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Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Dodge v10 to cummins diesel swap

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hi guys im new here, little bit bout myself, im 41 live in ky and just retired from the army, 20years 3 months, 6 days, wont talk about my mos, but i did 3 tours in iraq/afghanistan, married and have 3 daughters. and 1 1999 dodge 2500 with a v10.



now the other day i bought a 1997 3500 with a 5. 9 cummins 12 valve in it, its an automatic 2wd, to where mine is an automatic 4x4, im really wanting to put this motor in my 2500 due to the fact my dodge is like damn near new condition, and the fact it hasnt been driven in the last 11 years, very much. and best of all its paid for lol. it has a 5 inch suspension lift, 3 inch body lift, riding on 38 ssr's. so basically i really like my truck.



my questions here are, can you guys who have done this swap, tell me what im going to expect. as far as mine being 2 years newer, 4x4, ive studied alot of info that i can find, as far as the motor will sit right down in my truck,with my motor mounts, my trainny will bolt right up to it. but im having issues on the wiring end. i do not wanna switch dashes in the trucks, maybe the cluster, but it has 185000 miles on it, and mine has 3651 miles on it. also i do not care for the way the 1997 dash looks. not to mention its not in as good of shape as mine,



but i am really addiment on doing this swap. i called a place that makes wiring harnesses and he said they should be the same harness, same computer thats on the firewall in both trucks and for 800. 00 he could make me a harness, out of the two i have, but if there isnt alot of major differences, i would rather save the money and make my own harness work. as far as sensors, etc



im not the best mechanic in the world but im not stupid either, i can learn rather quick on how to do things, but i would require some assistance/help from others who have done this swap. so any inputs from you folks, would be greatly appreciated.





thank you in advance, chris
 
Im not trying to discourage you on doing the swap. Something you might want to consider. Your 99 most likely has a dana44 front axle. All the ctd trucks came with a dana60 up front. They did this for many reasons,one of the reasons is the weight of the ctd. The dana44 is not designed to handle that much weight. The rear axle Im pretty sure is going to be a Dana60, where as the CTD trucks had Dana70 for the auto trucks and Dana80 for the manual trucks. I almost found this out the hard way. I came close to doing the same swap but after finding this out decided against it. The torque converter is probably different for the gas burner as well. Good luck with the swap. Keep us posted.
 
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i have a dana 60 and 70 rear, i was told the v10 weighs as much if not a bit more than the 12 valve

Yeah, whomever told you that had zero experience with a Cummins 6BT. A V10 truck engine was a shade over 800 lbs, a 6 BT is right at 1200 lbs. Significant difference in a marginal chassis.

There are no computers required to run a 12V diesel. A 12 volt wire to the fuel shutoff is the only mandatory electrical hookup. The grid heaters are the only thing controlled by the computer on the diesel engine. That may require some tinkering if you want to retain them.

The biggest problem you will have is tying the required sensors, or fooling them, into the PCM so your dash does not constantly look like a Christmas tree. The 99 is going to require more sensors inputs than a 97 dash. What exactly the v-10 had that was monitored is the question. As long as you have the heavier suspensing the sensor hookups will be the biggets hurdle.
 
Yeah, whomever told you that had zero experience with a Cummins 6BT. A V10 truck engine was a shade over 800 lbs, a 6 BT is right at 1200 lbs. Significant difference in a marginal chassis.



There are no computers required to run a 12V diesel. A 12 volt wire to the fuel shutoff is the only mandatory electrical hookup. The grid heaters are the only thing controlled by the computer on the diesel engine. That may require some tinkering if you want to retain them.



The biggest problem you will have is tying the required sensors, or fooling them, into the PCM so your dash does not constantly look like a Christmas tree. The 99 is going to require more sensors inputs than a 97 dash. What exactly the v-10 had that was monitored is the question. As long as you have the heavier suspensing the sensor hookups will be the biggets hurdle.



how would i find out the difference in the sensors, and would i use the ecm on the firewall from my 1999 or from the 1997 cummins, i read alot and there is alot of guys who have done this, but its like top secret, and they dont wanna share it lol. ashame interrogation techniques are against the law in civilian life.

from what i can tell the swapping of the motors will be easy enough, but i dont know enough about the sensors and wiring on the 2 different trucks, to know how its going to work out.
 
i have a dana 60 and 70 rear, i was told the v10 weighs as much if not a bit more than the 12 valve





Per my 1987 Cummins repair manual the 6bt weighs 880 lbs, dry with no electric's or flywheel, so you should not have any weight issues.



Did you check the conversion forum?



Nick
 
how would i find out the difference in the sensors, and would i use the ecm on the firewall from my 1999 or from the 1997 cummins,

You will likely have to use the 99 computer to make the dash componenents work correctly. I think there is a major difference between the years on dash inputs and operations.

An FSM should give you all the sensors needed for the truck. You will just have to start mapping them and see if it will like the results. You will have some issues with some of the gas controls not being there but there may be a way to fool them into submission.

Per my 1987 Cummins repair manual the 6bt weighs 880 lbs, dry with no electric's or flywheel, so you should not have any weight issues.

The repair manual is usually listing bare dry engine. Add the manifold, turbo, accessories specific to the diesel, oil, water and it will tip the scales pretty close to 1200 lbs. The V-10 even with oil and accessories would be lucky to get close to 900 lbs. It didn't matter if it was the diesel suspension, there were weight issues. Still may be with the gas engine springs. It will work but for how long and when does DW rear its ugly head.
 
Take the engine wiring harn and PCM from the CTD and use them along with all the sensors in the CTD The only problem will be the wiring for the starter safety switch which is an easy fix. I am in the process of the exact same swap. The fuel gage is of a diff ohm just use the fuel module and speedo from the CTD. Any other problems e-mail me at -- email address removed -- will be glad to help. the rear in the V10 w/auto 1 ton is a Dana 80.
 
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I have a 2002 dodge ram 2500 with a V-10 and i wanna do a motor swap. I am trying to find out what would work the best with the transmission that is in it. I have been thinking of doing a 12 valve swap but dont know if it would be worth it or if i should do something with the motor tjats in it. It has a dana 60 in the front with a dana 70 in the rear. I have a 6 inch lift on it as well.
 
The rear axle Im pretty sure is going to be a Dana60, where as the CTD trucks had Dana70 for the auto trucks and Dana80 for the manual trucks.

My 1996 3500 V-10/47RE dually had a Dana 80 rear axle. Since it was a 2WD, no comment on the front axle. Many people forget that the early V-10s were rated 300 BHP/450 ft-lb torque, which is more than the 12 valves were rated. My 2002 3500 ETH/DEE (Cummins HO/NV5600 6-speed manual) was only rated at 245 BHP/505 ft-lb.

Rusty
 
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I'm doing this' same swap however I'm going tonuse my 92 engine as my body and chassis is shot , my 98 has the 60 and 70 rearend the same my 92 has , I'm using my nv 4500 and I already have the pedals what ignition wires did you hook on to and did the odometer screw up and what did you run for fuel lines did you just use the stock lines and bi pass the fuel pump and smog stuff ?
 
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