I'm posting this here because 2nd gen Rams have some experience with the V10. I bought a 2003 Dodge 2500 with the V10 not running, as-is. I tinkered with it and got it to run! "But the gauge says no oil pressure!!" my left brain said. "It's probably a dead sender," responded my right brain. Thirty seconds later, the engine abruptly stopped and can't be turned by the starter. "I win!" says my left brain. "WE HAVE A BLOWN ENGINE!! NEITHER OF US WINS!!" shouts my right brain. So, I need guidance. I plan on a COMPLETE engine overhaul. I want this motor to live to see 250,000 miles! Thus follows:

1. Are Hypereutectic pistons good? I assume I will need to bore the block .030" over to get to good metal.

2. Is the 8.5 compression ratio good enough? I don't mind buying 93 octane, as long as it's not being wasted.

3. Any other goodies YOU would throw at it? I've heard about high-ratio rocker arms, forged pistons, etc.

Just so you know, this will be a daily driver. I will use it to haul people, skid-steers, concrete forms, mini-backhoes, rebar, etc. So a balance between power, mileage, and reliability must be struck. So, chime in! Don't be shy....

 

There is no way to tell what it will need until you or a shop tears it down. Crank could be toast among other things. I am not a V10 guy but there are a few here that should chime in soon.

Any idea what a rebuilt V10 costs? Might be the cheaper ezer way to go and get a warranty to boot. What is it with these V10 oil pumps just a bad design me thinks as you are not the first post I have read on this happening to.

 

Quite true, quite true. I will pull the engine in the next few weeks to rebuild it, but I need a plan. Plus, call me weird, but I LOVE rebuilding engines. I work for Advance Auto Parts on the weekends so I can get a crankshaft. The hard part is the cam. I need to know, though, ROUGHLY how much this will cost.

 

Plus, I would like to know what others have done to their V10's...

 

They are not commonly built or even really talked about a lot. There was a guy recently who was nullifying his V10 but he was doing some funky stuff, don't know what happened on the end.

I would think it would cost more then a typical 360/318 rebuild due to not a lot of aftermarket support for the V10.

I'm just guessing but if you do it RIGHT I would say it could easily top 4-5 grand. Depending on much work you do yourself

 

Until you tear into it and find out what failed, it'll be difficult to guess on pricing. Bearings, gaskets and most parts are readily available for rebuilding, or you can find running V10's on ebay/craigslist for ~$1000 or less depending on mileage/condition.

 

You're not going to get all three with a V10 *unless* you consider getting better than 8mpg to be acceptable.

 

Bump compression to around 9:1. Try and keep quench area to a minimum, so you won't be REQUIRED to run 93 octane.

Look for a good RV cam. Something designed to run in the idle to 4800 RPM range. (or a bit higher on top, if you can find one.)

Headers would be good.... if you can shell out the cash for 'em. Parts for the V-10 are both rare, and expensive. (aside from the usual rebuild stuff, gaskets, bearings, etc.)

Programmer to tweak the fuel/ignition curves to match your new parts is going to be pretty much a requirement. (which also tends to bump power. )

The V-10 is notorious for munching up the oil pump. I had thought they had a better design for that by now, but, apparently not..... Get your list together of everything you are going to need, followed by the stuff that you just want. You aren't going to be able to do that until you actually tear down the engine, and find out just how bad things are though. With that information, you can make the determination which route is going to be better for you. Rebuilding what you have, or picking up a long/short block.