Firsthand Tips from a facebook group

This is what I did/learned while doing a G56 swap on a 4th-gen Mega Cab Laramie. Everyone asks what it costs to do a swap, and this is by far the cheapest way to do it. It’s definitely not the easiest as there is a lot of hard work involved. It may be better for some to just pay $10-15,000 to a shop to get it done, but this is what worked for me.

Dissecting the Donor 

I bought a whole running/driving donor truck: a 2007 Ram 2500 6.7 4×4 with a freshly rebuilt G56 AD and dual disc SB clutch and hydraulics for $6,500. This gave me every single part I needed except for the steering column surround, which I bought on eBay for $53 shipped. First, I stripped the donor truck of everything and sold off all the parts I wouldn’t need.

At this point, I had sold 95% of the parts, made back $7,800, and still had roughly $1,000-1,500 worth of parts left to sell. This paid for the swap and any other little parts I ended up buying, although some are unnecessary for just doing the swap:

• New clutch and brake pedal pads:                     $12
• Case of Amsoil synchromesh fluid:                     $238
• RTV:                                                                     $13
• TDS PTO cover:                                                   $100
• Transmission temperature gauge:                      $40
• 718 Heim joint:                                                   $35
• Weld-in bungs:                                                   $25
• Flap discs:                                                           $14
• Zip discs:                                                             $5
• Paint:                                                                   $25
• Transmission jack:                                               $235
• Zip ties:                                                               $5
• 4-inch dryer hose:                                               $10
• Wiring connectors:                                              $5
• Carrier bearing:                                                   $60

I sold off my 5-inch diameter one-piece aluminum rear driveshaft ($650) since it was 2 inches too long and went back to my original two-piece steel shaft that I cut down 2 inches myself to make it fit.

I used the power pedal assembly out of the 3rd-gen, which is a direct fit into the 4th-gen. There are three wires to power the pedals, two that go to 12v, and one ground. It’s pretty simple to wire up. You can even temp power them and just adjust to where you need them if you want. I installed the pedals while it was still an automatic so there was one less thing to do and minimize downtime.

Getting Rid of the Problem 

Pulling the 68RFE is pretty straightforward, as is removing the flexplate and trans adapter from the block. I reused the trans adapter, flywheel, and clutch from the donor truck without any issues. This is a good time to replace your rear main seal if you need to, but I didn’t need to since the engine only had roughly 40,000 miles on it.

Cutting into the Cab 

You’ll want to cut the hole for the shifter in the floor before stabbing the G56. I drilled a bunch of holes from up top, popped out the sheetmetal, and then used a flap disc to clean up the edges and smooth it all out. This let me only sling sparks down through the hole and not shower the inside of my cab. There is more than one way to do it, but this worked for me. I chose to clean up the G56 and the transfer case and paint it before installing. This is not necessary, but it definitely makes it look better. Now it’s the Golden56. I left the transfer case on the back of the G56 and installed it as a whole unit, which Isn’t the easiest but it saves some time.

Most of the swap is pretty straightforward, so if you can swap a clutch, then you can do the swap. Wiring info is all over in this group (Cummins Forum, Facebook). Grounding one pin from the auto harness is all it takes to get the truck to start. The hardest/most time-consuming part is building a remote shifter if you want to keep the business console.

I used some factory holes already in the floor to mount the base for the remote shifter. One is threaded already, and the other just needed a rivet nut installed to match the other hole. It lines up close to the middle of the “cubby” hole in the console, which is where my shifter comes up from.

I had all the parts in my scrap-metal bin and some leftover Heim joints and weld-in bungs from other projects that worked for the remote shifter. There are lots of different ways to do the shifter, but this worked for me.

I had to cut out the rear air duct to make the shifter work and replace it with some 4-inch dryer vent ducting. Roughly 4 feet will work. A little foil tape and some zip ties, and it’ll all clear nicely. I chose to use up some leftover Killmat inside the console to help deaden some noise. This is not necessary but every little bit helps.

The Expensive Part Isn’t a Hard Part! 

The most expensive part of the whole swap for me was getting new tuning. I was hoping to reuse my Mini Maxx tuner to flash the computer with a manual file, but it will not work for a 2010-2012 Ram like it does on an 07.5-09. This tuning cost $1,200.

This took care of the 4-lo issue that everyone has with the electric-shift P273. The truck is drive-able without tuning, but it will not boost right and will be in limp mode until the tuning is fixed. I drove two hours like this to get it tuned. Not fun, but doable.

You could also ship off your computer to a company called ARES in California, and it will VIN  program it to be a manual for $100 plus shipping.

I didn’t want to risk losing my computer in the mail, and I also figured getting new tuning couldn’t hurt since the Mini Maxx stuff is pretty outdated nowadays.

Worth the Work

This truck drives completely differently now. I’m averaging about 1-2 mpg better than before with the 68RFE, but I didn’t do the swap for mileage.

I pull a 44-foot 5th wheel all over the US and really wanted the low 1st gear for getting the load moving, especially when starting off up an incline and the ability to not have to worry as much about the transmission getting too hot. (I’ll be adding an oil cooler with a pump soon enough once I establish a baseline temp without one.)

I’m sure I’m forgetting some things but this is how I did the G56 swap and it gives an idea on how cheap it can be done if you find the right donor truck.

---

EDITOR’S NOTE: We found this AWESOME post by Will on the Cummins forum Facebook page, and I thought it was such a great writeup that this dude deserved to have his experience immortalized in print! Thanks Will! —Tucker