I have a 98 ram 1500 4x4. It has the 5.9L and a bad 46re trans. I also have an 02 ram 1500 4x4 with a bad 4.7L. Will it be easier to swap motors or transmission to make 1 good truck? Help me out guy's and girls!

 

98 is a second gen, 02 is a third gen.... so, even between the two of them, you aren't going to be able to put together one functioning truck. Fix one, and then sell it to finance fixing the other.

Welcome to DF!

 

Sure he can. The 5.9 came in early 3rd gens before the Hemi. It should bolt right into the 3rd gen but you'll want a tune to run it properly. The trans should also swap into the 98 and shouldn't require tuning but maybe output shaft or changes like that. You're not far off here so I recommend going for it. Even though I love my 2nd gen, the 3rd gen has a better interior, body, and suspension. But choose whichever you like the best or in the best shape.

 

The harness is completely different. The 4.7 is coil near plug, along with a few other differences. You aren't going to be able to simply flash the PCM...... And he likely has the 45RFE (or 545RFE) trans, the second gen harness won't hook up to that. It would require a custom harness, and programming, no matter which way you went, and he would still only end up with one truck, that no one would want to work on. Better to fix one, and sell it, use the proceeds to fix the other. Otherwise, the remainder is only going to be scrap metal.

For likely LESS than what he would spend dropping the 5.9 into the 02, and most certainly less than trying to put the other trans into the second gen....... he could drop a used motor into the 02, sell it, and probably get enough to pay for the rebuild on the 98 trans.

No matter which way ya slice it though, it ain't gonna be cheap. Depending on condition of the trucks, might be better off scrapping them both, and buying something else.

 

Or grab a pcm and harness from a 02-03 5.9 at a junk yard. Depends if the sensors are the same. Anything can be done if cost and determination are no factor.

 

Still doesn't help with the trans. The (5)45RFE never came behind the 5.2 or 5.9.

 

if it were me i would be shopping for a transmission and an engine. the first best deal i find i would pull the trigger. however, i would be more inclined to fix the 2002 as it is a bit newer but then again don't really know much about the condition of either truck to make a solid decision. i would definitely fix one and keep the other as a project. i would not sell either in the current condition as you would not get much. i would do the above if budget is a concern. if budget not a concern i would still fix the truck in the best condition and keep the other as a project, fix it, then sell either one as needed.

 

What's wrong with the trans?

 

Okay, fine. Get a Nv3500 and swap it into the 02 since it was used there behind the 4.7 and behind the 5.2 previously. Then you have no more trans problems and can use either the 4.7 or the 360 (which works fine with the 3500). You can also put the nv3500 in the 98.

Or fix the 46re and swap the whole 360/46 combo into the 02 since that was the setup in 02 from factory. 4.7/45 is expensive to replace/repair.

Or trade them both in for a running ram from any year.