3rd Gen dash replacement

[xtremeroller]

Has anyone put a 4th gen dash in the 3rd gen? I have an 08 Dodge Ram 1500 project truck that I am working on and a spare 4th gen dash and parts left over from a wrecked parts truck. Any pics or info on this?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[Fishstickz]

I don’t have any personal experience with a 4th gen dash but I doubt it would bolt right up. It would probably take a ridiculous amount of fab work

Then you’d have to deal with other things such as radio, HVAC and HVAC controls, instrument cluster, steering column, etc. 3rd gens can’t run their modules and software thru its own CAN system, so you’d either be fabbing up mounts for the stock 08 parts on the 4th gen dash or doing a buttload of custom wiring and programming to get the 4th gen software to work

FWIW, I believe one guy on the forums basically dropped an entire 2015 truck into a 2003(?) model truck. PCM, engine, tranny, wiring harnesses, all taken from the 2015. I BELIEVE he also put the 2015 dash in as well. He hasn’t been on here in a few months but he’s definitely the guy to talk to about this. @Fast69Mopar

You’d be far better off buying a new truck. With that said I’ve been told that dozens of times and it doesn’t stop me

If you do find out any info on this be sure and post up, I’m definitely curious


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[xtremeroller]

I'm still doing some research on this, I haven't given up on it yet. lol

 

[grpht03ram]

If you end up figuring it out, please let us know. And pictures! Lots of them

 

[Fishstickz]

I'm still doing some research on this, I haven't given up on it yet. lol

So I found out I was wrong on my initial post. I've been told the entire 4th gen dash DOES physically bolt up to many of the 3rd gen mounts and after watching a few videos on 4th gen dash removal, it definitely looks like everything lines up for a direct bolt-in. So definitely some good news there, it looks promising that the dash could fit without TOO MUCH hassle. May take some work with the A-pillar trim and kick panel trim though to get a good fit

If you're feeling extra risky, the 5th gen 2500/3500 trucks didn't get a new cab design like the 1500s did--the 5th gen HD trucks are, to put it crudely, just facelifted 4th gens. So theres a good possibility that the dash out of a 5th gen HD would bolt in just as well as a 4th gen dash. Definitely don't just take my word for it cuz I could be completely wrong, but just a thought if you were looking to go even further.

The biggest problems I see would be the instrument cluster, the HVAC controls, airbag(s), steering wheel, and the radio. The radio could be fixed by just dropping in an aftermarket unit. I believe a 4th gen steering wheel has been swapped into a 3rd gen, but IIRC it took a bit of work and even then they couldn't get the steering wheel buttons and control working correctly.

For the HVAC, you'll probably have to have the single zone, non ATC HVAC switches for anything to work, and even then it may need a LOT of custom wiring. Thats providing the 3rd gen HVAC box will fit and mount up to the 4th gen air tubes and vents. If not, you'd have to either fab something up or swap in a 4th gen HVAC assembly, which would probably be another can of worms to install and set up.

The instrument cluster is probably one of the biggest issues, as it just won't fit at all. They're both shaped and mounted VERY differently so thats probably the biggest problem going forward since your truck won't work without it. You'll either be doing a lot of cutting and fabbing on the 4th gen dash, trying to make a 4th gen cluster work with the 3rd gen computers (If you pulled that off, you would forever be the coolest person), or getting a custom instrument panel made to work with the 3rd gen computers and 4th gen mounts.

 

[Fishstickz]

I find this topic really interesting so I’ve kept researching into a few things..

So the 3rd gen HVAC and 4th gen HVAC are vastly different, which I kind of figured they would be. BUT the 4th gen HVAC box looks like it uses the same mounts as the 3rd gen. Now I don’t have extreme concrete evidence on that, just watching a few videos on both generations’ HVAC removal, but it appears that they share the same mounts (2 nuts and 1 bolt) Now the heater and A/C lines running thru the firewall appear to be a bit different, but I don’t believe that would be too big of an issue to fix. There might be a few more differences in fitment that I overlooked, but it definitely looks like a doable swap. Providing the 4th gen HVAC controls are hard wired and don’t run thru CAN-bus, I would imagine you could use the stock 4th gen HVAC switches. That’ll help reduce the amount of custom fabbing of HVAC tubes to a minimum and will keep you from having to custom fab mounts for the 3rd gen HVAC switch. Win-win. Now the only issue is the wiring. You’d probably have to do a good bit of custom wiring to get the HVAC and switch working correctly with the 3rd gen harness. Probably the more basic HVAC system you get the easier it will be to wire up

Another thing to point out, the A-pillar trim is quite different. It looks like different mounting holes and fitment at the dash, so those will require some custom work. You might be able to just take a dremel and shave your 3rd gen panels down to fit decently well. Or just find someone willing to custom-build you some, theyre just made of plastic so hopefully they wouldn’t charge you a huge amount

Other than that, it seems rather straight forward. You’ll probably have to ensure the 4th gen passenger airbag will connect to your 3rd gen harness (or if not, swap in the 3rd gen airbag), a few more switches will probably require a little custom wiring to adapt to the 3rd gen harness, and then you’d be gold

The instrument cluster is gonna be by far the biggest challenge for you. I’ll go on and say that you’ll probably have to look into a 100% custom gauge cluster tailored to your 3rd gen, as there’s just no physical way the 3rd gen cluster will mount up, and the 4th gen cluster’s software will be screaming at the sight of the 3rd gens PCM/TIPM CAN-bus (AKA it probably won’t work at all). Custom will be $$$$ but imo would be the best way to go. Basically you’d just need the guts of a 3rd gen cluster with the fitment of a 4th gen cluster

I know i repeated a few things I said earlier but this really has me curious, let us know if you find out anything


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk