I've always been one to follow the old rule, "There's no replacement for displacement".

My Dakota has a 5.9L out of a 94 ram, and somebody is telling me that i should have gone with a 5.2L instead. He is telling me that the 5.2 has forged internals and the 5.9 has cast internals. Is he right?

I assumed he was talking out of his ***, because i know they're all based off the same design. But now i'm starting to wonder if he's actually right. I tried searching all around, but i didn't make it very far.

 

So far as I know, from the factory, the truck V-8's had all cast internals. Not that it really matters, as the bottom end on these engines were basically indestructible anyway. It's the heads that really suck.

 

That's what i figured. haha.

 

There is one interesting difference regarding the manufacturing of 5.2/5.9 internals. The 5.2 is internally balanced. The is 5.9 externally balanced.

 

Some of the earlier pre-1970 318 (5.2) motors had steel cranks in them - primarily motors destined for trucks.