Looking for the real skinny on the magnum heads for my 99 Ram 4x4 quad cab. Bought the truck with a bad motor. Stripped that out and bought another motor that was already removed out of a wrecked truck. They guy told it was good and ran fine and I beleive he was telling me the truth to his knowledge. It was out of 94/95 so I was going to swap the intake anyway with my 99 non EGR Hughes enhanced one. Got in there and the cam looked like trash so into the motor I go since the cam from my original motor was fine. I dropped my original heads off at the shop to get magnafluxed and rebuilt only to find out one had cracks. No big deal I have 2 more. Dropped both of those off to end with a rebuilt set for me and an already inspected head to sell to someone needing it. Then the shop calls to let me know that both of the heads i just dropped off are also bad. He told me he sees it all the time and that the Dodge heads from the 80's on are just really poorly made as they are extremely thin and prone to cracking. I already knew it was a problem from seeing posts on here which is the reason I decided to have the shop do the heads because I was originally planning on just bolting the "running" heads back on. I figured that the heads being a problem meant that probably 40-50 % issue but with 3 out of 4 heads bad along with the shop and folks on here knowing of the problems, i am thinking these heads aren't an issue......they are flat out trash. I can get a reman head for about $270 but before i drop the $$ I wanted to find out what others have found to be the best cost effective route. I am not building a motor for anything other than to be a good reliable daily driver. I don't need killer speed, torque or horsepower. Reliability at a reasonable price is my sole goal on this one. I appreciate any good advice.

 

The heads on these motors are known to crack due to very thin casting. Also another known issue is the leaking plenum pan gasket under the intake. It's known to plug the cat causing #8 cylinder to overheat and crack. Make sure to replace the plenum pan with an aluminum one and a new gasket while you are in there.

Most the guys on here are replacing with the new thicker casting from Odessa Clearwater Cylinder head in Clearwater, FL. They are cheap and much better than a reman job. Get new casting from Odessa on Ebay, thicker casting and better quality, brand new. Only $279ea free shipping. They are where I bought my heads from.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-FITS-DODGE-JEEP-RAM-DURANGO-318-360-5-2-5-9-MAGNUM-CYLINDER-HEAD-1992-2004-/151031542852?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item232a2e7444&vxp=mtr

 

I couldn't get up with Odessa Cylinder but I did come across this guy - Ramey's Automotive Machine Service also called Ram's Cylinder Heads - http://ramscyl.com/chrysler%20iron.htm out of St. Louis, MO. He was super nice to talk to and very knowledgeable. They see the new heads (new thicker casting not reman) for $250 per head and what is nice is that if you buy 2 heads, the 2nd one ships free. Also this is a complete head, head, valves, springs ready to bolt on. I know Rock Auto sells a new head for $208 + shipping but that is a bare head so you still have to either get new valves and springs or have a valve job done with your old stuff. Just good info I think.

 

Site says 325 per head?

 

They are a poor design. One of my heads cracked and caused a misfire before the truck even hit 90k miles. Unacceptable in terms of quality, but there isn't much we can do except fix them as they fail or do it when the engine is apart.

If you want reliability, buy the aftermarket thicker casting heads and be done with it. That, plus the aftermarket plenum plate should provide many years of trouble-free operation from your rebuilt engine.