drivetrain swap question

[redlegs19]

I have an '88 ram 50 with 4 cylinder. It belonged to my late grandfather. I know very little about these trucks. There really are not many running around in my area. The truck has been setting for quite a while and I would like to give it new life. Has anybody swapped a 3.9 from a dakota? If so maybe you could give me a heads up on what to look for and what to expect if I decide to tackle it. Thanks in advance.

[BradMph]

Hi Redlegs, Welcome to the forum. Not sure if anyone has done that swap, but if there is they will chime in and talk to you about it. There are many swaps for these trucks in the forum. Several V8's and V6's and much more around. Seems like everyone has something new to show and work on. Anyway, enjoy the forum and ask questions anytime. We have great response times on request and you should start to get info. You could post a picture or two of your truck also, so folks can get a visual of it.

[Fordubishi]

Humm a 3.9L in a D-50 would be a nice swap, you could either run a carb or efi set up. If I can drop a 302 in mine you should be able to fit the V6 in yours.

[pennyman1]

not a fan of that motor - performance wise its a boat anchor and a gas hog. Now the new Pentastar V6 with the 8 speed auto - thats a real running motor.

[redlegs19]

I agree pennyman1 the pentastar would be awesome. Also way way way over what I want to spend or am able to spend. I'm thinking the 3.9 will be much more realistic for me. I am not interested in racing it anyway. The 3.9 came to mind as an option mainly because I figured I could find one easily and reasonably affordable. Still thinking though and keeping an open mind. That's why I am glad to have found this forum. I knew there would be a lot of ideas.

[Fordubishi]

well as the auto trannys in the D-50/MM's were a Dodge 904 the swap would probably be pretty easy. And finding a wrecked Dakota with the 3.9 wouldn't be hard either.

[redlegs19]

Wow I didn't know the truck already had a 904 in it. The truck is setting at my grandmas and I honestly haven't even looked under it so I didn't really know what tranny it had. That definitely would make it more straight forward. That is one of the reasons I was thinking of going with the 3.9 so I use a 904. I have quite a bit of experience rebuilding dodge transmissions. This is sounding better all the time.

[redlegs19]

Ok so I went out to take a look at the truck again since it had been a while since I had looked at it. The 2.0 in this truck is a g63b is this correct? Also it apparently has an overdrive transmission. So there will be some fabricating to put the 904 in I guess.

[Fordubishi]

Could be something different then, the First gen auto's were 904's the second Gen might be Mits or something else.

[pennyman1]

The 2nd gen trucks have either an Aisin - warner or mopar a500 o/d auto tranny, with a mitsu bolt pattern. As far as the 3.9, it takes about the same amount of work from the mounts back for it or a mopar V8, so either are an option. The yoke on the driveshaft may even fit a mopar tranny. The 1st gen autos were "baby" 904s built under license from Chrysler with a mitsu bolt pattern.