Hey guys, im new to this forum. I hoping someone can help me. I own a 98 Ram 1500 2wd club cab 5.9 auto and want to convert to a 5 speed NV3500. I bought the truck with intentions to do this and since the trans is on its last leg, i need to get busy. My local wrecking yard has a 94 ram 1500 3.9 v6 5 speed manual which is a nv3500 and i know will bolt up since the bellhousings are the same on the dodge magnum 3.9, 5.2, and 5.9. Correct me if im wrong but im pretty sure they are. Only thing im worried about is since its a 94 and mine is a 98, if i look up the slave and master cylinders at work, they are different part numbers. Can i use the 94 Hydraulics? I know the body styles were the same and im sure theres no firewall difference. If anyone can help me here please let me know. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

i believe youre gonna need to swap the pcm too, not positve on that tho

 

Im pretty sure your driveshaft will need to be longer also..

 

well since both are the manual transmission i dont think anything changed there...

94's took a 46RH (auto) and the 98's take 46RE (auto) thats what changed in the transmission area, not sure if anything changed with the 5 speeds. but yea you will need the PCM as well.

 

i talked to a few mechanics and they said the pcm will be fine but its gonna run in limp mode but that wont matter because im not gonna have an auto. I hope thats correct. I hope so because i had to put a new pcm in it two weeks ago. The donor truck is a reg cab long bed and mine is a club cab short bed. Im also wondering if i could use the driveshaft off the donor truck? i was thinking it may be the same length.

 

Erm, if the PCM is running the engine in limp mode.... you aren't really going to care for the performance/gas mileage much..... Score the PCM out of the truck you are getting the trans from.

I doubt the driveshaft is going to be the correct length. Different body configurations there. Best bet would be to bring a tape measure, and measure the length from the end of the output shaft on the trans, to the center of the yoke on the rear end, then measure your current driveshaft, it needs to be a bit SHORTER to fit in there nicely.

 

The 94 PCM will not work in his OBDII truck...

If his truck was an OBD1, the Auto PCM would be fine (I'm currently running one) but with OBDII you're much more likely to run into problems. It would be best to get the correct PCM.

 

To the OP: when/if you do this swap, please Please PLEASE take pics as you go and post a writeup here.