I am in the process of building a magnum 5.9l engine for my truck. I am not planning on rebuilding the entire thing. I don't want to touch the block unless needed. So far the cylinders look mint but thats as far as I've gotten. If the bearings and crank all look good should I let them be or put in fresh bearings? Here is a list of what I plan on replacing. Let me know if there are any other things I should do.

Heads. I know new ones are best but for now I'm doing remanufactured(current set has 1 small cracks and 9 of the 12 exhaust bolts broke)

Timing Chain
Camshaft and Springs
Oil Pump
All Gaskets
Plenum
I plan on taking all the lifters apart and cleaning them (good idea or just soak them in a detergent??)
Probably missing a fee things but idk

Any info is appreciated. Thanks

 

If you had a decent running 5.9 engine, I'd recommend the following for your 5.9 engine refresh:

- Replace all of the freeze plugs with deep cup brass freeze plugs (be sure to cleanout the muck and grime in the block behind the freeze plugs to ensure that the block cools properly before installing the new freeze plugs)
- Replace the timing chain with a good double roller chain and gears, along with a timing chain tensioner
- Replace the water pump with a new one
- Replace the oil pump with a new high volume oil pump and pickup
- Replace the intake plenum gasket
- Replace all of the engine gaskets on the motor
- Replace the serpentine belt and tensioner
- Check the harmonic balancer to ensure the rubber is in good shape - if not, replace it

 

Yea that's basically the plan plus a mild camshaft. Should I leave the bearings alone if they look good? What if they are a little worn but the crank is good? Also is the high volume oil pump better then the standard?

 

high volume will help with pressure and I would still have the crank polished with new bearings while you are in there

 

Yea that is probably a solid idea. Can I leave the cam bearings alone if they look ok? I would do them if it didn't mean the whole block had to be transported again but would rather avoid that.

 

See what the cam bearings look like, and go from there.

New piston rings would be a good idea too.

 

I would change out the cam bearings, they are easy to replace. I change them on each of my engine rebuilds. I would also measure the taper on the cylinders to make sure that the cylinders are still straight. Bearings are cheap insurance. I would also check that the heads are in decent shape i.e. no cracks, guides and valves aren't sunk in to far into the head.

 

Cam bearings I would replace, when I rebuilt mine (still doing it) the only bearing that was bad was the one by the firewall I did it without removing the back cap

 

Yea I am taking taking crank to get polished at a machine shop so I may as well just have them also do the cam bearings for me. The heads are gone as 9 of the 12 exhuast bolts broke in them and there is at least 1 craxk in the one. I am going to buy remanufactured ones.

 

Yea I'm hoping the cam bearings look good. If not then maybe I will try myself. Maybe not. But let's hope they look nice. They don't seem terrible to install yourself but I've never done it so idk