Engine rebuild or Crate motor?

Hello guys!

I have a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9 liter with about 140,000 miles on her. But, she is using a few quarts of oil between changes but does not smoke. She has been absolutely relaible and has never, ever broken down while driving. I've only had to replace the starter once, and technically it didn't start in my driveway.

Well, I could sell her and get another truck, or that 2006 Porsche 911 C4 Cabriolet down the road that just happens to be the same price.

But, alas, common sense is telling me to have the engine rebuilt. My days of working on a car for months while it sits in my garage is long gone. Two kids and a 200lb dog have ruined my social like!

Do people still rebuild engines like they used to?

Seems to me that people are going for the crate motors from the catalogs and the internet nowadays.

Those engines are known for having an intake gasket go bad and draw oil from the lifter valley. If that is the cause of your consumption it is a simple fix. There is a service bulletin out somewhere, I will try and find it to verify that it applies to a '98.

200lb dog

Hey, put a saddle on it and ride it to work. You will save a ton on gas.

Find a low mile 5.7 from a junkyard, quick and cheap.

Jasper
3 yrs 100k warrenty....parts and LABOR

get the premimum warrenty for 125 more and up the warr labor to $85/hr and free towing

its the best bang for the buck and a real quality unit

How is the rest of the truck? Rust? If it is an automatic, beware of putting a rebuilt or crate motor in there without putting money aside for a new trans after it goes. It often happens as the new found power somehow makes you drive a bit harder and the trans can't handle it for too long. The newer Dodge trucks have that 4.7 small v8 which probably has as much Hp as that 360 gas hog. 290 hp 320 trq, not bad for a small v8.

I know 2 people that went the jasper route on thier Dodges one last yr & the other 5 yrs back & have had no problems what-so-ever--these are farmers that work the trucks on a daily basis--no transmission problems (auto) preventive maintenance is the key with all of that--engine, tranny, rear, front pumpkin, transfer case & universals--If the situation arose, I would feel comfortabe with the jasper----my chev. 350 has 210,000 on her & swears by the maintenance concept I also have a 350 motor, tranny, and transfer case covered up in the barn with 40,000 on her I got from a buddies truck that rusted out.I suspect that'll cover my life time.

Here is some reading about 360's drinking oil:

http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2000/09-05-00.htm

http://www.pavementsucks.com/board/thre ... woth-a-360

Based on what I read if you look down through the throttle body and see oil in the intake manifold, the plenum gasket needs to be replaced. If you determine that the gasket is fine and the engine is just consuming oil via the rings, valve guides, etc...I wouldn't break the seal. Add oil as needed (consider stepping it up to 10w40 or 15w40) and keep driving. If the rest of the truck is in nice shape you can always swap in a low mileage engine/transmission from a wrecking yard when the time comes. There are plenty of machine shops in my area that do quality engine rebuilds, but generally a used engine is less expensive.

If you looking for a bone stock replacement engine, a crate motor is probably the better way to go. Gets you warrenties and cost is not much different than rebuilding one.

If you want to build a better than stock motor, it is cheaper to build it yourself.

You might also want to consider doing the throttle body mod while you have it off the engine before it goes on the new one.

Those older TBs are pretty restrictive and there are a few things one can do to get them to breathe a little better.
I've got a '99 Dakota with the 3.9 Magnum that I've been considering the TB mod on myself.

These are all great suggestions and even better information. Still not sure what I will end up doing but at least I'm better informed than I was yesterday.

Thanks for the advice everybody!

If you go for a crate motor, don't go for the lowest price. I have a couple co-workers who had horrible experiences. The motors were no good and the "labor" and other guarantees did not come close to covering the hourly shop charge to pull the new bad motor, ship it back, store the vehicle while waiting for the replacement, install the replacement, and then start all over when the replacement was also bad.

rberq wrote:If you go for a crate motor, don't go for the lowest price. I have a couple co-workers who had horrible experiences. The motors were no good and the "labor" and other guarantees did not come close to covering the hourly shop charge to pull the new bad motor, ship it back, store the vehicle while waiting for the replacement, install the replacement, and then start all over when the replacement was also bad.

thats why the ONLY real answer is Jasper......

as a jasper certified shop, i can tell ya I never had a problem . 20 years...

when i was a guest of Jasper for a weekend, the statistic was...250 engines a month and 2 or less come back. 1 of the 2 was cause of installation error, the other was failed part....

Run the engine until it uses a quart every 10 miles. Then, a crate motor is a no-brainer.

The way I look at it is: do I want a billion parts laying around to get dirt in them while I find the time to take that block down to the machine shop to be cleaned, sandblasted, bored & honed to my new pistons & rings .... which I will have to order, among other many parts ... then truck that whole monstrosity back without getting any more dirt in it .... then paint the block so it doesn't look like a Massachusetts overpass in one winter, wait for the paint to cure without getting bugs & dirt in it,

......... OR ..... go online & "CLICK" -- whole engine appears at my doorstep in a few days.

Like I said .... no-brainer.