questions/upgrades to the 3.9magnum
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
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From: Knoxville, TN
The heads will be worse and they won't work on your motor, magnum motor is setup for magnum heads, anythings pre-92' will be LA series and not work.
Exhuast manifolds if you want the best stock performance are 92-93 only.
And a V8 swap can actually be a great deal cheaper than rebuilding that boat anchor, you will also see better highway mileage out of the V8 (go figure) or atleast thats what the numbers have all said on here.
Exhuast manifolds if you want the best stock performance are 92-93 only.
And a V8 swap can actually be a great deal cheaper than rebuilding that boat anchor, you will also see better highway mileage out of the V8 (go figure) or atleast thats what the numbers have all said on here.
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Joined: Jun 2013
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everyone i told that too said the same after the first month i bought more then a year ago. knock on wood but the truck is a monster
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Joined: Oct 2012
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From: Near La Crosse, WI
At 197k, my '93 3.9l timing cover gasket started to leak coolant. I got lazy and let my local shop change it. Glad I did. They also ended up putting on a new belt, belt tensioner (pretty common for these to go out) a water pump and as long as they were in there, a new timing chain. The new chain made a huge difference, the engine ran like new. If your truck is anywhere close to 200k, consider a timing chain, its probably overdue.
Last edited by vhinze; Jun 5, 2013 at 09:11 PM.
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Joined: Apr 2013
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From: Western N.Y.
I bought my 94 for $200 and put about that much into it to get it road ready. I drive it daily now and it's been great! I would rather drive the truck over my 04 grand prix.
From what I've heard from just about every mechanic and anyone who ever owned one of these V-6 motors they're basically bulletproof. Sure they may not be the greatest on gas but if it'll give me trouble free driving I will be happy with it.
From what I've heard from just about every mechanic and anyone who ever owned one of these V-6 motors they're basically bulletproof. Sure they may not be the greatest on gas but if it'll give me trouble free driving I will be happy with it.
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this reply intrigues me the most because i got burps when pulling out in first and sometimes 2nd gear, i put my foot down and the power is just not there almost like running on 4cylniders or less. i also notice disapearring coolant. so on a scale of 1-10 how much of a pain is it to do heads on these and how much is it going to affect my wallet
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Joined: Dec 2011
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From: Knoxville, TN
depends where you find heads, and what is done to them or what they are made of. Hughes Engines sells the Iron Ram heads for the V8 for $800 assembled and made of cast iron so no cracking, not sure if they got the 6 heads or not like that
And heads can be a total pain, have to remove the whole top end to get them off.
And heads can be a total pain, have to remove the whole top end to get them off.
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depends where you find heads, and what is done to them or what they are made of. Hughes Engines sells the Iron Ram heads for the V8 for $800 assembled and made of cast iron so no cracking, not sure if they got the 6 heads or not like that
And heads can be a total pain, have to remove the whole top end to get them off.
And heads can be a total pain, have to remove the whole top end to get them off.
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i did consider a v8 swap heavily but this is my only vehicle and i commute for what and i can risk not being able to work, that and it seems too costly. i love my truck and would love to put a v8 in it but from what i read its almost always cheaper to just buy one witha v8.
im going to look into the rockers though i didnt hear about them. i read somewhere if you take 3.9 stock headers off a 89-92?93?? they allow more airflow so im going to pick up a pair this weekend if all goes well
im going to look into the rockers though i didnt hear about them. i read somewhere if you take 3.9 stock headers off a 89-92?93?? they allow more airflow so im going to pick up a pair this weekend if all goes well
why wouldn't it work? all you really need is a motor, pcm, and some wires. done. can be done in under a day.
