i have a 99 dodge ram with the 5.2 w/5-speed and i had recently got some water in my motor which has caused my crank bearing to go bad and i personally wanna do some upgrades to the motor while i have to fix it and figured id do it right but i cant afford to let my truck set and dont have the money for it at the time... but i have a friend with a 96 dakota with the 318 which runs good and hes willing to sell the motor for a decent price... i was wondering if it would all connect the same (wiring and stuff like that) or what all would i have to change over to get it to work so i can run my truck until i can rebuild the old one??

 

I'm not totally sure about the 96 to 99 as far as sensors go (i.e. Water temp water sensor.) But From the responses I got they are the same engine. I just did a swap just after the last 3 day weekend. Some things to know about if it was an auto you will need a Pilot bearing with the bushing and you will have to switch the crank sensor. I took the time to replace the Plenum, and the water pump. In hindsight I wish I would have replaced the timing chain while I was at it.

Chuck

 

yea i was planning on buying a complete gasket kit for it while i had it out sense it would b right there and outta the truck... i knew they were the same engine i wasnt sure bout all the sensors i was gonna try to get outta replacin to much on it bc im going to probably put a stroker or atleast bore out my original motor some and get it rebuilt right and put back in my truck rather then juss slap it together... id rather have it down a night then have to screw with the motor n have it down for who knows how long...