Ok guys, my ‘09 ram has hit 272k miles and just shy of 8200 hours on the engine. It has been my work truck so some pretty hard use. I’m having several issues from VVT response to low oil pressure to temp which I posted in another thread.

Basically I’m nipping at the heals of a full rebuild which I can do myself but I’m leaning towards doing a remanufactured swap instead due to virtually no low mileage wrecking yard options available and I don’t t want to be in the same position in a year or two . The cost isn’t much different once I add in the machine shop work to check/ polish the crank, heads, etc once I get it pulled, but there is a big difference in down time.

There’s a lot of different options and opinions on where to get one and no one seems to agree. I can go through the usual diy parts places or to someplace like Fraser engines, powertrain Max.

Have any of you done this swap, who did you get the engine from and what was your experience with them.

Is getting one with an mds delete kit already installed a good idea?

Anything else I should consider before ordering and engine?

Any other things I should think of replacing at the same time?

Also, once o do the swap, how do I reset the engine hours counter?

 

You will find that all of the aftermarket reman companies will have their very own horror stories. Also keep in mind, that most of them will want the engine installed by a 'certified shop', or some such, in order to have warranty coverage. (which means, if you install it yourself, and there is an issue, it's on you.....) Some of 'em have good warranties, contingent on that 'professional installer' clause.... some don't. I have used Jasper in the past, but, that's been a while ago now, so, no clue how they are today. (and I was working at a 'professional shop' as well.....)

 

I’ve given this some thought too and I think it’s too much of a gamble. They’ll slither out of the warranty somehow. I’d get a whipped used core and get it machined locally and assemble myself. Maybe a slight cam and eliminate the MDS business. You’ll know it’s done right and the downtime is the same. Probably $1-2k more but less headaches in the long run.