Hello, I'm new as most of y'all can tell. I'm in high school and soon to be
Buying a 94 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Laramie off my grandpa and want to do a manual conversion. I have the ability to purchase a 96 Ram 1500 SLT Laramie as a donor truck that has everything I need to do the swap. The only problem is that my grandpas truck has the 5.9 and the donor has the 5.2. I was planning on doing a pcm swap so I don't have to "rig" or bypass the nuetral safety switch, and also have to deal with other electrical issues, and I can also have a wiring harness off the manual. I just have a few questions.

1. I know the pcms are interchangeable between the 5.9 and the 5.2 but going from small to big engine with the pcm will not be a very good long term solution. I know if I do this swap I'm going to change the whole wiring harness and pcm, but where would I be able to get a 5.9 manual pcm? Or can I get the 5.2 reprogrammed or flashed or something to work better with the 5.9?

2. Will the wiring harness be exactly the same between the 5.9 and the 5.2 engines? Just different connections for the transmissions?

3. Will everything bolt up just fine on the 5.9 if it comes off a 5.2?

You may ask why not just drive the 5.2 manual and not swap? The donor truck is a crap shoot compared to my grandpas, it's got more problems than it's worth, but the transmission isn't one of them.

Thanks. I just know if I do this swap I wanna do it right. and not try to "jerry rig" it together in any way. I'm just trying to gather as much needed info so I'm prepared when going into the swap.

 

Welcome to DF!

94 is OBDI, 96 is the first year of OBDII..... You *might* be able to simply swap PCM, and wiring harness to the 94, as the way things worked really didn't change that much. At least, not as compared to the 98 and up trucks......

The only differences that I know of are going to be no provision for EGR on the 96 PCM/Harness, and the newer harness will also want a post-cat O2 sensor.

You will have to re-pin some stuff for the gauge cluster..... either that, or swap interior harness as well......

You will also need a flywheel/clutch/pressure plate for the 5.9, as the stuff from the 5.2 will NOT work. 5.2 is internally balanced, 5.9 is externally balanced......

You can get the PCM flashed for the bigger motor, and manual trans.

So far as I know, it should be possible to pull the entire dash from the 96, and stuff it into the 94. I *think* the gauge clusters are interchangeable as well... so, you can have accurate mileage for the truck, if that is a concern..... (and will be if you ever plan to sell it.)

There are probably other differences as well, but, having both trucks to mix and match parts from, should make the swap eminently doable. Lotta work though.

Would be fun if you could take pics of the process, and detail just what you have to go thru to make it happen. We are pic addicts here........ (I am sure there is a 12 step program for that somewhere.... but, I refuse to admit that it is even a problem. )

 

Thanks for the info. It donesnt need a manual swap right away but if I want to do it I want to do it soon. I'm just planning out the procedure right now. I don't have the 94 yet but I hopefully will In 2 weeks, and once I get the 94, than I shoot on the deal for getting a truck for a swap. I'm still talking to the guy who has the 96, but it's not a done deal if you know what I mean. I just don't have space to store an extra parts truck, so when I get it all the parts i need come off and then i can sell what's left of the donor after I'm done. If I can't get the 96, then I'll wait till another manual pops up. I know I'm not going To do this swap unless I do have a donor truck. And I know for sure I need a 94-97, because at 98 there were some major changes. But if I don't score the 96, I'll hopefully find a 94-95, as they are the closest to matching.

I plan on putting a new clutch in it, it's a no brained since I'll be in there, so would the bolts off the 5.2 flywheel and other such bolts work if I just was able to find the parts separated off the truck already? If I wasn't able to pull them myself?

to what you said, I can reflach the pcm to the bigger motor and manual. Are you talking about the one that's already in the truck or the one from the donor? And where can I get that done, because I also plan on putting a tune on it aswell once I get to doing some more major engine mods.

And then on the harness, what do you mean by "no provisions for the egr"? Does the 94 have one and the 96 doesn't? Or is it the other way around? Or is it because of different motors?

And yes I'm a pic addict too, so I know if I do, I'll take a lot. I know I agent done anything this big, so taking pics will help both you and me, so if I forget something or mess something up y'all can point it out.

 

Ok; time for me to be the wet blanket/fun-sucker/old fuddy-duddy. They call me "Dad" at home.

Unless you've got a good bit of money (when I was in HS & bagging groceries I wasn't exactly rolling in dough), and place to work and store both vehicles, and access to tools and folks that know what they're doing, I foresee two truck taken apart and never being put back together. And you being without a ride, and broke.

I get the desire for a stick-shift; both my Jeeps are sticks (98 TJ and 46 2A). I like sticks; my first car (63 bug) was a stick. It was years before I owned an auto. However, my 96 1500 is an auto; I bought it new and purposely went with an auto.

Spend your time and money fixing up your Grandfather's truck making what you've got even better. It's over 20 years old; drive it for a year first to make sure it is dependable. Spend the money you would spend on buying the parts truck and doing the tranny swap on more fun stuff (after you know it is solid); stuff to make it nice(er). Is it 4WD? Do you want to do a mild lift and bigger tires and gears? Put a nicer stereo in it? Is the paint shot; paint it yourself. Is the seat shot and need rebuilding/recovering? Girls like to ride in a nice truck.

All this stuff costs money. If the tranny in your grandfather's truck is good, don't fix what isn't broken.

 

I see what your saying. I do have a place to store the donor, I meant to say not at my house. That was my fault. I do want to put a mild lift and some 35s on it or something, which I'm thinking about the bfgoodrich all terrain or the Wangler Duratracs. I do get a discount as I am working at A tire shop, so I have that covered. I'm not going to start any major engine mods until I can afford a good tune and after I have a manual in it so I only have to program the tune once to the pcm instead of changing it when I install the new tranny. I don't really care about the paint, and I know it's reliable. It's just an old dusty farm truck, and paint is a lot of money, but it's mechanically sound.

I get what your saying though, getting a donor isn't a done deal like I said. But if I were to buy it, i can keep it stored about a hour away until I can pull my parts. I'm not paying more than a grand for either truck, so I'm not breaking the bank either. I just look at it as, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Nothing is a done deal, till it's a done deal ya know?

I just like information. If I don't do it now, I at least have this to look back at when I do the swap.

 

I'm going to have to second what armynurse said.

I'm 23 and know all to well what its like to get neck deep into projects. At 13 I bought a 67 GTO, pulled it apart and started stripping it down. Took just over 9 years to get it back together and on the road. I made myself a $10,000 budget for that car. Had I stuck to that budget it would've been done within 2-3 years. I ended up pouring over 50k into that car.

In my opinion, you'd be better off saving up for a lift and tires and do a regear right away, drive it for a while and then decide to do a manual swap later on. As for paint work, its not overly expensive if you do the work yourself. A good paint job is 90% prep.

 

Easier to swap the tranny, leave the wiring alone, and have the computer that's already in the truck re-flashed to disable the auto tranny controls. Assuming both trucks are the same wheelbase (so you can swap drivelines as well), all you'll need to buy is a flywheel, clutch kit, re-flash, and little wear parts like U-joints. Sounds to me like you're making things too complicated, trying to re-wire it. I think it can be done for 3-400 bucks plus the cost of the two trucks.

 

I guess I'll just have to face the facts. And yes the chance of me getting it done in a week or less is probably pretty low. But you just struck up another question I had. I plan to put either 33s or 35s, what would I regear to? I also don't know how to do that so if there was already a thread to that point me there too. Do these 1500 have the 4.10, and I would move to a 3.55. Or the other way around?

 

Other way around. Higher numerical gears equal "lower" gearing.

Regearing is not for the faint of heart. It is an art form, takes time and some special tools. You can do it, take your time and YouTube it.

And break them in properly!

 

So a 3.55 to 4.10. Did these trucks also come with a 4.56? Or would that be too low of gearing?

Would it also be possible to fond a 4.10 rear that I could just swap out? Or did they come only on the 2500s with the 8 lug and not the 5 lug?