Hey guys, new to the forum. I'm kinda dealing with a situation and can't seem to find direct answers or anybody else that's done the same.

so I have currently a 98 5.2l 4x4, and it picked up some SERVERE engine knock the last time I took it out, bad enough to where I'm pretty leery to fix it, already have to tear it apart anyway for head gaskets, and it's basically been sitting until I've had the funding. Well scrolling through marketplace the other day I found somebody selling the block for a 5.9, with pistons and crank already installed, for only 250. This has new nervous but could be great if there's nothing wrong with it.

this has me nervous but also excited, because if I can turn the 5.2 into a 5.9, that would be awesome. I've found most forums say that pretty much everything on the engines is plug and play between, heads, belts, etc, aside from needing a new ECM, is this true? Also if I'm gonna go this far I'd like to put a cam in it, which I haven't done as much looking into yet because I want to know if this is even possible first. Any recommendations there? My goal has been to get the truck pushing at least 300 horses since I've got it, not all high end though, I like her torquey. Also from my understanding the transmission is plug and
play as well?

thanks in advance!

 

Pretty much everything for your engine will bolt to the 5.9 block. Just be sure and use all of your sensors as well. (I don't think you get a choice there though, the short block likely doesn't come with ANY.) You will need the correct tune for the 5.9 though..... Don't have to replace the PCM, just write new software to it. Of course, that requires specialized equipment.... If you wanna do other stuff at the same time, cam, maybe better heads, (the stockers are VERY prone to cracking, if you are doing headgaskets, then HIGHLY likely yours are cracked... I.E. junk....) you will need a custom tune..... Hemifever and Flyin' Ryan both provide that service. (check out their websites for pricing and such.) 250 for the short block is cheap. I would expect that one has some miles on it though.... so, you will likely have to tear it down once you get it anyway. (you don't get one with ANY new parts for that price....) Look forward to doing at least rings, bearings, and oil pump. Your current trans will work just fine. (assuming that it currently 'works fine'. )

To meet your goals..... Stick with the kegger intake (stock), go with some EQ Monster Magnum heads (1.94 intake valves please), an "RV" cam. (something designed for low-end grunt), headers (long tubes are best for what you have in mind, small tubes, 1 5/8ths please.) If you need to replace pistons, bump compression ratio a bit as well. (smaller chambers in the heads will do that as well, don't get to weird though. Stick with around 9:1..... these engines don't have knock sensors.....) and a good custom tune, and you will have a fun stump-puller.

Moving this to 2nd gen Ram section for ya. Welcome to DF!

 

Yes, the automatic transmission that is used with the 5.2/5.9 engines is plug & play (46RE), however, you will need an externally balanced flex plate that's used on 5.9 engines. The 5.9 flex plate should have weights on it. The torque converter shouldn't have any weights on it.

Also, please note that the harmonic balancer and the oil pan/oil pan gasket are specific for the 5.9/360 engines.
If you rebuild the 5.9 short block, please be sure to install a new double roller timing chain and gears along with a high volume oil pump.

 

Thank you guys for the response, when I picked up the engine the guy said he had just finished rebuilding it then got into a motorcycle accident, so the block sat outside for a while, which is made obvious by the film of rust over the whole engine. I am going to start tearing it apart soon, completely as i imagine everything will need resurfaced. I was hoping to keep this somewhat within a small budget, but i guess that's just the way things go. I really appreciate the suggestions for the heads/ intake/ timing chain suggestion. this is my first time doing an engine so I've been trying to watch videos and whatnot on all the specifics, so you'll have to pardon me if I ask some dumb questions.

I pretty much know that I'm gonna take it apart and send the block to a machine shop to get it all resurfaced, does any boring at all require new pistons or is it boring above 0.010 or something to that degree? Do machine shops normally do crankshafts as well? what all exactly do I send out and what to I replace? i know bearings, piston rings, and anything else that gets rubbed makes sense. Do I need to recondition the connecting rods or what would make that judgement?

also does anyone have any specific recommendations for a moderately torquey camshafts? I want it to still be somewhat of a reliable driver as I want to turn the truck into a work vehicle for myself, i just want it to have more ***** to do whatever it may need to do.

if anyone knows any other threads or videos that I have missed about this stuff I'm more than appreciative of all suggestions.

Thank you all much!

 

Boring will require new pistons & rings. You might want to take the block, heads and crankshaft to the machine shop of your choice to have them checked out so that you will know what size pistons, rings, main & rod bearings you'll need to purchase. This assumes that the machine shop will allow you to supply the parts to them if you're going to have them assemble the motor once the machine work is done. If you're just having the machine shop do the machine work only and you plan to assemble things, then there should be no issue with you supplying your own engine parts.

As for camshafts, that motor has a hydraulic roller camshaft in it. You can look at high performance replacement 5.9 magnum camshafts from Comp Cams (or other performance camshaft shops - Hughes Engines sells several) or have the camshaft you have reground with a performance profile from one of the specialty camshaft shops that weld them up and regrind them. I assume that you want to keep this 5.9 magnum engine running on regular gas with the stock kegger intake manifold and the stock PCM tune, so you will have to factor these considerations into your camshaft choice.

 

Would it be worth it to put another intake manifold on it? I was looking at this one https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pfs-55025/make/dodge ; if i have to put a new PCM tune on it because its going from a 5.2 to the 5.9 anyway, I'm thinking of just pulling the trigger (depending on total cost) for that intake as well, or would it be better to spend that money elsewhere? Putting the new cam in will require a tune regardless i thought?

 

That's a carb manifold. No provisions for injectors.

 

If you're trying to keep the low end torque, you might want to consider keeping the stock kegger intake. This bolt-on intake is readily available and will work with the 5.9 magnum fuel injection setup - https://hughesengines.com/products/h...p-kit-hug-5409 - the M1 intake that's made for use with the 5.2/5.9 magnum fuel injected motors is no longer made by Mopar Performance and can only be found used at sky high prices.

As for the PCM, you could pickup a good used PCM module off a 1998 Ram 1500 5.9 magnum 4x4 truck (check out car-part.com). Depending upon the cam chosen, some will work fine with the stock PCM and no additional tuning. You will need to talk with the cam retailers/regrinders regarding your choices. When looking for a replacement cam, keep in mind that you want a cam for the 5.9 magnum (hydraulic roller). It's easy to be confused with 360 LA engine (early version of the current 5.9/360 magnum engine) cam choices when looking at web sites.

 

thank you, I didn't realize that was a carb intake, which is quite a popular mod from what I've gathered. does anybody have any specific recommendations for good cams that improve torque/ power?

 

Also definitely looking to put shortys/ maybe a whole exhaust on it, right now its cut after the cat, might find a high flow to put on and make a pipe from there... any thoughts or suggestions there?