Hello Everyone,

This is my first post here on D.F. I have a question for you guys, I have a 08 dakota crew cab 4x4 with the 3.7, I want to know if I can drop a 5.2 in? I am also thinking changing to a manual trans. is this just a pipe dream or could it work?

 

Welcome.
You should get lots of response here.
I have a 08 4.7L that should drop in there.
I did convert to a standard. The pedal assembly was easy but you will need a ECM flash to a standard and some wiring changes.

 

I would not waste your time with the 5.2. The 4.7 would be more of a direct swap and is a much better engine, imo.

 

While I completely agree with you, I have a buddy that has a 96 dodge ram 318 that I can pick up for $75. so with cost in mind I hope I can make it fit.

 

Ok so the trans swap is not too bad? I have r/r'ed a few in my day but never a change like this.

 

The 5.2 is by no means a worth while upgrade. You are looking at a lot of work for very little gain. You will need motor mounts, ecm, a whole mess of wiring, clearance issues with the oil pan and exhaust manifolds.. You will literally be stepping backwards in time with a swap like that. If its a rear sump oilpan on the 5.2 then it will need to be cut and rewelded to clear the differential. I'm not sure how the trans swap would be, I mean depending on which engine you decided to use if could be easier or harder.

 

Even if that engine was free, it would still cost you an arm & a leg to get it into your truck and get it to pass an e-test for an 08 vehicle. Mechanically, you're into a minimum of drive shaft changes and most likely mounting points for the engine and transmission. Electronically, it sits right on the first year of OBD2, so even with the 318 ECU and harness, you'd be into an engine whose emissions levels would be greater than that allowed for an 08 vehicle - you might be able to rework this, but the cost just keeps adding up. Electrically, you're into some work and expense to interface the engine bay harness to the cabin harness - you'll have different circuits, connectors, and cabin controls between the 2 vehicles.

 

I was afraid of that. I do know of a 98 dakota that has the magnum v8. would that be a better fit? I can get the whole t-boned truck for a grand. still drives just got t-boned by a bigger truck.

 

I know that is still the 318, but if I had the whole truck for parts, would that make it better? and the mounts may be in the right spots? also we don't have e-tests here where i live.

 

Having everything would eliminate some guesswork.. kinda. But it's the same engine, to a T.

What you would essentially end up with is an old Dakota with a new body. everything that would go in to that build would be 10 years older than the truck itself. I just don't know if you want to do that really. I'm certainly the first to say that people should shoot for the moon, even if they don't have much experience. But this will just be problems I'm sure. The 318 is such an old design, and it was never meant to be a power house. There once was a guy who put one in a celica though, that was neat.