Questions on the Magnum V8 swap
- Thread starter fikeweston
- Start date
OP
Bought most of it. Thanks for the tag, @hardtailpan .
@Wildman, I bought that loom and stuff from @Ephry73. And that bell housing, gonna do a 5.2 instead. What’s the best motor year to pull?
There weren't many differences between the 97-02 5.2 V-8's so it won't matter. As stated before you'll need a PCM from a 01-02 Ram/Dakota/Durango and then have it converted from a auto to manual tranny.
I will cation you that the Dodge magnum V-8's had a history of the heads cracking at the exhaust seat. This was from one head off the 5.2 that came out of my TJ.
This was what was making it run hot and blow coolant out the radiator neck if I took the cap off. There use to be a company called EQ that sold a really good replacement heads but they changed where they are made. And the new castings aren't worth it.
There are other companies that offer heads now but they are more expensive.
OP
Okay so do you think I should do the 5.9? I thought the 5.9 was a little less reliable than the 5.2. Something with maybe the head? I’ve siffed so much info though who knows at this point. If I got a pcm out of a manual would I still have to send it to B&G?
As always thanks for the response
Doesn't matter if it's a 5.2 or 5.9 they both had the head cracking issues. Now some will tell you that it isn't a BIG issue but I've seen it enough times now that I would replace the heads of any engine I was installing unless it already had aftermarket heads. And that is always a possibility with the amount of cracked heads.
If you can find a PCI PCM for a manual trans then no you wouldn't have to send it to B&G but the are like hens teeth so unless you have one already I'd just find a good auto tranny one and send it off.
The main issues with the 5.9 being less desirable than the 5.2 is that it runs hotter so cooling it can be more of a problem but it isn't impossible. The 5.2 revs faster but the 5.9 has a better bottom end torque.
On paper it doesn't look like the 5.9 adds that much but if you'd driven one in a Ram truck the 5.9 has a LOT more umph. Now if you can find a R/T version it's a little better with more power and such but again are getting harder to find.
OP
Thanks for all the info. I’ll have to call B&G and get it priced, and see about the pcm. I got the ecm and loom, bell housing, now I need to just plan the rest. Thankfully the wiring harness is done lol. Been reading on forums as much as I can, excited to start this fall and winter! I’m sure I’ll be posting more. I’ll prolly just get which ever is the better deal. Or the one with more aftermarket support which looks so far like the 5.2
I think there is about as much support for the 5.9 as there is for the 5.2 since they are basically the same engines with a few small differences. I'd find a good deal on which ever engine you come across. Also maybe search some junk yards as some folks have said they were able to find engines with aftermarket heads in JY's.
And like I said if you happen to run across a R/T model grab the engine and it's PCM since they are special to the R/T models. It's a better cam and tuning on the PCM. Ask away on any questions you have and I'll try to answer them or point you towards where the answers might be.
There are some maintenance items you'll want to do while you have the engine on a stand like the plenum gasket & IMO unless you can get a 50K of less mileage engine I'd do the timing chain & water pump. Plus think about doing a complete reseal.
OP
Absolutely. Honestly first goal was just to get it in and make it run, but like you pointed out WHILE you have it out, might as well do it. Any other tips you have? Maybe go ahead slot trouble shoots you had?
Yes IMO if you are going to the trouble of swapping in a new engine you might as well make sure it is going to be running and running well for 100K miles or more. My experiance says that I really wished I'd know 1/2 what I know now about these swaps and engines.
And at the time I was recovering from being wounded in Iraq so I farmed the swap out to a shop that was suppose to be "GOOD" which turned into a cluster fuck from shitty wiring & bad PCM's to my engine having major issues in under 8K miles.
I'll find some of the other info I have on the magnum V-8's and post it up here.
Here are a bunch of notes I've grabbed from a bunch of different magnum V-8 swaps where folks listed what they did with the wiring. I know you have a harness already but if you run into any issues you might need these to help troubleshoot the harness.
You need to get the Factory Service Manual for your year TJ and then one from the year Dodge model you take your engine from. I am on the member on the Dodge Forum and they have FSM there like on here. Plus they are a great group of people and are helpful when trying to figure out issues with your Dodge engine.
https://tinyurl.com/e2ktvb32
You need to get the Factory Service Manual for your year TJ and then one from the year Dodge model you take your engine from. I am on the member on the Dodge Forum and they have FSM there like on here. Plus they are a great group of people and are helpful when trying to figure out issues with your Dodge engine.
https://tinyurl.com/e2ktvb32
Attachments
If you use the AA motor mounts and put them in the position where AA recommends your transmission shifter will be forward of where the hole in the floorboard is. To fix that you cut the shifter and weld in a short piece of flat stock to more the shifter back to where the hole is.
Hope this help explain it a little better.
Here is another V-8 swap thread with a lot of good information in it.
https://tinyurl.com/dtky5rhu
Hope this help explain it a little better.
Here is another V-8 swap thread with a lot of good information in it.
https://tinyurl.com/dtky5rhu
Sorry to keep adding stuff but as I remember stuff I'm posting it.
Even with a stock engine you will find that getting a tune from FRP (Flyin Ryan Performance) will make your 5.2/5.9 run better and get better power. Yes it costs a little bit more to go thru this but IMO you'll be thankful of the money spent. Ryan is a member here on the forum also. He's going to tune my stroker engine going into my TJ once I get it done.
Since I'd done my swap before Ryan was around I'd sent my PCM to B&G and had them tune it but I can't really tell you if it helped or not. But I was chasing other issues back then. One of my biggest complaints was that I couldn't hold 70 MPH when driving on the highway and this was with 5.13 gears and 35" tires. Plus my engine was always running rich and could never figure out why but in hindsight I think the cracked head might have been the problem.
I went thru 3 PCM's before I finally got a good one. When I first got it running my transmission was in limp mode so it started in 2nd and then wouldn't shift into 3rd & 4th until way late. Then I clogged up my cat when I only had maybe 3K miles on it. Take your time and do it right the first time. Make sure your engine is in good shape and use quality parts.
Even with a stock engine you will find that getting a tune from FRP (Flyin Ryan Performance) will make your 5.2/5.9 run better and get better power. Yes it costs a little bit more to go thru this but IMO you'll be thankful of the money spent. Ryan is a member here on the forum also. He's going to tune my stroker engine going into my TJ once I get it done.
Since I'd done my swap before Ryan was around I'd sent my PCM to B&G and had them tune it but I can't really tell you if it helped or not. But I was chasing other issues back then. One of my biggest complaints was that I couldn't hold 70 MPH when driving on the highway and this was with 5.13 gears and 35" tires. Plus my engine was always running rich and could never figure out why but in hindsight I think the cracked head might have been the problem.
I went thru 3 PCM's before I finally got a good one. When I first got it running my transmission was in limp mode so it started in 2nd and then wouldn't shift into 3rd & 4th until way late. Then I clogged up my cat when I only had maybe 3K miles on it. Take your time and do it right the first time. Make sure your engine is in good shape and use quality parts.
hardtailpan
TJ Enthusiast
Man, you should not apologize, this is all gold. Your links on the hemi swap have helped my understanding immensely, and I didn't have to search all over the place for em'!
Thanks. I wish there had been all this information when I did my swap back in 2005 as I might have been able to figure out all my issues and my Jeep wouldn't have been parked for 10 years. But I guess this is how things have to happen. Someone has to go first and then compile the information.
I grew up with CJ's with Chevy swaps in them. So V-8 powered Jeeps are in my blood.
OP
@Wildman i have never met you but honestly thank you so much for all the info. I’ve never met you but I’m pretty sure I love you. Lol
WOW..... I don't know just how to take that comment..
And now the razzing will start.
I'm glad I can help out. I ain't very knowledgeable about everything TJ but this is one area I have some experiance. And I hope to be able to add some more info here in a while when I try out some other things. If you have other questions ask away and I'll try to answer them.
Here is a series of YouTube videos on doing the swap. I don't agree with the way that he did some parts of his swap (mainly the wiring) it's still not a bad set of videos.