hi i just bought a 94 ram with a 5.9 for 700 bucks and needless to say i got what i paid for. The guy i bought it from rebuilt the engine himself and as it turns out he aint the best mechanic the seat had 3 bolts holding in the seats he overtightend the bolts on the grill and broke all of the plastic and the best part is he left out a bolt in the water pump so it leaked bad that caused it to overheat and the head gasket went and thats gunna run about 800 to get it fixed but i found a running 440 for 500 bucks so i was wondering if it would be cheaper to just get the 440 and swap them out but i dont even know if itll fit ive heard of it bein done im in a military school and money is tighter than a tube top on rosie odonell and i could pay the 800 but if itll be in the same ball park as the swap id rather do that id appriciate any help thnx

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I'm pretty sure with something as large as a 440 you're going to need a different transmission. But I could be mistaken, I'll let some of the other guys here answer that one.

 

Well the tabs on the grilll just break from wear and tear, not overtightening. You will be able to get a new bolt for the water pump easy.

If these are your only problems I think you got a deal for 700. Even with the 800 head gasket, you are still out only 1500! If your door are not rotted you could probably sell them for 300 each!

 

how many miles on it.if not many fix the 5.9 plenty of mods for it.

 

Yeah, I think you come out pretty good, myself... The truck looks pretty straight and worth $700. I'd say you'd be better off to get the head gasket fixed...like jason.w said, I don't know if the tranny would hold for very long with that 440. These trannies suck and have a hard enough time with the 360. Give us more info:

How many miles?
How does the tranny act?
Any other issues?

If that head gasket is the only big issue, drop the $800 and consider yourself on the winning end of a good deal. If this guy is as shady as he seems to be, the first things I would do are a tune-up and oil change. After the head gasket fix.

 

Hell I paid $2500 for mine a year ago and it doesn't look that hot and I had to fly to Boston to get it and drive 600 miles back and then had to drop another $1500 into it LOL! But blue book on it then was right around 4g so I took it all in stride, these trucks are neither an easy find nor cheap thou mine is a d2500 3/4 ton slt laramie roadmaster edition.

I had to replace a ton of stuff to get everything right, I did most myself so all that $1500 was mostly parts and like I said it doesn't look so good because it was and is a work truck, but again in Fair condition that was the blue book value (and everything works now lol).

Without checking up on this I'd say if yours is a 1500 1/2 ton it's still likely blue booked at $1500 so $700 + $800 you're in the ballpark, most vehicles are well over priced and you likely won't ever find a vehicle for less than blue book so I'd concur that you did pretty good.

I wouldn't stick another engine in it unless a mechanic can tell you the 360 is shot beyond just the head gasket, most decent engines run more like $3000 rebuilt... Actually I think that's still way too low, more like 4 or 6 thousand but I'm not sure... But what I do know is I dare say that 440 is just more of the same, don't get yourself further into this mess man, pay the $800 and then buy a repair manual for it and start learning how to DIY to save money, and good luck to you.

 

Too bad it wasn't a QC, I would take those doors for $275! LOL
he could also sell those rims, they look good.
Hell, he could part out that truck and make more $$. Sell the rear end, the transfer case, and the body looks like its in good shape.

you could walk away from that truck with $1000 in your pocket after making up your $800.

 

the body of the truck has 250k but the motor was supposedly rebuilt about 40k miles ago the tranny shifts fine i changed the fluid on it and put in a new filter and that whole nine this is the first dodge ive owned im used to workin on chevys so i dont know really where i should start on a 360 other than intake and exhaust stuff and also it was wrecked on the drivers side its not bad but the sheet metal is rolled in the floor pans are ok and the door still shuts fine can someone plz tell me what i need to put a new rocker panel in this guy instead of just replacing the whole panel he tried to cut out the middle 6 inches with what looks like a hacksaw are there any wires running thru there that i should check also i replaced the bolt that was missing and it still leaks but not as bad so im just gunna pull the water pump and pray that it aint cracked or nuthin

 

i agree with the other posts i would rather change the head gasket and do a tune up bfore the motor swap the tranny most likely wont hold up to the power and youll have more problem on hand you got a good deal even with the minor problems you have thats par for the course you never know what shadetree mechanics will do to keep a vehicle runnin just to dump it off on some poor soul but good luck were all here and pretty mechanically inclined somemore than others but well try to figure **** out....j

 

thnx i appriciate it but does anyone know a website where i could find cheap parts craigslist doesnt have much for mopars down here