dodge 2.5tbi into 87 ram 50 (mitsubishi)

[capev86]

hello all....

hi gang....

decided to go straight to the 2.5 turbo intercooled setup when i restore my 86 aries wagon and so i have a perfectly good 2.5tbi from my old 91 dynasty not getting used. been thinking of fixing up my previous daily driver, an 87 ram 50 short bed, standard cab, 5spd, 2wd, manual everything. it was my grandfathers truck and i'm curious about the swap. obviously i will have to run fuel injection as the 91 2.5 block doesn't have the provision for a mechanical pump. wiring and fuel delivery is not an issues. my only problems are what can i do to bolt the 2.5 to the mitsubishi trans, starter location, engine mounts, etc. seems a lot of dodges came with mitsu 4 bangers in them. be interesting to see a chrysler powerplant in a mitsubishi. it would save on buying a mitsu 2.4 to replace that tired 2.0. also, it will be fun to drive a car with a 2.5tbi with a stick instead of an auto! be happy to hear replies....just trying to spend what little budget i have on hammering out the rust and saving the truck and use up some of the parts i have sitting around.

[capev86]

any ideas, ladies and gents?!

[Turbodave]

Not sure on bolting it up to the mitsu trans, but the 5spd from a 4cyl Dakota would probably be the easiest route to take.

[capev86]

only problem is that will cost more money and the 2.2/2.5 dakota trans is not very rugged, so i hear. any chance on an adapter plate.....seems there is one for every other hybrid drive train setup.

[jamesmonty]

Not sure on bolting it up to the mitsu trans, but the 5spd from a 4cyl Dakota would probably be the easiest route to take.

I would have to agree. Dakota tranny would be cheaper than a adapter plate. And its only 100hp so I wouldn't worry about breaking it.

[Vigo]

And its only 100hp so I wouldn't worry about breaking it.

Ditto on that....

Let me know how it turns out, i have an old mitsu truck that im not dead set on a motor for..

Though my first thought was honestly to swap the dodge tbi setup onto the mitsu motor.

[turbo84voyager]

You will never break a A535 with a 2.5 TBI. The problem is the FWD and RWD blocks are a little different because there are bosses on the RWD block which are drilled and tapped for RWD motor mounts. These bosses are on the FWD block ( they are the 2 sticking out by the distributor) they are not drilled though. I am not sure how hard these will be to drill and tap.

[135sohc]

Not all blocks have those extra mounting bosses. I have one of each

[turbo84voyager]

Not all blocks have those extra mounting bosses. I have one of each

I never new that since every common block I have has them. I have a few earlier blocks without them.

I forgot another problem is you will need a Dakota oil pan and pickup and you will need to remove the balance shafts.

[Vigo]

You'll get no power advantage over a stock 2.6 either.

If it was me id spend the money on a used 2.6 and keep your top end the same as far as the carb, or.. id go the whole way and swap in something worthwhile for power like a 2.4 4g64/63 hybrid or a 3.0.

I dont know which way im going on mine yet...

[135sohc]

I never new that since every common block I have has them. I have a few earlier blocks without them.

I forgot another problem is you will need a Dakota oil pan and pickup and you will need to remove the balance shafts.

Yeah I thought they were there on every CB until I got another one and it didnt have them. Both 94 m/y engines one 2.2 and the other a 2.5.

[capev86]

i figure my 2.5tbi is a little spunkier than the mitsu 2.0. the 2.4 is a nice engine but its tough finding one (and cheap) set up for a pickup....i'd want the dual cam version and fuel injection. the 2.6 with its bigger pistons is just too darn thirsty.....whereas the 2.5 dodge engine puts out the same power with better gas mileage. i have the dodge engine but i really don't want to change transmissions. oh well.... if i had tons to spend on this project, i'd pirate the 3.8 out of a new montero.....it is a long stroke motor, and has 2-1/2 times the hp and tq of the 2.0 and on 87 octane gas. i could run dual exhausts. i'm thinking about doing a body off, repairing the frame (rust) and coating the most of the truck with poly undercoating (al's liner) so i can use it as a year round vehicle. don't want to drive my aries wagon in the snow if i can help it and there will be a cold day in hell before i take my 72 suburban out in that junk.

oh.....thinking about grafting the coil spring/trailing arm w/ sway bar rear end into my truck. it shows that setup in the haynes repair manual i have. leaf springs are ugly and i really don't like them under the axle. but if i swapped it around the back end would be too high. i like the small amount of rake it has unloaded. if i don't go the drastic route, i will cut some leaves from a j-yard m/m or d50 and beef up the spring packs. it won't raise the back end but it will stiffen it up for better load carrying. i have even towed a bit with this truck (2 snowmoblies) and figure it would make a good boat launching rig once i get the (rare option) limited slip installed. there was also a tach dash. the dash has several blank covers where i could install emergency flasher switches to run auxilliary lights or whatever. i also want to soften the rear gearing a little when i get a bigger engine (or a lot with that 3.8) so it will be better on the highway. the raider had 15 inch rims that looked like the 14's on my truck....so i could upgrade. maybe stuff bigger brakes and rear disc's in (those drums seize up after a couple months of sitting). i'm sure montero chassis pieces could work. anyway.....gotta fiinish stripping the lesabre down and junk it so i can start working on the pickup. its tough working on cars with no garage and red ants in the driveway!!!!

[capev86]

any recent thoughts on this?