ram 2500 engine swap questions

[hydell3]

ok i think i want to pull my 360 and swap it with a larger gas motor, something old school ( 383/440 ) or something similar, my biggest thing is i still want my 4wd. my truck is an auto right now but i have a full 2500 parts truck that has a nv3500 5 speed and t case, i dont know what to do to find out what motors id be able to match that up to, if any, or if anyone possibly makes a bellhouseing kit to do it, i just want to build something a little more fun and i just am not a fan of the 360

 

[leadrofthepak]

I have read a few other forum posts from people trying the same thing over the years. It has been a while but I believe the answer is still "you gotta fab everything yourself". There is no kit for this swap. As far as the trans goes, everyone that claims to have done this went with a 727 (some even claim to have put an aftermarket OD unit on it). That being said, I see no reason why an adapter plate could not be made to fit the nv3500, keep in mind the spline on the trans shaft has to match the motor.
I do recall a few years ago reading about some folks that swapped the 5.7 hemi motor from gen 3 rams into gen 2 rams. Those swaps were very complicated, incorporating not only the motor/trans/ecm, but also the entire wiring harness, instrument cluster, and the majority of the electronics throughout the truck (brakes, fuel, etc.).
Keep us in the loop if you brave the swap! Good luck

 

[BradTN]

If it were me, I would rebuild the 360 with a new cam/lifter set, Hughes air gap intake, and some aluminum heads, then bolt it up to the manual tranny and transfer case set you have and be happy. That would be a nice set up. I don't think your old engine in newer truck would be worth it. It would cost a lot to put together and probably get about 6 mpg.

 

[WhiteExpress]

A built 360 will be a nice option, and can still be legal for resale down the road.
A 440 etc will never be legal for resale.

If you want to do some fab work, a 440 5SP Ram 2500 sounds pretty neat to me.
2G PowerWagon!

 

[BoredandStroked]

First off no 2500 ever came with a NV3500... they came with NV4500. Big difference in the strength of the units so make sure you have an NV4500 before you even try to bolt it up to a 440. Another problem with the NV4500 is the transfer case adapter WILL... I repeat... WILL break. Takes a lot of searching but if memory serves me right there is one or two aftermarket ones that are big money for just being an adapter.

I know banging gears in a manual truck is super fun and I miss it everyday but another road you can take is a 46RH and an adapter kit to fit the 440. You can get the trans built with a custom convertor and the adapter kit from PATC (Performance Automatic Transmission Center) plus you can throw in a manual valve body and its a lil more fun.

Here is another thing I will bring up but am not to keen on because I never owned a 2500 or 3500 gas with an automatic but the transfer cases and the strengths of them. If you use a NP231 you will need to do some work to it to hold up but a NP241 or NP241HD should hold up nicely. The NP231 is found in 1500s and I know the NV4500 came with the NP241HD transfer case behind it. However I do not know what a 2500/3500 auto/gas came with for a transfer case.

If it was mine and I really wanted to do a 440 (I love small blocks) I would run the PATC 46RH and either a very well built NP231 transfer case or if it bolts up a 241HD... just my 2 cents

 

[rowdyram]

its my understanding(maybe wrong) that RB,B,LA and mag motors all use a common bell bolt pattern. if so should make it a bit easier. that said if you want a 5spd get a getrag 5. they came behind big blocks and are a lot stonger than a 4500 aluminum.
also using the getrag allows easy use of a stronger t-case. maybe a np203. that would be my choice