I am taking a '97 E350 Club Wagon body and transplanting it on to a '99 E350 Cargo chassis. Both vans have 6.8L 20V non-PI engines. Are the ECMs the same or do I need to worry about swapping them out? I know that the part numbers are different for the different years, but are they really different? Are there other differences in the engine sensors or the program that will make a difference in how it runs? What else do I need to worry about here? Thanks.

 

While there are some minor calibration changes between the years, the PCM hardware is the same between 1997 and 1999. They all used the MTC-101 PCM hardware, and as such means that they are all compatible with the wiring harnesses. I would continue to use the PCM for the vehicle in which you are installing the engine, NOT from the vehicle in which the engine was pulled from. This way you avoid any possible conflicts with communications with other control modules such as Instrument Cluster or ABS. Other than that, you shouldn't have any concerns.

Good luck on the swap!