Okay, I'm sure everyone is getting tired of answering this, but...

I drive a 2001 Ram quad cab 5.2 2wd long bed as my daily driver, 124k. It's effectively bone stock, except for a auxiliary tran cooler I added at my last fluid change to try to milk a few more miles out of it. The transmission just feels mushy to me and from everything I've read here (great forum, btw) they just don't last much longer than what I have now.

Now, in addition to the laundry list of things I need to do (plenum fix / kegger mod and related goodies like water pump and timing chain, front suspension, rear bumper replacement, bed liner, etc) I'm starting to feel pretty confident about rebuilding the tranny myself, but I can't have my truck down for the time I would want to take to make sure I do it right. Sonnex sure cure will go in with the rebuild, as well as some improved clutches, etc.

So, i started looking for a donor vehicle i can buy and strip for parts, then take my time with it. I came across a rolled 01 ram with a 5.9 4x4. Same year, but different engine and transfer case. So my questions are:

Both should use a 46re tranny. They should be interchangeable right? I would just use my existing overdrive section?

What other parts can I pull? Intake manifold should also interchange... What about other bolt ons? (alternator, air compressor, etc) The donor has higher miles (200k or more) so I'm not interested in the whole motor, but anyThing else I should grab before I scrap it?

How difficult is it to convert my 4x2 to the 4x4 on the donor? Is that a better plan?

Any tips/tricks/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Tail section is different, don't remember if you can swap the 2WD bit onto the 4x4 trans.

 

I think it has to do with the O/D housing, or output shaft. Generally, it's best if you pick up another 2wd trans, preferably from a 2000, or 01 truck, as some things changed from 99 to 00. (electrical, it's possible to change over to the new system though....)

 

You should be able to use a good majority of the parts in the engine compartment (compressor, alternator, manifold, starter, etc)...although since the other motor has such high mileage, I wouldn't put too much faith in the reliability of those parts. Maybe just keep them on the shelf for back-ups in the case of an emergency

 

Yeah, I was thinking about pulling those parts just for spares incase I had issues down the road.

What about upgrading my rig to 4x4? Using the drivetrain from the donor. Possible? Or more work than it sounds?

Otherwise I'll just keep looking for a 2wd.

 

Keep looking for a 2WD. There was a guy that made his 2WD into a 4WD but it involved a full donor truck, a big garage with a lift, and a massive amount of cutting/welding.

Don't bother.

 

K! Ill keep the search going!