Slightly confused on this issue.
Are LD and HD trucks based on model designations like, Dakota and 1500 are LD, 2500 and 3500 are HD or does this have more to do with various options available on any truck like Engine/transmission/axle ratios or is it more suspension related?
More importantly,
Were gas 5.9s available in both LD and HD trucks?
Were both available in either 2WD or 4WD?
Were 5 speeds available in both designations and were there gear ratios between the two different?
Is the engine mapping different from LD to HD and if so, which PCM is more suitable for "performance" applications?

 

light duty would be your dakota, some would say ram 1500 (like the government) also. 2500+ are heavy duty. they did make 5.9 in both the 1500 and 2500. the gears ona HD are stronger as well as any part you put on the truck. as for the engine mapping i think its slightly different but i dont think much at all. i could be wrong about that though.

 

there isent a a black and white when it comes to LD and HD in these trucks depends on the options daks and 1500 are LD and 2500 and 3500 are HD typically (thow some 1500's can be called HD and some 2500's can be called LD)
daks, 1500, 2500, and 3500 came with the options of a 4x4 and 1500, 2500, and 3500 came with the option of a 5 speed and 5.9 (i dont know if daks could come with this or not)

there is diffrences in the trannys thow there is 2 types (NV3500 and NV4500) with diffrent options in them
see http://dodgeram.org/tech/transmission/nv3500_spec.htm for the NV3500 and see http://dodgeram.org/tech/transmission/nv4500_spec.htm for the NV4500

see http://dodgeram.org/ for lots of usefull info on the trucks

 

the daks did come with a 5.9. my buddy has one, 4x4... hauls ***. made a 40 mile run to another town, took 13 mins.

 

there was also a light duty 2500 dodge in 94 and maybe 95 that came with 8 lug dana 44 and chrysler 9.25.........there are also heavy duty 1500's....i don't know if dodge makes them but chevy and ford do. Ford as a 6600 gvrw ford f150 that has 7 lug axles. and chevy makes a 1500 with 8 lugs that's a 1500hd. Ford also made a f250 light duty that had the same body style as the f150's in 97-2003

 

Like said above it goes both ways, There are LD 2500's with the same axles at 1500s and a 5.9L, just a beefy suspension, then there are HD 2500s with bigger axles and a CTD.

 

Thanks folks,

I am planning a 5speed swap into my 98 5.9 ZJ Jeep. I'm trying to figure which is the closest ratio of the NV tannies and which 5.9 PCM has the closest mapping to my ZJ so I know what trucks to look for in the salvage yards.

It would be configured for street rather than offroad so I really don't want the NV4500 and the granny 1st gear. It's a shame as I gather they are close to bulletproof with the exception of some 5th gear problems.

I'm trying to decide between the NV3500 and the NV3550. Neither one is a great trans in terms of durability but my choices are limited.
The NV3500 will be a direct fit but it would seem odd to have a manual trans without a removeable bellhousing.
The NV3550 can be adapted with some minor relieving of an AX15 bellhousing from a 3.9 motor. Did the AXcome behind 5.2s also?
I believe the NV3550 was only used on the Wranglers starting in 2000 or 2001 and does not have a factory 3.9 or 5.2 bellhousing . I could be wrong on thatand I don't think the 5.9/NV4500 bellhousing will fit the NV3550.

I'm still trying to solve the PCM swap question regarding the ability to reflash my VIN into a used PCM. I hear it can't be done but others say it can. 95% sure I need my VIN in the PCM so the machine doesn't reject it during the MA emissions inspections. Figuring on using the PCM from a 98 5.9 5spd Ram.

I also have a few Dodge/Jeep/Auto/Manual transfer case swap compatability questions that I will be posting in the next day or two.

Thanks again for the good info - John

 

ok i just had a thought on your pcm/vin issue

ok if you were to get a mopar pcm or need to replace your pcm how would you get the vin into the new pcm? (i dont know the answer to this question) maby you can only do it on a new one but there has to be a way to put a vin in there if its in the factory one

just a thought but what if you were to phone dodge tell them you need a new pcm and tell them whatever vin you want in there...

 

Hi Ryan,
Somewhere in the middle of this mess is the actual reply part :-)

Here's my deal. I'm planning on converting my 98 5.9 ZJ Jeep toa 5speed manual using boneyard Mopar parts. I'm hoping to make it a 5.9/5spd/4WD ZJ as it would have beenif Mopar made it.
With the exception of the unknown PCM issue I believe I have it down to using all stock Mopar parts along with some modifying of the crossmember and possibly resizing the driveshaft lengths.
The 5spd manualwas never a ZJ option with the exception of the 93 and maybe 944.0 6cyl OBDI ZJ so I'm more or less entering uncharted waters with a few aspects of this swap. In all the Googling I've done andsearches on roughly two dozen Jeep/Dodge/Mopar forums for "V8 ZJ 5spd swaps"I've only come across 1 street OBDII ZJ 5spd swap (an SC'd 5.9! - but he never solved the CEL/MIL problem) and two or three 93/94 5.2OBDI ZJs that were built for offroad use. Also a few 6cyl OBDIs and a few Wranglers but not all of that info applies.
I'm sure there are more out there that aren't on forumsbut it's getting to the point where when I do Google searches on various aspects of this swap some of the top replies are my own posts in forums where I'm asking about info for these swaps!

The mechanics of the swap aren't too far out. The plan would be to use an NV3500 from a 3.9 or 5.2 or an NV3550 from a Wrangler (with an AX15 3.9 bellhousing as an adapter) and use the PCM from a 98 Dodge 5.9/5spd Ram. (I don't think it matters if it's 2WD or 4WD)The build is for street use rather than off road so I'd rather deal with the quality control/strength issues of the NV35xx series than deal with the weight/granny gear 1st gear of the NV4500, the only 5spd offered behind the 5.9.
The PCM and connectors should physically be a direct match Dodge to Jeep asidefrom swapping/adding/deleting a few wires

So,back to the subject... The reply part!
From what I understand, a used PCM might work fine if it is swapped to anothervehicle just like it."Works fine" means it would start and run without fault codes or seatbelt or ABS warnings lights that don't go out. Those are some of the types of symptoms of using a PCM from a dissimilar model or using a new PCM without a VIN flashed into it yet.
I guess there is also a compatiblity issue between vehicles and PCMs depending onwhether they have thedisabling security system. I believe thatisknown as SKIM or VTSS.
I understandthe "security" type vehicle can use either PCM and the "non-security" PCM can go in either vehicle but the security PCM will lock you out of it if your vehicle doesn't have the alarm module.

Other than that.. anew or remanufactured PCM is no problem. Generally when they sell them they ask you for a VIN and flash it in before they send it to you. A lot of people say you need to give them the mileage to enter also but I'm pretty sure that is held by the instrument cluster or maybe in the BCM (Body Control Module - That may be a Jeep thing, I'm not even sure Dodge if trucks have them)


Now all that doesn't help me deal with the inspection question. I want the whole thing to be legal with no BS involved in getting it registered and inspected. It's actually a registeredDD right now with the stock 5.9/46RE/4WD.

A quick note on that....
Unlike most46REs mine is a two gear - three with lockup instead of three gear - four with lockup. My ZJ chose the "2nd gear delete" package for itself. That's what I called it when I took the pan off to figure out why my vehicle won't hold or start in the park position and I find out it's because the 2nd gear clutchband anchor fell out and is lying in the way.
Amazingly it's still quite driveable since I took the band anchor out of the way. Now it has park and it gets better gas mileage! Of course that's onlybecause I'm afraid to put my foot into any more. I'm not sure what will happen if I hit kickdown and there is no 2nd gear for it to go into. Seems like the motor or what's left of the transmission might take exception. :-) It's actually at 14.7 avg mpg today, up from about 13.2 avg since I've owned it. I have a 93 5.2 also and I've never seen gas mileage above the 13s from either one.

From what I understand the reflashing problem is that the "Enter VIN" option does not come up on the Chrysler scan tool (DRB) if the scannerfinds a VIN in the PCM already. Not sure if any other scanners go deeper than the DRB but I doubt it. Of course that doesn't explain how they sell "remanufactured" PCMs. They must be able to delete the VIN to resell it but I'm not sure what they use to do that. They may remove the internal battery or something and take all the data right out of it and reflash it but I don't know if the DRB has all the data in it to rewrite the whole thing. Then again maybe they are installing new PROMs or something.
In the SRT forum someone said there are two ways around it - Go in through some type of "Vehicle Alarm Entry" screen (or something like that) or try the "Re key method". I haven't had time to research that re-key thing yet. Now the SRT forum only focuses on the newer Mopar SRT vehicles so those PCMs might be a whole different ballgame anyway.
Some of the performance PCMs, like evidently the SRT Stage 1 stuff can be reprogrammed with new VINs again and again but the stock ones cannot.

I have talked to B&G Performance about either putting a newVINinto a used Ram 5.9 5spd PCM orremoving the auto trans data from my ZJ PCM. They can do either one but they will both involve flashing whole new parameters for the swap so the cost would be the $430 they charge for custom flashesrather than the $130 they charge for VIN flashing.

Now, if used PCMs can't be reflashed I'm not sure why the boneyard sell them. Also, as another person pointed out that would meanin MA at least you could not legally repair an OBDII vehicle with a used PCM. Might be a Mopar thing only. I don't really speak Fomoco or GM language.

Like I said, I've gotten some great info from a bunch of people that really sound like they know what they are talking about but the big problem is the variance in emissions inspection procedures from state to state.
A reply from PA said they have the VIN on a bar code on the registration card. They use a code scanner on the registration card and it has to match the VIN that the inspection machine is picking up from the PCM.
MA doesn't have a bar code but it is a strict state when it comes to emissions. I believe they have to manually punch in the VIN code or at least visually confirm it or whatever.

I'm still looking into it though. Like I said,I want to do it on the cheap both to see if it can be done that way and because if money was no object I'd be driving an SRT8 Grand Cherokee.

Wow, I can't believe how long this reply got. I can't seem to say anything to simply!

If anyone has any info along these lines please let me know.

Thanks - John

 

The NV4500 is a great trans, it doesn't have to be used for racing. In street driving you don't even use the granny low to get going, you never really use it in the city. Its just nice to have an extra low gear when you need it.