Well I have the 3.7 in my truck currently and it's only 2wd and apparently my transmission might. E going I was thinking of making it a 4.7 and 4x4 what's the easiest way to get this done. I think I've seen people say swap bodies with a wrecked truck before and I was wondering if this was a good way to do it.

 

Hello, and welcome to dodgeforum. Please feel completely free to exercise propper grammer, spelling, and punctuation when posting...so that old guys like me can understand what it is that you are trying to say.

If you find good components in the yard, then you would love having a 4x4 with more torque behind it. However, it might actually be worth just buying another Dak that already is a 4x4 and equipped with the 4.7L.

 

Welcome! Donkey is correct. About everything.

 

Sorry about all that I'm bad with my punctuation. Plus I'm trying to do all this on my phone but I'm just looking for the easiest way to swap. Thank you for the welcome and for the help.

 

Because there are a lot of differences between the 4x4 and 2wd generally, and the 3.7 & 4.7 drive trains you won't end up with a cost effective solution without doing a lot of searching. You may need to search for several 4.7 4x4 Dakotas that were either in an accident or with badly rusted bodies to get all the large mechanical parts (suspension & drivetrain) you'd need for the conversion - I would also recommend taking the entire harness from a 4.7 to save yourself down-the-road heartburn. I feel that the previous posts are correct - by the time you add up the cost for the conversion, it may be easier to sell your current truck and buy a 4.7 4x4.

 

The good thing about the 3rd gen Dakota, is that the suspension is all already there. Unlike other truck models which may have a totally different setup for their 4wd... the 3rd gen uses a lot of the same parts. I have looked into something similar myself briefly and found that I would need the front diff, 4x4 engine mounts, horizontal braces, and half shafts... that's it up front because we all have the same hubs and strut setup.

After that, it gets into other things like the wiring harness, to have the connections that go to the transfer case.. the transfer case, the output shaft and tail housing on the transmission, the mounting brace, the correct rear drive shaft, the front drive shaft.. a 9.25 rear, the shift **** or floor shifter (i don't remember what 3rd gens use) and additional wiring to control the transfer case... and that's all assuming you already had the 4.7 in your truck.

Now, getting into the engine swap... you're looking at a complete engine and transmission from a 4x4, wiring harness, 4x4 engine mounts, PCM swap.. I suggest a 05 or 06 donor.

It's a very in depth task to say the least. But I would never tell someone not to undertake a project... because that's where we learn and have the most fun.