Hi all, just wanted to get some input on this.
I currently have a 1989 Ram 350 1 ton van RV conversion. 318LA stock EFI
She is a bit on the heavy side and thus the 318LA does not haul it along very well.
Has a 4sp OD with lockup transmission - A500 aka 42RH that has been recently rebuilt and is doing very well.
Now obviously I don't race this thing, I just set the cruise and relax...
as it is it really struggles on steep hills, I had to hold it in 1st on a hill recently and crawl for several min...
on the open hwy its always dropping out of 4th on the mildest slope just to hold 95kph and frankly it cant, its down to less than 75kph on cruise often...
It runs great, gives ok fuel eco for what it is... its just gutless.

I am now thinking I would like to swap up a 360LA however I would also like to not have to mess with the EFI pretty much at all.
So first question, can I just build a mild 360LA with mild cam and that's all OR should I consider going further and maybe putting in a 360 Magnum?
or a hybrid of the two as I have read there are some possibilities there...

If I just put in a 360 LA what choices of intake will I be forced to look at in order to keep the throttle body as is - and thus not have to mess with the EFI at all - or hopefully at all...

Perhaps I should consider a mild 318 LA build?

any input?

Thanx

 

You want more cubes.... so, 360 is going to be the way to go, larger engines by their very nature have more torque. The 318 computer would run it kinda lean though, but, there ARE 5.9 TBI computers out there in the world. Those would likely be fairly forgiving of a bit better cam..... Massaging the exhaust wouldn't hurt you either...... If you went carb.... you could go as crazy as you wanted.... Meaner cam, higher compression, headers, etc..... and REALLY wake up your van. gas mileage would most certainly suffer for it though.

 

yes but these are ways I really do not want to go, I am not looking for a lot more, just enough more that I am not annoyed. I am certain a 360 LA would do the job I want, if I didnt have to find an ECU, new throttle body etc... I really don't want the complexity of a carb, I am very familiar with both systems having rebuilt, tuned, and run a carter thermoquad so I can deal with carbs fine and there are damn few more complicated carbs out there... That said I find TBI to be the simplest system to live with. Its not the best for some things, but for a turn key RV its exactly what I want.

IDK, I am leaning right now to just a mild cam and refresh of the 318 LA I have in there... Just to keep it simple and turn key...

 

I believe the 318 and 360 use the same throttle body..... might be different injectors... would need to look up part numbers to see.

Thing is, you have a big, heavy van, and then the RV conversion as well... Even refreshed, I think the 318 is gonna struggle with that.... different came notwithstanding..... Going for more cubes should be a direct swap..... do a refresh, and slightly better cam in the 360, with the correct ECU, and you should be golden. (the 360 is external balance vs internal on the 318, so, that would need to be addressed as well..... I would check and see if you could just use the flexplate from a 96 and up 360 magnum, so you didn't need to change the converter....)

Either of the OBDI ecus will be ok with a slightly better cam, but, keep in mind, the more you deviate from stock, the less able it is going to be to run it. Most cams will say 'computer friendly', if that's all they say, then likely just fine, but, if it mentions 'tuning to get the most from it'...... You may not be very happy with how those run.....

 

I wonder if the ECU and TB would need a change... I mean even tho the 360 can pass a larger volume of air/fuel mix, that does not change the mix ratio...
Putting in a larger throttle body would allow more air and this would need a change in the system to add more fuel to bring the mix back in line...

However, keep the TB and injectors as is, the A/F ratio should not change...

 

I have verified the TBU and ECU are different on the 360 equipped B350 in 1989
So ya, definitely would need to play with the setup to tune it in for a 360 swap...
I think I am better off just refreshing the 318 and finding a mild RV cam.

 

I have the same annoyance with my 2001 1500 ram van 5.2L, specially when fully packed up for camping. That 318 is not even close to enough power, I don't see the 360 that much better without mods and tune either according to what I've read about.
I always thought there was a problem but after pretty much replacing everything but the transmission, people started to tell me i just might be expecting too much.
Although clogged cat can definitely cause low power, use a endoscope to view cat through O2 sensor ports.

 

FWIW I have driven all three and the 360 is much more power...

Also, when I put a new trans in, it felt like I gained 50+ HP...that is how much it was slipping and I couldnt tell - and I am a tech :lol:

 

I've heard the same things about the transmission and its making me want to get a rebuild lately for the 46RE. Seems like when shes hot my low power up hill is a lot worse even though engine temp is still low.