Hey guys,
I need some help, i own a 2003 dodge ram 2500 5.7 liter hemi. it has bad crank bearings and a worn crank. do you recommend a complete engine over haul? or replace the crank and the bearings with oversized bearings. im looking for cost efficient repairs here. can anyone recommend where to find these parts and a how-to for the repairs? any help is greatly appreciated

 

I suppose you could replace the crank, crank journal bearings and the rod journal bearings, but that's alot of work to have an old and likely worn top end.
Cost efficient now, could mean more money in the end! If you have worn journals there is metal material floating around inside causing wear in other areas, so you would really want to inspect the cylinder sleeves for damage/wear. I really doubt you can slide the crank in from underneath without a complete disassemble anyways so you'll end up taking out the engine and heads off to replace the crank as the pistons need to be inserted from the head side.
Used low mileage Hemi engines are fairly cheap on Ebay. You cannot use the Durango engines as they use a diff crank sprocket. Yes they are cheaper, but that's why.
Labor/parts/machining will cost more to fix your current damaged engine IMO than buying a good working low mileage used one.

 

Advanced auto has Crate engines for 2600 with a 600 engine core charge, the cheapest I've found on eBay is 2975.