Hello All.

I have a 1997 Ram 1500 with a 5.9 and the 46RE two wheel drive tranny. I called around looking for a replacement tranny and the junk yards keep saying that I can only use one from a 97 5.9 truck. I know this can't be right.

So what is the difference between the years that would force me to use a 97 only trans? I have access to a 95 318 trans that was rebuilt 1 year ago for $400 out of a friends wreck would that work and if so is there anything that would have to be swapped from my old tranny?

BTW the old trans has no forward gears and a slipping reverse with 150k on the odometer. Very old and tired trans that nothing seemed to help.

Thanks all,
Chris

 

96-99 = same

00-02 = same

You can use any year if you convert the solenoids over.

 

Will there be any difference in torque converters? I noticed that the 360 has a different part number then the 318s

 

What about the 5.9 vs 5.2. His old tranny is from a 5.9 which I think is externally balanced, and his new tranny is from a 5.2 which is internally balanced. Wouldn't that be a TC or FW problem?

 

TC and flywheel are different. You must match the tc and flywheel to the motor. Either TC will work in both transmissions.

 

Thank you all for the replies. I picked up a 98s transmission today and it looks like all will work well. I do notice the 360 converter has balance weights so I will use it. Again thank you!

 

I am going to do my swap tomorrow and have one last question.

I need to swap the overdrive unit (2 wheel drive) from the 97 tranny with my speedo drive to the 98 tranny that don't have the speedo drive in the tailhousing. Is there any special cautions I should pay attention to when swaping the two overdrive units or is it pretty straight forward?

Thanks
Chris

 

Why are you taking the O/D unit off of a known bad unit and putting it on your new "good" unit?

Sounds like a serious bad idea.