OK, let me start by saying that this is a new endeavor for us. We bought a 1997 extended cab 1500 318 2wd with 199,000 miles and a blown transmission. My husband put an 80,000 mile 1999 318 motor and transmission combination in but we didn't realize that there were several differences in these years! SO- this is what we have: The wiring harness is still a 97, the starter is a 97, the motor and tranny are a 99. We have a loose (no where to plug it) cable hanging down by the transmission, the speedometer doesn't work, and the etcs has two plugs on the wiring harness, and only one on the block. It does drive, but when you plug the wire in that controls the transmission seleniod it does not shift. When it is unplugged, it starts off sluggish, but then shifts when you get up to speed (can't tell you what speed with no speedometer!). I assume that when the cable is unplugged it is using hydraulic pressure to force the shifts. Can we make this work? It will be used to haul my horse trailer so I want to be able to trust it. Fluids are new and have been checked for levels. Thanks for the help in advance!

 

I have to ask, what does RMH stand for? I think I know.

 

it can be done, a friend of mine has a 97 with a 98 motor/transmission in it.
i think we need pictures of the issues at hand to know exactly what you are talking about.

 

Did you swap ALL the sensors from the old tranny? The speed sensor on the tailshaft could be why it won't shift.

 

I think the only way to "cure" it is with the PCM from a 1999 truck. possibly the wiring harness too.

1997 was a "hybrid" year for OBD-II and as a result, not everything matches up exactly right.

 

RMH stands for Rocky Mountain Horse. I will get pictures of the loose cable today. The sensor in the tailshaft, is it hard to replace? How about the governor sensor? Could that play a role? We had to use the 97 wiring harness because the 99 pcm plugs were different. It was throwing codes for the selenoid until we plugged in the extra cable on the back of the tranmission and it stopped shifting. Now the only code it is showing is for the speed sensor and the check engine light went off too.

 

swap the intake manifolds and you will have your 2 ects

 

The sensor should be on driver side of tail shaft, easy to replace. Look on the old tranny and swap the sensor.

 

How about them pics?

 

My husband took my car with the camera in it to a super bowl party, when he comes back I will upload the pics. It was throwing a code for the speed sensor, but we figured it was that extra cord hanging down from the transmission. We did locate the speed sensor and it seems pretty easy to reach. Would a bad speed sensor cause it to quit shifting at all and make the speedometer to quit? Why does it eventually shift when the selenoid cable is not plugged in? Will the 99 transmission work with the 97 speed sensor? Sorry for all the questions, I am just trying to understand this! We bought the speed sensor today, and we should have time to install it tomorrow. Luckily, this is not a daily driver, but I do want to ride as the weather warms up.