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Just tryna find the cheapest route even if it means im doing more work, i suppose. My asuumption is i would have to tow the truck to the dealer, is that correct? Or do i just take them the pcm?
Iguess i need the cheaper and more accessible route, because i have no one that can get me 5.2 for relatively cheap with delivery. all i drive atm is a lowered civic hahah i think all of this is enough information in order for me to make my decision, thanks fr all the help!
Well time to update this build.
Its been running well for 2 weeks now, and i think im ready to tell its tale.
After i made my decision back in May, i acted on it and got tons of stress from it. My decision was to install the V6 from the totaled Dakota, so i did. I bought a hoist and a stand $300 from that(i do regret buying the stand, i dont use it. Ive got 3 engines sitting on tires right now hahah.) Everything fit perfectly the engine looked cute and small in that huge area. I think that took a week to complete, since i had to remove the engine from the dakota and the broken 5.2 from the durango. Well i installed and it wouldnt turn on. I tried everything, so i thought. Well i gave up and after a week of stressing i decided to find a 5.2. Went to a junkyard and they showed me one that had unknown mileage but was from an old customer whose transmission went out shorty after putting that same engine, which had around 90k mid 2018, in that 98 ram. Well they started it and it ran great. Took it for $400 +$60 core. I still have the core and just plan on taking it apart. With this junkyard 5.2, i removed the V6 and installed the V8. Well, it does the same thing, only cranks but won't start. I re checked my wiring( what i did was changed the map sensor, tpms and crankshaft connectors so that i could keep the warrantys on the sensors from the dakota.) And found that i wired the Crank speed sensor incorrectly. Well i corrected it and decided to put the correct sensor connector and it started right up, i was so relieved to say the least.
So i began to drive it to work, it was finally done i thought, well the suspension and hub assembly came knocking so i had to fix that. Pretty simple stuff tbh. Well the following week i noticed it was leaking tranny fluid, it left a puddle everywhere i went. Tracked it down and concluded it was from the torque converter seal. Omygod, ive got to move stuff around again. Well everyone said, just drop the tranny, well i said , its not the that bad to just take the whole engine out , ive already done it twice. Hahah it was pretty easy taking it out but putting it back in was frustrating. Anyways i took the engine out changed the seal and went to play with the engine for a bit then came back and noticed it was still leaking. It turned out to be the front pump housing seal. One was a paper gasket the other was a squared seal. That ome was actually fun because i thought i saved my self so much money by not taking it to the shop, theyd prolly tell me my trannys bad or sumn idk. Well got that fixed and i was in " want to spend money on this engine"state of mind so i bought some 200$$ headers msd wires, msd coils and cheap as heck spark plugs. Also grinded dirt off the engine to make it pretty and what not, installed it. That night i wanted to punch the engine because the lower bellhousing cover wouldnt go in! The following day i finished up the wiring and drove it It drove great, the smile on my face because i thought , having taking out the pump i messed something up but didnt actually! So glad! Oh yeah , those headers didnt seal at the y pipes so i was enjoying the loud as heck sound of the 5.2 for a while then got annoyed so i returned them successfully hahah. Then i found another leak, looks like rear main seal is leaking now gahah, but i i think its either my oil pressure sensor or the valve cover.
My girlfriend and i removed the seats and carpet because they were just disgusting. I sprayed degreaser on the driver seat and bought a leather seat for the passenger side. Now my Durango seats only 2! Its sole purpose was for hauling junk which it did succesfully!
Some may be thinking "well why didn't you just get a truck" IMO because i got dogs i want to take to parks without having to worry about them jumping of or something xp
Fast foward 2 months later truck over heats 30 miles away from home, it stalled and wouldnt start. 5 mins later it started but the brake pedal sunk to the floor, i pumped the brakes and they grabbed so i took off. Left caliper was sticking, but i managed to get home safely. Rebuilt both calipers and painted them and all, fun times.
Few weeks later, again 30 miles away from home. Truck stalls. Didnt turn on, tore up the interior and changed fuel pump on the spot. Still nothing. I left the truck over night and went for a junkyard ecm the next morning. Installed but Still no fuel or correct firing order ( tried starting fluid but kept back firing)
Well i gave up and towed it home. I bought a new ecm and called someone to program it. Well he found my problem, the transmission wiring above the AT oil pan was completely exposed, creating a short for the ecm. He programmed the junkyard ecm to my truck because i had opened up the old ecm, thinking it was useless. Well, I pulled the wiring through to the engine bay and "repaired it". Truck started and ran great.
One day it stalled while driving on the high way twice. I managed to pull if road and kept cranking it while crawling to a stop then took off when it started. That turned out to be a loose ignition coil connector.
Now were here. The truck idles great, accelerates great, brakes okay, high way drive is great. But it howls louder now that i have a hole from changing the fuel pump, the abs and brake light turn on randomly when the truck is running but if I restart they go away. I also have the " o/d off" light stuck on, but the truck shifts into it well on high way speeds. Maybe because ive got a 5.9 ecm?
Oh yeah 2 weeks ago i got a nasty flat on the center of an 8 lane highway. I had no choice but to wait for my chance to drive off to a near exit. Well i pulled up to a neighborhood with the tire completely torn up. My girlfriend picked me up in my car and we got a spare from home
Ive cleaned up the engine bay more and i really like how it looks, way better than it did in May !
Ill leave some pics! Thanks for reading ! Sorry for any bad English!
TLDR:/
- Swap 5.2 to 3.9 then 3.9 to 5.2
-Removed 5.2 to fix AT oil leak. Re installed.
-Fixed some suspension stuff
-Removed all seats and carpet ( really dirty carpet) installed the truck bed liner for the rear instead of carpet. Installed thin carpet in the front.
-sold some metal in it.
-Brake caliper seized across town. Rebuit calipers.
-stalled and wouldnt crank! Changed fuel pump and ecm to no avail. Problem was Transmission wiring was intertwined!. Towed home!
-roars even louder inside the cab.
- stalled on highway twice, ignition coil connector tightened and map sensor connector tightened
-Got a flat tire across town, used a spare that was at home.
-ABS, BRAKE and OD off lights stuck on.
Ive probably spent 2k on fixing this truck or tad bit more. But have gained alot of experience from it and thats what i wanted!
How it first looked
Got stuck in the mud hahah my back yard dirty carpet at oil seal leak fuel pump acces panel diy painted rebuilt caliper trany wiring bare cables cleaned up headlights flat tire om high way v6 in durango
Current state of engien bay!
THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL HELP!
even if it means im doing more work, i suppose. My asuumption is i would have to tow the truck to the dealer, is that correct? Or do i just take them the pcm?
