I DID get a little good news today though. My fleet mechanic will replace the engine for $3,000 with a used one, or $4,000 for a remanufactured one.

 

Where are you located? I have a really strong running 4.7L from a 2007 I can sell.

 

Best thing to ask yourself.

Are you planning on keeping the truck for a few more years?

If you are still in love with it, I'd drop the reman'd engine in. As long as it has a warranty. $4k isn't too bad a price, installed. Still a good chunk of change, BUT! if your mech is good and takes the time to get it all done up correctly... Not too bad a deal.

Just dropped a reman'd 351w in a neighbors E-350. Long block alone was $2700. At least yours isn't in a stinkin' VAN!! ROFL.. Gads what a pain...

 

I'll second the remanufactured engine if you're keeping the truck. Plus your fleet mechanic can always look into any issues after the install.

 

Not ragging on you, specifically, but people have to realize that when red lights light up on the dash - especially more than one, stop, STOP NOW!


Four-way flashers and pull off, don't look for an exit, don't pull off on a side road! STOP!


I've told this story before. A friend ran over something on the highway in her SAAB. Oil light and engine light came on, so she drove to the dealership - "it was right there at the exit". She waited 2 months for an engine to arrive from Sweden, when she could have just had a new oil pain installed.

 

I blew a rad hose once, pulled over and shut it down immediately. Car over heated anyway and was never the same. In retrospect, I probably should have killed the engine and let it coast as long as I could. Point is, in that situation it can be difficult to do the right thing, even if you know what your doing. That does suck. Break downs are opportunities for upgrades though! Are you v8? Go with a 5.7; wont be much more. Good luck.

 

Alright. Enough about lights and gauges.. Especially as you are assuming they lit before damage had been done. (These are Dodge trucks after all) Not to mention, there are a good number of highways where waiting for any assistance can take FOREVER.

Dad almost destroyed the engine in our Royal Monico back in the early 80s. Way he put it, there was no way he was leaving his wife and kids on the side of the highway.
A/C compressor had locked up and took out the fan belts.

 

An engine is never truly "blown" until theres a hole in the block or some other structural damage to the block itself. Any other component in most cases can be changed out with something new. So unless you melted the pistons to the block chances are you can go back to normal. Be it new bearings or rods or rings or whatever.

the question you need to ask yourself is would you rather tear it all apart and continue to find small things that need replacing and let the bill add up or just get a reman and swap over all your known good parts and accessories.

and also as suggested. Depending how keen you are on aftermarket stuff. A hemi wouldnt be very much more to put in but the benefits would be well worth it. I can only hope my 4.7 kicks the bucket so I have an excuse to install a real engine.

 

Replying to everything in one reply -
Yah, I know, I should have instantly pulled over, but it was a little weird the way that it was happening.
Damage is done.
My mechanic is picking it up tomorrow. Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll find that the newer engine isn't needed - fingers are crossed.
5.7L - Can I really just drop that in? Won't the computer or anything else need to be changed out? I really have no clue.
What advantage would the 5.7 give me?

By the way, I REALLY appreciate all the advice and comments, not just from this thread but from others also that I've asked over the years.

 

A 5.7 does to you what a tent does to a bum....its just good.

more aftermarket support. More plentiful parts. More power potential (if in the future your into that kind of thing)

not sure on the details of the swap but theres a writeup or 2 on it....worth it in my book.