2012 Ram 1500 - 65RFE to 8HP70 Swap

smoothee · Jan 25, 2022

Otw to pick up a trans from a 2015 with only 22k kms for $800, hopefully isn't too good to be true. Debating getting the 1 year warranty for an extra $200.

With me being lifted I already have the driveshaft spacer, will I need an even bigger one? I'm assuming so.
And with me being regular cab would I still get away with using the stock driveshaft?

DILLIGAF · Jan 25, 2022

The guy on the other 8 speed swap thread reused his driveshaft with no issues.

Not sure about the front driveshaft spacer. I guess will find out as soon as one of us start the project .... lol....

Should cost to much to get one done at the local machine shop since we have one they can go off of.

smoothee · Jan 25, 2022

DILLIGAF said:
The guy on the other 8 speed swap thread reused his driveshaft with no issues.

Not sure about the front driveshaft spacer. I guess will find out as soon as one of us start the project .... lol....

Should cost to much to get one done at the local machine shop since we have one they can go off of.

Lol yeah that should be small stuff at this point I spose.

This is coming together quicker than I expected. Will have the trans this afternoon. Trying to order the harness from SGA now, going to be putting in order for the OEM miscellaneous parts this week. Need to order HPTuners gear then and I'm trying to figure out the most economical way to get an Edge converter, I'm thinking shipping the stock core to Moe's would be $$

Hoping the transmission jacks go on sale at Princess Auto too lol

DILLIGAF · Jan 25, 2022

It really sucks I need to buy a new converter, My circle D isnt even a year old in my truck... lol...

I just hope we will have the option for the paddle shifters. I know he was working on it.

smoothee · Jan 25, 2022

I hear ya, I could've had most of this project done with the money I forked over for the valvebody and channel plate upgrades ffs
I did get my money's worth out of my Circle D converter though lol

Will probably revert the rfe back to stock and try to recoup some of the cost of the pan, converter, and vb upgrades...

Edit: Step 1 complete

emjohn4 · Jan 25, 2022

Teaser pic of the shifter. Need to support the shifter side (this weekend) and then reinstall the trim. I'm happy with it.

smoothee · Jan 25, 2022

That's a tidy job right there!

emjohn4 · Jan 25, 2022

It's like drywall. I can make a nice smooth wall. It just takes me 5x longer than someone who knows what they're doing...and 10x more mud.

smoothee · Jan 25, 2022

Lol oh I know all about that. End result is what it's about, no one needs to how much I swore and how many beer I drank in the process

crackerjack1957 · Jan 26, 2022

smoothee said:
Lol yeah that should be small stuff at this point I spose.

This is coming together quicker than I expected. Will have the trans this afternoon. Trying to order the harness from SGA now, going to be putting in order for the OEM miscellaneous parts this week. Need to order HPTuners gear then and I'm trying to figure out the most economical way to get an Edge converter, I'm thinking shipping the stock core to Moe's would be $$

Hoping the transmission jacks go on sale at Princess Auto too lol

You getting anything else beside 8hp70 from salvage yard?
Looking to do the same myself on a 2014

smoothee · Jan 26, 2022

crackerjack1957 said:
You getting anything else beside 8hp70 from salvage yard?
Looking to do the same myself on a 2014

The only other thing right now is a Charger/Challenger shifter assembly I'm trying to track down. All the other OEM miscellaneous parts from @emjohn4 list I just ordered new, as they weren't TOO pricey. Unsure how I'm going to do the cooler lines yet though

This is how I plan to do the shifter, pic is from one of the guys on the FB groups

DILLIGAF · Jan 26, 2022

What Shifter is that ? Id rather do that instead of all that fiberglass work.

smoothee · Jan 26, 2022

That's from a Challenger, but Charger is the same I'm pretty sure.

Just need to cutout the section from the Charger/Challenger trim and carry it over to the stock console. Is yours column shift or console?

And cutout a piece of aluminum or something to mount the assembly and use a few spacers to get proper clearance

emjohn4 · Jan 30, 2022

Here's mine, finished up.

smoothee · Jan 30, 2022

That's wicked, looks 100% factory

Wild one · Jan 30, 2022

DILLIGAF said:
What Shifter is that ? Id rather do that instead of all that fiberglass work.

I think he did some glassing /sanding etc.,to get it to fit as nice as he did Ian.I forget who did it,but he had pics of it on facebook,either High Performance Rams or Tuned Rams.Somebody else used the Jeep shifter in their 8 speed swap,so there's a couple differant shifter options

smoothee · Jan 30, 2022

Wild one said:
I think he did some glassing /sanding etc.,to get it to fit as nice as he did Ian.I forget who did it,but he had pics of it on facebook,either High Performance Rams or Tuned Rams.Somebody else used the Jeep shifter in their 8 speed swap,so there's a couple differant shifter options

I think it was Jordan Tucker, not sure if he's on here. As far as I remember he just cut out the piece from the Challenger and it snapped right in place to the section he cut out in the Ram console. Would need a steady hand though to make it a tidy job no doubt, but I think there are also stick on covers you can pick up on eBay/Amazon to cover that section

smoothee · Feb 2, 2022

@emjohn4 hey, did you hook up a new neutral cable for the 8 speed trans? I assume not but I seen it listed on the other thread as an optional item. Just ordering the last couple of oem parts (new gasket for PPE pan, and possibly new heater/thermostat assembly to modify) so wanted to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.

emjohn4 · Feb 2, 2022

smoothee said:
@emjohn4 hey, did you hook up a new neutral cable for the 8 speed trans? I assume not but I seen it listed on the other thread as an optional item. Just ordering the last couple of oem parts (new gasket for PPE pan, and possibly new heater/thermostat assembly to modify) so wanted to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.

I did not hook up a neutral cable. Probably should (maybe). I hear people route them through the firewall via the hole the prior 65RFE gear select cable ran through. I've also heard people run the 8HP70 wires through that hole too - so I suppose it depends on how you want to do things (I drilled a hole in the floor for the 8HP70 harness, just above the transmission, and simply patched the firewall hole with a small piece of dynomat on both the inside and outside).

Figure if I need to manually put it in neutral (dead battery or similar), I'll just roll under the truck and move the lever by hand (of course, that won't work if I really have to roll the truck far). Since I've never had to use the override on any of my vehicles, including the Ram with the (prior) 65RFE; it's a risk I'm willing to take with the 8HP70.

smoothee · Feb 2, 2022

Yeah understandable, odds of needing it are pretty slim I agree. I'm thinking I'm going to go through the floor as well with the SGA harness, my engine bay/firewall area is plenty cluttered now as it is.

2012 Ram 1500 - 65RFE to 8HP70 Swap

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