Passing 310K on my 2000, 2500 (RWD,ext cab, 8' bed, crank windows and a rubber floor..perfect work truck)
Still runs great, but oil burn has increased (about 1 qt per 800 miles) and a little bit of head gasket coolant loss. I'd prefer to get this done on my calendar and not wait until it blows up- no indication that this is imminent, but I've been astonished as 150k turned to 200k, to 250k, to 300k and still chugging along.
I've never repowered a vehicle before, but I'm considering it for this one. I'm second owner (bought in '04), and being a Florida truck since new and not abused there's no body rust.
The 46RE has been solid, one full rebuild at around 200K and getting some slippage when cold now, going into the shop for band adjustments (and some front end work) so we'll see if that takes care of it.

I keep thinking "better the devil I know", I've wrenched on this truck for the past 20+ years and unlike newer ones, I can actually work on this.

Is there a difference between any of the major players (like Jasper) for rebuilt long blocks? Other suggestions? Ballpark on what the cost would be?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

If you are doing all the labor, then the cost is just the engine, gaskets, new belt, (tensioner?) fluids, and water pump. (most require that for warranty coverage...) I haven't priced 'em out lately, but, we used to use Jasper engines at the shop I used to work at, and we rarely had issues with them.

If you haven't done the plenum fix on your truck yet, going to have to pull it for the engine swap anyway, so, no better time to do it.

 

I'm not sure how long ago that was, I think Jasper quality is declining. We used a lot of Jasper transmission in the shop I worked at, that was over 5 years ago now. I don't recall a return, but maybe they wouldn't return to us for warranty work. O'Reilly's was a good place to purchase remans too, but I'm not sure who actually rebuilds them, maybe they're Jasper

Parts only pricing I would expect at least 5k, I'd imagine there is some dress options, but minimum I'm guessing you'll get pan to heads, maybe options with distributor and intake manifold

 

I swapped out my 5.9 magnum engine several years ago. My truck used to be a snow plow truck and the engine seemed to have taken the brunt of the rust. Pretty much all of the fasteners on the engine were rusted terribly, making any basic repairs a nightmarish ordeal. I ended up swapping the old 5.9 engine out for a used 5.9 engine that I found on our local Craigslist that was supposedly pulled out of a Dakota. Since the bottom ends of the 5.9 engine are pretty stout, I went ahead and took a chance on the engine. I did change the oil pump, water pump and timing chain before I installed in in my truck, but it runs great and I haven't had any issues with it to-date. I did pickup a core 5.9 that I intend to rebuild one of these days (likely as a 408 stroker), but that's down the road...

If desired, you can also check for a used engine out of Facebook Marketplace or car-part.com...

 

I hadn't thought of trying to find a used engine from a wreck...
What was the last year the 5.9 was manufactured?
Engine swap is above my pay grade, so this would be done by my local shop.

 

2003, I think...... May wanna ask your shop where they source their motors from.... (reman....) The advantage there, is it comes with a warranty..... typical one year. Does cost more though.

 

Since you're not a hands-on person and plan to farm out the job, you will likely need the local shop to source the motor. You can also check with local salvage yards to see what their "turn-key" price might be to source the engine from their yard and to have one of their folks perform the remove and replace process. Most salvage yards that do engine installs that I know of here locally provide a warranty, but it's usually pretty short given the possible nature of a used engine. This is why I always change the timing chain (using a new double roller chain & gears), water pump and oil pump (also while checking the oil pan for sludge) at a minimum to increase my odds of success & engine longevity of a used engine.

 

It looks like you've gotten a lot of good advice, I just wanted to add my 2 cents. Depending on your budget, Hughes Engines can build an engine for you and have it delivered to a local shop for installation. They can set you up with an advisor who can walk you through what you're looking to get out of the truck and build the engine accordingly. Also, you can look into local machine shops, I know we have some local ones around here that will do a full tear down and rebuild, granted it takes a while, but it's another option. At the very least, as previously mentioned, make sure you get the plenum fix done! that's cheap and saves you issues down the road, especially after a full rebuild!

 

Is seems Jasper want's a core back if you get a rebuild from them.
"ALL JASPER REMANUFACTURED UNITS have a core and skid charge billed at the time of sale. When the core is returned, a JASPER Associate will determine the amount to be credited back to the customer's account. The core returned must be a like-for-like Make, Model and Type, but not a junkyard core."
How would they know it's not a junk yard or other motor?
You may want to see what the cost will be for a local shop to rebuild one for you and the time frame. I like the rebuild idea, That way you get to choose what parts go into your build.

 

Yes if time an budget allows I would find a local rebuilder, its easier to bang on a desk if you have issues too. I recently saw an issue of a shop have a hard time getting engine warranty from and engine they purchased from the dealership, due to the rebuild being farmed out and the dealer was only a retailer.

For minimal or maybe even less cost you can probably have a better than factory setup.