Checked the 95 manual, and nope, I/C connectors are rectangular.

94-95 rams are OBDI, 96 and up are OBDII regardless of engine size.

You might get lucky, and the v-8 will just drop in, and the mounts will line up. To hold your breath though.

 

Can you elaborate on that? It is true you need a carb to be able to tune it to the new cam or else complicated computer reprogramming is required?

95 what? Ram? Because that is 100% a photo from a 95 Dakota cluster.

I'm going to need to know for sure because this is my daily driver it needs to be a weekend project and when I say weekend I mean probably all 48 hours haha.

I have a checklist going:
-shorten 3.9L hoses
-swap oil pan from a 5.2L Magnum DAKOTA along with sump
-drop my mechanical fan/add electric fans
-splice electrical plug ends/connectors if needed
-engine mounts swapped (unsure ATM?)

Fuel pressure is the same between engines/manifolds?

 

you can get a programmer for an obd2 computer. you could get a custom tune when you install a cam. going carb would not be too hard but it can get a bit expensive. i would estimate is costing about $700 to convert a magnum engine to carb and you would not gain too much from it.

 

Yeah, that's from the 95 Ram manual.

On OBDI vehicles, stray to far from stock, and you need to reprogram the PCM to properly run the engine.... which is an exercise, and not something you can do at home... (without specialized equipment....) On OBDII vehicles, you can pay 365.00 bucks to Hemifever, and get unlimited custom tuning, that all you do is upload the new tune to your tuner, (which is included in the price.) that Hemifever can EMAIL to you, then, plug into your OBDII port, upload the new tune, and you are done. A wideband O2 sensor aids in adjusting tunes.... and can be had for around 200.... if you search good.

To reprogram the OBDI computer, you need to send it out, and pay 250 bucks EACH TIME it needs tweaked..... and they rarely get it right the first time, sometimes the second, more often the third..... you can see where this is going......

Going to OBDII would require the harness in the cab for the OBDII port as well, and you would likely have to do some creative wiring to make everything work correctly. If you decide to go that route, stick with a 96-97 PCM and harness, as in 98, yet MORE changed on the dodge trucks, and it would be intensely difficult to make it work with your dash.

Other alternative would be to just install a standalone system to run the engine/trans...... but, that's not exactly cheap either.

 

OBD2 it is! I will search for a 96-97 5.2L Magnum than, I don't mind moving the cab wiring harness I have already had the entire dash apart twice for a hardcore stereo system (removed all the stock wiring too). With an aftermarket cam in a 318 though...how will this affect MPG? Will it burn as much as a stock 360 now?

With OBDII would it be much easier to take a 318 with an automatic transmission and reprogram it for a 5-speed NV3500?! IF SO a fresh 96-97 van engine might be at stake!

 

There is no difference between the automatic, and manual PCM's, so, one would think, you could simply 'tune out' the auto trans stuff. PCM doesn't monitor ANYTHING on the manual trans.

Before spending a dime, I would have a chat with hemifever...... and make sure he can do the neat tricks you want.

 

Oh really? A few users either on this thread or another forum told me the computer would cause problems between transmissions. With a van motor you can't go wrong, chances are they were not beat on as much as a pickup truck.

Is he a user on this website? I'll PM him and see what can be done, I'm just after a choppy muscle idle sound haha I could care less about stats.

 

You can contact Hemifever at his website here.

If you run a manual trans, with a PCM that expects an auto trans, it will set some codes, and turn on the CEL. That's about the only problem I could foresee..... if you get custom tune that excludes the stuff for the auto... (a manual trans tune...) the PCM will work just fine. Only difference between the Auto PCM, and the Manual PCM, is the programming.

 

I contacted him via PM last night he said he can do it as long as it's 96' OBD2+ however he said 1997+ has more options for him to pull more torque and performance. Now either this thread or another it was mentioned that 1998+ is going to get complicated on me so if I want OBD2 to stay with 96-97, I'm not sure if whoever mentioned that meant 97+ gets complicated?

^I will have to start with obtaining an entire wiring harness/intake from a 96-97 then pull a block from a van if I have to (up to 2003) then a 5-speed from a Ram pickup. Over time this sounds like the cheapest way to go I will have the earliest OBD2 system with an engine from something closer to around 2000.

When he reply's again I will ask about if he has control over auto-tranny exclusion when he does my cam work. I'm still curious about fuel consumption with aftermarket cams I will have to start a thread for it eventually.

 

In 98, the instrument cluster changed, and also how the PCM communicated with it, Dodge introduced the "Central Timer Module".... basically, you have a little network in your truck, and the CTM is the 'hub'. Earlier models don't have that... which makes them MUCH easier to retrofit.