There are many differences. The biggest one I can think of is that the 03 has coil on plug (COP) and the 96-98 series has twin coil packs for each side.
Maxboost50 said:
What is the difference between the 96-98, and 03 ignition systems? Could the 03 system work on the 98, say to clean up the engine bay?
Hmm, I'm sure you'd need the items you've asked about. You may also need the newer heads to support COP; I'm not sure. I have not seen the 98 motor up close and personal. I have seen a lot of my 99 which is very similar to the 03 (and exactly like the 01).
You would also need a new ECU which makes things complicated.
Maxboost50 said:
I figured that, but what would it take to swap to the 98 motor? Different valve covers? Engine wiring harness? BTW, Thanks for the reply.
COP should work on any mod motor, the only thing that wouldn't cross over is the coil covers. If you look closely they have different bolt locations, 96-98 on four corners and 99+ has them two across from one another. Hope this helps. Valve covers shouldn't matter....SHOULDn't being the key word!