Difference between gen1 v gen3 ecodiesel

[taylor1234]

Hey guys. New to the site here! I did a preliminary search of the forum for discussion on this and couldn’t find any. I recently acquired a 2016 ram ecodiesel in need of a new engine. I am hesitant to swap in a used engine, especially one of the older models. Is there a significant difference between the engine blocks from the 20-22 models, if I was to find one of those for a swap?(I know they are supposed to have been upgraded a bit) otherwise I am figuring on doing a rebuild. Or if there is a thread on this please point me the right direction. Thanks!

 

[1shadowsabre]

You cannot put a 20+ motor in a 2016 RAM w/o MAJOR modifications, as far as I know it has not been successfully done yet.
As far as a rebuild goes it appears parts are very hard to source.

 

[taylor1234]

Thanks. I know parts are hard to find. Got some options to send it out for a rebuild. Apparently some shops can find the parts needed. Got the cab lifted off yesterday. Hope to pull the motor today and dissect to see what went wrong. It is locked up so I’m assuming the typical bottom end failure.

 

[1shadowsabre]

Looks like you have a great shop! I would love to follow your progress, keep is posted on how your project goes....

 

[taylor1234]

Thanks! Got the engine pulled and dropped the pan to take a look. Definitely some carnage down under. Broken rod is jammed between the block and the crank and the bearing is stuck to the crank. Trying to weigh the options now.

 

[taylor1234]

I went the easy route and just swapped in a used engine and trans from a wrecked 2016 model. I made the mistake of assuming the transfer case was the same but the 2016 has an auto 4x4 feature that the 2015 did not have. The 2016 has the 44-44 borg warner case. Forget what the 15 has. Got it at a local transmission shop to diagnose a 4x4 code. They figure it might be cause the Tcm vin doesn’t match the truck vin after the swap. But they have a back door solution to fix that.

I have a 2016 parts truck without engine and transmission/transfer case(for now) if anyone in the southern Maryland region is looking for anything. Also a core form the 2015.