I have a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 5.2L
We have removed pretty much everything, engine, transmission, drive line ect.
I was wondering if I would be able to put a 2001 5.9L in.
I won't be trying to match any parts, I would pretty much take everything out of the 2001 and just put it into the 1998. What problems am I going to run into? Some people have said that I could have PCM issues or admissions issues, but I don't see issues with the PCM since I will be taking everything from the 2001. I live in California, and the 2001 is also from California, so I don't foresee any smog issues. I just want to know what I can and can't do before I purchase the 2001 for its parts. I will be asking the seller how many miles are on the engine and what not. I'm just wondering if I will be able to do the engine swap, and if I will have to do any further modifications. Thank you for your time. Also, my husband is in Iraq, so I could really really use some advice.

-Lindsey

 

Moved this to the correct section and bumped to the top.

 

If you swap out everything including the PCM, I don't see any incompatibility issues with it. It should be a straight forward swap. I'm not sure how the VIN is handled with the donor PCM though. Other than that, just make sure you are swaping in a good engine/transmission and not one with issues like cracked heads, blown tranny, etc.

 

i don't know, but i'm guessing you're going to have a problem in california. your VIN plate on the trucks going to say 98, and the Vin in the pcm will say 01. i don't think any amount of explaining will make this pass their emissions check. i think you may have some wiring differences between the 98/01, in addition to the pcm differences.

if it was me, and i was going to invest that much work, and i was in california,
unless i could really prove what is/is not the emissions check,
i think i'd stick to the same motor, so that i could stick to the same vin, and either the original pcm, or a refurbished replacement with the original vin burned in.

i'd recommend you talk to a california emissions shop, and ask them how the test works, and what will/wont pass.

 

Also a note is that the 5.2 and 5.9 both have the 46RE trans, assuming its an automatic, so I would hang on to the extra trans as a spare if the old one goes out.

As far as the emissions go, I don't know anything about it. Here is Michigan we can make all the smog we want! haha.

 

I believe that in Ca. the emissions has to meet the specifications of the year of the engine, not the vehicle.