I bought this truck knowing that it was gonna need some work.... If you crawl under, or for that matter open the hood its easy to see that the motor looks more like a old oil well pump, than a 360 magnum. The timing chain cover is leaking coolant and oil, I cant even see where the front of the intake manifold starts, the rear main, oil pan, and valve covers are all leaking....

The truck has 150k on it, the interior is in perfect shape, the tranny was recently rebuilt, neither axles are leaking and appear to be fine, the transfer case dosent have a leak anywhere, and the body is in good shape, less a few good old dodge primer spots starting to show on the roof and passenger door.

The truck drives great, still has plenty of power, and is just a good truck. I just dont know where to start on this thing. The motor looks just down right sorry, even after blasting it at a local car wash. What are some opininons, if the exterior looks the way it does then do I really want to know what the inside looks like?

Should I yank it and rebuild it? Have it replaced with a remanufactured motor? Or fix all these oil and coolant leaks and risk having engine problems down the road? HELP PLEASE!!!!!

 

Really depends on your time and budget. A master gasket set costs about $100.00, a master rebuild kit costs about $500.00 and a new motor could go from $1100 to what ever your mind wants to go. If it runs good and there is no sign of it burning oil, and there is no sign of water in the oil, I would just replace gaskets. If it sat real long before you bought it the seals could have dried out and that is why it leaks so bad. The rear main you will either have to drop the transmsion or pull the motor.360's are a tough motorand if it seems to run fine and it is just a daily driver than what the heck. However if yougot the time and you want to make it special doing a total rebuild won't hurt.But spend the money there have it machined bore it out us R/T heads etc. Drivr it like you stole it1

 

I rebuilt my 5.2L for under $1,800 but that included new, bare heads, a 3-core brass radiator, and a Fastman throttle body. I say tear it down, make a list, get the crank, rods, cam, and pistons checked, cleaned, and determined it reusable. I bet you could rebuild it for $1,500 or so reusing a lot of the old parts and not having to bore it out. New gaskets, timing chain, etc will all work wonders.

 

If you don't have the money to drop a new engine or rebuild just keep your oil and coolant topped up. By cracking the motor open you may find more problems or damage it further. I would drive it and save up until it dies or if your MPG starts to go down considerably then buy a low mileage 360 from a junkyard (usually includes warranty). You'd be surprised how long those V8 can last even with a lot of wear'n'tear.

 

id wait till the motor goes on you and in the mean time save some $$$ (if you need to) and do alot of research and have a plan in place so youll be ready

or just yank it.. punch it out 30 over and do a wicked build up

its a tough call.. like said above..if its not burning anything and just leaking a little here and there..then why monkey with it.. or if it really bothers you that bad.. i bet it would hurt to do a total rebuild.. since the tranny was just rebuilt.. all your gonna do as add life to the motor..

 

Fix what ever easy problems/leaks you have, keep oil in it and drive it untill the motor quits and in the mean time find a wrecked late model dodge with a new hemiyou can take out of it to putin your truck.

 

Hmmmm Hemi does have a nice sound to it, but....$$$$$$$.....

I wish that I wasnt soo **** when it comes to oil/coolant leaks, but I am. I called around just to see where a new motor would cost and I got anywhere from 1100.00 to 2000.00 bucks. 1000.00 being a rebuilt, and 2000.00 being a remanufactured motor with installation.

I have a feeling that both the 1100 and 2000 are probably going to be junk... I think that I wont be satisfied unless I know that I did the grunt of the work and it was done right. For 2000 bucks with installation, I have a feeling that theres gonna be some short cuts and crappily parts installed, this guy even said that the price included new tune up components too.

I have another car to drive and I dont have any construction jobs at the moment so I could spair the truck for a few... Now funds on the other hand....

VWandDodgewhen you did your motor what did just the machining cost to have done? I live in the greater Denver metro area and I dont have a clue as to what machine/engine shops are worth a darn, or what rates are like in this area, so any one who lives in the area that might have a idea Id like to know.I like the truck as it is, Im not looking to make a racer out of it but a little more grunt and power would be nice. I am more worried about reliability, and longetivity.

Ive nevertore down a motor that far so I guess that Im also a little apprehensive as to how difficult itmight be. Id like to just do it my self withgoodparts and know that short cuts werenot taken. I wonder if its even possible to have a rebuild done myself for under 2k. If thats not so far out ofrange,with some help from theyouguys online, and a good machine shop Ill yank it tomarrow!

Let me know what ya think if this is do able.

 

I live in Oklahoma, so the rates are a lot cheaper. I am well aware of what costs in the Denver area are, as my sister moved in with me from Denver last September. My engine rebuild was my first and I learned a lot. I pulled the engine, labeled every nut and bolts for location, and dismantled everything but the cam/crank from the engine. Then, I hauled everything into the shop and let them take over. They washed the block and dismantled everything, cleaned, and checked for tolerance. I had them shortblock it, which means installing the rings, pistons, mains, cam bearnings, and installing the cam, crank, rods, and pistons. Since I had new heads, they built up my new heads after I polished out the ports. I hauled everything home and used the Dodge Magnum rebuild manual I bought from Amazon to reassemble everything. If you read my engine threads, you'll see what pieces and parts I replaced (water pump, high volume oil pump) and what I went through during installation. I did it because I wanted to know what went where and would know who to blame if something went wrong. There is no greater joy than reassembling your own engine and firing it up for the first time. If you can afford to have your truck down for a while, I highly recommend getting the Magnum Rebuild book, studying it, and rebuilding your engine.

 

VWandDodgethanks for all the advice, I ve looked over your previous threads in the searches and they are good to know stuff. I have the coolant leak fixed for the most part I hope. I think Ill just save and wait for a doner to come along and start the process that way.

I wish I knew a good shop for the machine process that you had done, what are some good tips as far as locating a rep. shop? Id like to go the exact same route as you did, Ill be patient and see were that gets me.

I have a Mopar "STREET TRUCKS" and the Mopar "MAGNUM ENGINES SECOND EDITION" is one of these the book that you suggest to buy?