swap my 66RFE for a G56....cost?

[Nicholasnelsonnm]

Ok so looking into the t case situation I see that cummins trucks after Jan 2012 have the bw44-47. Is this true? When my neighbor gets home I'm going to scoot under her truck and see what's in there. That truck is a 68rfe but both auto and manual share a t case so that should give me a better idea. There is no way this hasn't been done before right? It seems way to straight for to me.

I am a little freaked out as well the PW platform seems to be perfect for this swap if all here is true. It should be pretty straight forward.

 

[Kuhndog970]

Alright I laid up under my truck for a bit today and looking at it there's quite a bit to figure out. Fuel lines are right in the way and would need to be modified. These are plastic lines? Manufacturers really do cut cost everywhere huh? Those would need to be completely re ran to get the shifter where it needs to be. There are some connectors that hang off the trans that would need to be dealt with. Now they are just secured on the trans and not connected to it. If I remember right I think it was 02 sensors, but either way that would need handled. A little more complication that the diesel boys have.

 

[Nicholasnelsonnm]

Alright I laid up under my truck for a bit today and looking at it there's quite a bit to figure out. Fuel lines are right in the way and would need to be modified. These are plastic lines? Manufacturers really do cut cost everywhere huh? Those would need to be completely re ran to get the shifter where it needs to be. There are some connectors that hang off the trans that would need to be dealt with. Now they are just secured on the trans and not connected to it. If I remember right I think it was 02 sensors, but either way that would need handled. A little more complication that the diesel boys have.

I think I may be back to doing the ZF8HP75. ATS is in testing mode now for that.

 

[Kuhndog970]

I think I may be back to doing the ZF8HP75. ATS is in testing mode now for that.

I just don't want a dial shifter lol. Are they doing something for a column shifter?

 

[Nicholasnelsonnm]

I just don't want a dial shifter lol. Are they doing something for a column.

I agree, they mentioned that's something they are working on.

 

[BlackGold6.4]

Somewhat of an update.. with more bad news. This swap is killing me.
1. PCM needs to have a program written in it for a manual transmission. The 5.7 & Cummins have one but the 6.4 Hemi is a different animal.
2. The trans, transfer mounts, clutch assembly, adapter plates and lengthen driveshaft are all doable and available. Going to wreckers is cheaper but I didn't do any of this .. my shop did so all I can say on it.
3. Back to the 6.4 to G56 being joined... More bad news and I'm not completely up to speed on this but and maybe someone here as more insight. The "BGE" block used for the truck 6.4 Hemi is bigger then the 5.7 block by 1/2". Which means a costume adapter plate and hub to make it all work.

Hope someone has some better input than me. But I'm still pressing on, it is taking longer than expected.

 

[olyelr]

Your saying the g56 was never offered with the 6.4 then? I guess ive never really seen it before now that i think about it…but never paid that close attention either.

 

[BlackGold6.4]

Yes.. it was never offered due to the MDS .. but I never had clued that the BGE block was different than the 5.7 .. maybe that's the difference between the 65rfe and the 66rfe

 

[Ramv]

That’s unfortunate. I really wanted to do a G56 (and a ZF6 in my previous Chevy) but chose to do a built 66RFE. I don’t have a lot of confidence in it though. I really figured I would be doing a G56 my next rebuild

 

[392DevilDog]

Yes.. it was never offered due to the MDS .. but I never had clued that the BGE block was different than the 5.7 .. maybe that's the difference between the 65rfe and the 66rfe

Glad to see you around!

I bought a 5.7 HeftyDuty and they both list the 66RFE as the trans.

The BGE is the hellcat block though...

So annoying that this isn't an easy swap. I want that 3rd pedal and manual selector so bad.

Glad I still got that 8.0l Magnum to row my own with!

 

[White six four]

I've read on here guys swapping their 5.7s in their 1500s for the 6.4 bge and I don't remember seeing it mentioned using an adapter plate to make the swap work. If I remember right one guy had the 65rfe behind the 6.4. Just going off memory since I thought it would be pretty sweet to have a rcsb 1500 with the 6.4 and 6 speed manual.

 

[BlackGold6.4]

Glad to see you around!

I bought a 5.7 HeftyDuty and they both list the 66RFE as the trans.

The BGE is the hellcat block though...

So annoying that this isn't an easy swap. I want that 3rd pedal and manual selector so bad.

Glad I still got that 8.0l Magnum to row my own with!

Good to hear from you @392DevilDog

Life seems busier when retired.. no hard schedule just doing stuff as it comes.. loving.. you know a few part time jobs and any free time is fishing or hunting

As for my truck I think it's mostly a case of what parts fit between the engine block and transmission input. Again I think..do not know 100%. Due to the thicker casting of the BGE block certain parts are out by 1/2 ".
So the research continues and my truck is delayed again..lost count

Will not give up

 

[Kuhndog970]

There seems to be so little info on the differences between the 5.7 and 6.4. And you said you did use a 5.7 hemi g56? Not the cummins with the hemi front case correct?

 

[BlackGold6.4]

The front case, input shaft, size of clutch are all different and wish I knew more wish I could look, measure, touch and try. My hands are tied by distance.. 500 miles north of anything.

 

[BlackGold6.4]

There seems to be so little info on the differences between the 5.7 and 6.4. And you said you did use a 5.7 hemi g56? Not the cummins with the hemi front case correct?

The G56 is the same no matter what bell housing is on it and the Hemi bell housing was only used with the 5.7.
I did find a statement from 2014 that the G56 was available with the 6.4 in the 4500 and 5500 but when I went searching for parts related it lead me to dead end.

 

[BlackGold6.4]

I may have a break through.. kept looking into the chassis cab set ups and found part #'s for G56 to 6.4 Hemi set up. Just confirming with my shop and his response was positive. There's an extra plate that bolts to the flywheel with 8 bolts. Hope to confirm this soon.

 

[Kuhndog970]

Keep us posted buddy.

 

[BlackGold6.4]

It will be a bit before confirming but here's the parts list and I will update as I know more.

Clutch kit.... 52104855AB
Flexplate..... 52108864AA
Plate ........... 4736613AA
Bolt .. x 8 .... 6503465

These parts are from Mopar for HD chassis cabs and this statement below is what lead me to it with the site I got it from... Cheers

"The 6.4L Hemi engine was added to the Ram 2500/3500 and commercial chassis cab lineup for the 2014 model year, displaying more power than the smaller 5.7L Hemi V-8 while creeping closer to the capability of the mighty 6.7L Cummins Turbodiesel. In Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups the engine is rated at a peak 410 horsepower while cab and chassis versions of the engine produce a peak 370 horsepower as a result of, amongst other properties, it's lower governed engine speed. Depending on the vehicle model and configuration, the 6.4L Hemi V-8 is backed by one of three transmissions - the 66RFE six speed automatic, the G56 six speed manual, or the heavy duty Aisin six speed automatic transmission."

This site has a lot of good info about the G56. https://www.dieselhub.com/trans/g56.html

 

[schmitty19]

Im going to go with the cummins rebuilt tranny with the hemi bellhousing from Lazar smith. He has a lot of the other little things i would need for the swap and has been a lot of help. I decided on the 'AE' model g56 which will have the slightly lower RPM on the highway. The gear ratios on the G56 are already better than the auto and im not doing any rock crawling so itll be plenty good. Looking forward to that 1st gear crawl though lol.

Did you ever get this done? Wondering what your final cost was.

 

[BlackGold6.4]

Did you ever get this done? Wondering what your final cost was.

Agree with you @schmitty19 .. I would love to see if @907powerwagon did anything with Lazer smith. I did look into Lazer smith but due to how far I live from Texas (2000Kms)that is out of the question. Cost are approx as follows, about 40 hours shop rate, 6000 bucks for tranny, 1000 bucks for programming, and approx another 1000 bucks for parts to convert to manual. So by the time one pays for all the small stuff. taxes etc. it's going to be about 15000 bucks at minimum.