my budget. The engine/trans alone are probably going to be north of 5 grand, even for a used engine. New, it's closer to 30K..... I wouldn't even consider taking this on myself, and certainly not for a customer.

There is a thread in the second gen ram section, of a guy doing a hemi swap into a second gen truck. (and a hemi from a third gen....) There is lots of good info there, and hopefully the pics still work, but, that thread ran for quite some time, and in the end, the member sold the project before it was finished..... Still and all, it would be worth a read to get an idea of what you are getting yourself into.

 

alright well thanks for the help i know i did a lot of rambling ik even if i got a few things out of you it’s worth getting somthing rather than nothing also what engine do you recommend for my year model of truck? i would still like to try maybe LS or dodge hemi or 392 or somthing idk many engines ik hellcat and LS are most popular from what i’ve seen so far ill take your advice on not doing the project as it’s probably gonna be hella expensive

 

Go look up Greg Snider. He has a Hellcat with a 4L80E behind it on Holley ECU. He's about 35K deep into it I would guesstimate, and that's considering he got the engine for a steal working for Dodge/Stallantis proper at the time. I know how deep I am into mine, and I did alot of the work myself.