What is the general agreed upon number for the amount of hp the stock shortblock will handle? The reason I'm asking is because I have a mildly built (rods, pistons) 5.9 magnum that, on low boost, layed down 443.7 whp today. I'd like to know what the stock limits are so I can roughly gauge how much to push my engine. Thanks.

 

Unfortunately it's a vague figure... I know a couple of people who are pushing close to 600rwhp on their original blocks, but I know some others who grenaded their setups with just over 300... The block itself will withstand quite a bit, wouldn't worry about it that much - your internals will most likely give way before the block will. The biggest issues you'll face is staying within a/f ratios with the crappy Dodge PCM setups, and keeping those heads seated...

 

your not running the stock shortblock anymore obviously, so is your question how much the block itself will handle?

 

No, the original factory shortblock assembly. Yes, my block is assembled with aftermarket parts, but I was curious about the factory weak links and their common failure points.

Also, in regards to the factory pcm setup, I don't need to worry about it. I'm running a blow-thru carb setup. I don't own a 2nd gen ram, but my engine came out of a 98 ram 2500.