My uncle wants to give me his 2001 Dakota which is a base model but only has 65,000 miles on the 4.7l v8 and no air conditioning and I currently have the same year dakota but SLT with the 4.7l v8 with air conditioning but 210.000 miles on mine. I love mine and want the engine with less miles but mine has air which is important to me. Do you know if this is possible? Also, mine has the 16" alloy wheels and his has the 15" steel wheels. Can I move mine over? The interior is a slight downgrade with hand crank windows but the more youthful engine seems like a no brainer. Thoughts? On the air, would I need a new control panel inside as well? Would this be work a dealership might do or do I need to go to a private mechanic? Love my Dodge and except from the paint which has been horrible since about year 2, she is amazing but the younger engine is appealing.
Can I move my air conditioning unit from a 2001 dakota SLT into a base model I am purchasing?
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Everything is swap-able as there is no swap issues(unless they are built in different parts of the model year, then you will have to do some deeper digging into the engine in order to run the engine on your truck).
In order for you to have A/C in a previously not optioned truck, you will have to tear apart the dash in order to get the A/C to work and to get everything else to run like the factory is going to be expensive and the dealer won’t take this on nor will any shop because of costs and risks.
In order for you to have A/C in a previously not optioned truck, you will have to tear apart the dash in order to get the A/C to work and to get everything else to run like the factory is going to be expensive and the dealer won’t take this on nor will any shop because of costs and risks.
Thanks! I was hoping it would not be a huge issue and it would be possible to attache it to the engine and swap out the interior control panel. Wishful thinking I guess. Even though mine looks horrible due to bad paint, the interior is comfortable and I was seeing if I could swap out different parts and try to upgrade the more youthful engined truck. How many miles do these truck engines usually live before they need to be retired? I am almost at 210,000 on mine. Still runs great and a lot of new parts over the years so hard to tell. Maintained the oil and fluids regularly and fixed everything as it has failed. So torn on swapping out vehicles but it makes sense to do so. Was told the other truck needed rear differential work with missing gear teeth currently. Any idea what that costs to repair?
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The short answer is no. There were a lot of changes between the 01 and 02MY vehicles that were deeper than cosmetic. Heat exchangers and accumulator are different. Compressor features changed every year (including oil charge based on accumulator changes). The cooling package and IP controls are different as well. Not to say it couldn't be done, but unless you're well versed in automotive A/C and know someone that remembers all the in and outs of the Dakota systems from that era it would be an astronomic expense to pay to have done. No shop in town would just "swap parts". Personally I think you'd be better off swapping the lower mileage engine into your truck. But I wouldn't do that without at least tearing into the top end and scoping the cylinders to see what shape it's in. It might be worse than your high mileage one.
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