Project - Replace the46RE in my 98 5.9/auto/4WD ZJ with a 5spd from a 98 5.9/5spd/4WD Ram (or Dakota?)
Build is for street performance, not off road use. Probably won't be mega horsepower, maybe 400 at most.

Slightly confused on the crank/flywheel/trans issue.

1. The 5.2 is external balance, the 5.9 is internal so they use different flywheels,
but the Mopar site shows one flywheel for 5.2/5.9L and a different flywheel for the 5.9 Magnum.
So a used flywheelwould have to come from a 5.9 Magnum and not the stock 5.9?
2. Heard not all 5.2/5.9 V8 cranks are drilled for pilot bushings.Now I've heard they all are. Make a difference if it's a Magnum?
I know some Jeep 5.9sdefinitely come drilled.
3. Are the 5spd models different depending on whether the truck has a 5.2, a 5.9 or a 5.9 Magnum?
4. I believe I'm looking for an NV3500 or is it the NV3550? What are the horsepower ratings and which years will fit. NV4500 is "bullet proof" but has a granny 1st and is more suitable for off road use?
5. How can I tell which vehicles have close ratio?
6. Does the V8 Dakota have the same drivetrain and 5 speed models as the Ram?
7. Anyone installed a 5spd into an OBDII Mopar vehicle that originally came with an auto?
8. Can my Jeep PCM be reflashed so it's not looking for auto trans inputs or can
I reflash the PCM from a 5.9/5spd/4WD Ram with my VIN and mileage or whatever?
I can't pass MA vehicle inspection with a CEL on.

Any help is appreciated. The answers don't have to be too long or involved.
Mostly looking to clarify the flywheel/trans model issue.
Thanks. John

 

Any 5 speed should bolt up as long as its from a Magnum. There are Magnum and non-Magnum engines. Non-Mangum engines are what came pre-1994, they're also called the "LA" sytle engines.

You ask that a used flywheel would need to come from a stock 5.9 Magnum and not a 5.9. This is probably true like I said above, there is a difference from the Magnum and non-Magnum.

As for not all of them being drilled for piolet bushings that be really wierd. I don;t know the answer, but it'd be stupid if they had some that weren't.

For the trans your deffenitially not going to want a NV4500. Like you said they have the granny low and are good for wheeling. They are a work transmission, not a race trans. They have slow, rough, and clumsy shifts.

Close ratio for what? Axles or trans ratios?

I always assumed that the Dak and ZJ drivetrans are the same as the Rams, but I really don't know for sure.

I have a buddy who swapped a 5 speed into his XJ, it was ODBI though. His main problem at first what that he forgot to mypass the park/nuetral saftey switch. A trans from a truck that came with a 5 speed would be your best option. Doing something like this always leads to smaller problems and even with a PCM switch the CEL will probably always stay on. But maybe not, and if it does you can pull the light for it, not the best way to go but it'll get you past inspections.

 

Unless you live in NC, then it has to be able to turn on, or you will fail inspection.

 

5.9 is external balanced, 5.2 is internal, but i'm not sure what that'll mean to your flywheel selection. magnums came out in '92 for the 5.2 and '93 for the 5.9. nv3500 is rated for an input of 300 lb/ft, less than what your 5.9 makes, probably why (i think) they were never offered with that trans. looks like dakotas have the same one.

 

Loving this!! Thanks to you folks I’m finally getting somewhere, at least information wise! I'm not buying a single part til I'm sure it can be done correctly and pass MA inspection.
[/b]
Socha_62[/b] – I’m pretty sure just_lionel[/b] is correct. In MA they plug right into the OBDII port and look for codes. Shows VIN etc so there really isn’t any way to fool the inspection machine.
I’ve heard the Jeep/Dodge PCMs are the same so if I get one from a Ram with the same options and 5spd I believe it can be reflashed with my VIN and mileage.
I’ll also find out if my PCM can be reflashed to stop looking for auto input. (see the bottom for some different info)

I actually have fairly extensive mechanical background on cars but I’m new to 4WD and computerized hotrodding so I’m trying to find out as much as possible before I call B&G or whoever for a reflash and sound like a dufus. Instead I’ll sound like a dufus here J

As for the non-drilled cranks, I’m starting to think that is just a BS story that’s floating around. Got a response from a guy that has built several 5.9 Magnums and said he has never seen one that did not have a drilled crank and the one guy that converted his 5.9Magnum ZJ had a drilled crank too.
Maybe on earlier motors or non-Magnums or something. Obviously I wouldn’t want to buy the 5spd and parts and tear the trans out and find the crankisn’t drilled but I no longer think it’s a concern.

As for the close ratio – Manual trans come in close or wide ratio. A musclecar or sports car would use close ratio gears. Wide ratio trans generally have a very low 1st and/or 2nd gear and are best suited for heavy trucks etc. I’ve heard NV trans can have either.

froesen[/b] – I thought the NV3500 was good for up to 400HP, maybe not?
Didn’t Dodge make a 1500 Laramie with a 5.9 Magnum/5spd/4WD option? If so, what 5spd would be in that? Maybe I’m chasing a ghost but I’m almost sure I had seen that option (very rarely) on trucks for sale in our local WantAds. Maybe they gave wrong info though.
Maybe I’m wrong and it’s like this: 5.9Magnums/4WD only have autos. 5.9/5spd/4WD only has the non-Magnum 5.9. The only 5.9Magnum 5spd is for 2WD? I hope not!

What’s the application for an NV3550? I also found someone that had put together a great list of drive train options for Ram/Dakota trucks and they mention an NVG3500. Not sure what that trans is for. Unfortunately it only shows 5.9L and not 5.9Magnum.

While I’m writing this I just heard from someone on another forum that took a 2000 5.9 Magnum off an automatic and put it into a 96 Ram 5spd w/ no problems. He didn’t say what 5spd he had and whether the vehicle was 2WD or 4WD. I’ll try to find out.
From what he’s saying it might be the TCM (trans module) and/or the ECU that I have to swap to cure the CEL rather then the PCM. I thought the PCM was the ECU – shows how much I know! J Gotta read up on that some more.

I do know of one person (and only one!) that did a swap like this on a 5.9 but he used an NV4500 which seems odd cuz I thought his was for street use.
Iwonder if anyone makes close ratio gear sets for the NV4500? I’ve done extensive googling on the subject and I’ve only found about 3 V8 ZJ 5spd swaps including that one. The other two were pre-OBDII 5.2s and were built for wheelin’ off road so a lot of that info wasn’t directly applicable.

In case anyone is interested, I’m not doing this cuz I think the 5spd is faster in the quarter mile. If that was the case I’d stick with the auto. I’m doing it for the joy of driving and for a little better stability through the sweepers on the highway. To that end I’m planning on some mild lowering too.
FYI – in case we all don’t speak “sports car� here, sweepers are long curves J

Had lots of cars but the only other manual trans cars I had were a 64 Sport Fury 383HP/4spd/posi and an 86 5.0/5spd Mustang GT that we bought new. I loved the way the 5.0 handled on corners.
So, ya, you could say I’m trying to turn the ZJ into something it was never meant to be, making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear as it were J

Wow this is a long post. Sorry, too much Starbucks coffee for breakfast, can’t stop typing!

Socha_62, just_lionel, froesen, I really, really appreciate the replies. I’ve been googling and posting on forums about this swap for months and I just started finding good info in the last week or so.
Thanks again - John

 

NVG is new venture gear, nv is new venture, same difference....my reference for the torque input for a 3500 is http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/transmi...v3500_spec.htmthat site has a LOT of good info, and says what motors/chassis it was used with, including ratio's. i've heard of the pilot bearing/crank hole before, but i can't remember what the answer was...it may have been that it was a different size than before. not entirely sure how happy your computer would be with a flash, but it'd probably have to be a b&g as there's no (that i know of) 5.9's with 5spd's other than 2500's with truck-like 4500's. good luck!

 

Thanks again froesen.

I'll check that site when I have more time. Off to work now.

 

just happened to come across this, a flywheel balanced for a 360.... http://www.krcperformance.com/krc/in...&Itemid=26

 

i think when it said 5.2/5.9 and the 5.9 the other 5.9 was the cummins, which is a differnet set up

 

OK, I’m getting somewhere now but still have a few questions. Kind of a three steps forward, one step back, process.

Last engine questions:

After 94 is there a non-Magnum gas 5.9 also or are all the 5.9 motors after 1994 (or so) either Magnum or diesel?
I believe the 6cyl and, 8cyls have the same bellhousing to block bolt pattern. Is the diesel 5.9 the same too?

So, I’m finally figuring out the NV4500 was the only a manual transmission available behind any kind of 5.9, and that was a diesel 5.9?

HighImpact shows an AX15 bellhousing for adapting an NV3550 to the 5.2 & 5.9.

http://www.high-impact.net/transmission_and_gear/nv3550_Chrysler%205_2l-5_9l.htm

That’s hard to figure. You can use a trans from a wrangler behind a 5.9 but the trans that come behind a 5.2 isn’t strong enough for the 5.9?

Anyone know if a 5.9 to NV4500 bellhousing would fit an NV3550?

This is where I got the flywheel info I was talking about. It mentions two 5.9s: (page 132)

http://www.mopar.ca/accessories/performance/2007%20Performance%20Catalogue.pdf

http://www.mopartsracing.com/parts/trans.html

And an interesting quote about using the NV3500:

From NotchLX at bionicdodge.

The transmission has an integrated bellhousing and it's rated for 300ft/lbs of torque. It uses a hydraulic clutch system. (good for your leg)
These units are a mid-grade transmission that does remarkably well in a stock application. However once the power is turned up on these suckers you might want to pick up a spare. I ran at 320RWHP and 375RWTQ for over 10,000miles and bolted on slicks once a week for a year with 3,000rpm clutch drops and never had a single problem out of mine... The clutches went before the tranny gave any signs of disintegration. The Centerforce dual friction clutch holds up pretty good to the added power and is definitely a lot more crisp on the shifts than the stocker. Others haven't been as lucky. I've heard of people blowing out their 5spd with little to no mods??? Depends on what kind of day they were having at the New Ventures shop on the day your transmission rolled out. Plenty of people are running modded 318, 287, 360, and 408 engines in front of these units with good results,[/b] however the general consensus says "O-YOUNG PADOWAN~ PLAY WITH FIRE AND YOU WILL BE BURNED EVENTUALLY"

And the thread that quote came from: http://www.bionicdodge.com/bionic/in...p?topic=5585.0

Now my last bit of confusion (for the time being!) J

Is the ECM or ECU a different animal than the PCM or are they just different names for the same thing?
I’m afraid I’ll lose the high performance mapping if I use the 5.2 ECM.

Looks like it’s gonna be a lot of work to undertake this project!!

Thanks again folks - John