I purchased a ’99 B1500 “shortie” with the 3.9L with only
102K on it thinking it would be capable
of towing my 7×12’ single axle landscape
trailer and get “reasonable” fuel mileage.
Well…what a mistake. The damn thing has
never gotten over 15 mpg (empty) and
can’t get out of its own way going downhill
with a tailwind let alone tow my trailer. After
getting what I thought was a good deal for
$1200 on a low mileage very good condition
vehicle I am now into it for somewhere
around $4000. To add salt to the wound I
am now having transmission issues which
I know is going to require a complete
rebuild. Since I now realize that Chrysler
completely blew it on the driveline because
my low gear isn’t low enough and my high
gear isn’t high enough with the lame 3.9 V6
3-speed lockup trans and 3.55 gears my
question is…would it be possible to swap in
a 4-sprrd od trans and, if so, what all would
be involved in the swap? I know it would still
be far from perfect but with the od trans and
a rear end swap to a 3.92 geared Sure-Grip
(which mine doesn’t have) I think it would
be a huge improvement over what I have
now. I should have just bit the bullet and
spent the damn money for a Sprinter like
I wanted to originally instead of trying to
“save money”…ugh!
Dude, wake up and smell the coffee!
The 3.9L van was intended to be an
urban, block-to-block delivery van. Period.
This engine was really no better than the
slant-six and probably weighed 100 lbs.
more. Cut your losses. I’m no great fan of
the M-B Sprinter, just find a decent B-van
with a 46RE and 318 or 360 and all will be
good. Fuel economy won’t be any better,
but it won’t be any worse, and the power
and torque are from another planet.
