The 5.9 in my 93' decided to retire today. Spun a bearing as well broke the connecting rod, along with some other damage to the insides of the engine. But with 160,000 HARD miles on her this day was long overdue. I thought about attempting to do a complete overhaul and rebuild BUT I can get my hands on a 5.9 (with the other essential parts, not just the block) with 70k on it out of a wrecked 00 dodge ram for $500, which i think i am going to do as opposed to messing around with a rebuild. No plenum issues with the 00' and it fired right up, sounded good couldnt find any issues even comes with a 1 year warranty. Since the 5.9 in my 93' is SMPI (magnum series) it should be pretty easy to swap in the newer 00 360 correct? Opinions? Im open to other options as well. 408 stroker? <--i wish. Trying to keep it under $1,000 total.

 

i think you might have to use the intake off your current engine so you would most likely still have to repair the plenum if it has not already been done. if your plenum is leaking you may want to invest in a new cat after fixing the plenum.

 

Thanks for the reply wolf,

Yes i intend to use the original intake, wiring harness, etc. from the 93'. Basically using the block, heads, etc. from the 00'. Yank the old and bolt in the newish one. Strange that my 93' never did develope the common plenum leak....

 

it probably is leaking but i think the main thing is how clogged your cat is. the cat on my neighbors truck didn't really get clog until he had about 224,000 miles on it. since you are going to be in the area it would not hurt to spend the $100 and fix it so that there is no future possibility of it failing.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/DODGE-JEEP-AL...#ht_680wt_1270

 

Thanks for the link, I'll check into the plenum more when I start ripping into everything.
As for the cat I might just put on a who new magnaflow system (new cat too), or get rid of the cat all together.

 

North Dakota doesn't have any smog or emissions tests and I can't find any annual inspections requirement. Why do you want to keep or buy an expensive CAT? I wouldn't unless you plan to sell it out of state.

 

I can get one for basically free. Will it throw any codes without the cat? If all will be well without it the new exhaust system is going to be catless.

 

it is hard to say if it will throw a code or not. there are lot of people that have removed the cat and not had a single code thrown but i guess the worst that would happen is you got a light that always stays on till it dies.

 

The newer vehicles have O2 sensors before and after the CAT but ours don't. Since there are no sensors after the CAT I don't see what would tell the computer to throw a code.

 

Seal you are correct, I checked and there is a pre-cat O2 but nothing that will throw a code if the cat is removed. So its gonna get removed. Newer motor is going on next week hopefully, as is a new HD aluminum radiator, new trans cooler, as well as a long list of minor maintenance things.