Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Refreshing Cummins Shortblock

[Sandifer]

I am trying to get an idea on what it would cost to have the cummins in my truck overhauled. Nothing Fancy. Just rings,cylinders honed,oil pump,rear main seal. Would it have to be pulled from the truck? Any ideas would be appriciated.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Yes the best bet is to pull the motor, the Ram was never built to accomodate in-frame major engine service. I've heard it can be done (hone #5 & #6 in the truck) but it's difficult.



As far as cost I don't know, but I was told if I had mine done all the way up with new pistons, balancing, new head assembly with some mild porting and block O-ringed it would be in the $5k range. So definitely less than that.



Did you hurt a cylinder? If so it would need rebored and new pistons.



Vaughn

 

[Sandifer]

Nothing hurt. My factory clutch failed on me last week and I am going to be replacing it with a SBC con ofe and a rebuilt NV4500 with all the goodies from Standard Transmission. I just figured now would be a great time to put a little more life into the engine. Do you think I should just have the cylinders compression checked and if it is in spec just leave it alone? I have a little bit of oil coming from dipstick every know and then and a couple of oil leaks I would like to have fixed. I would also like to have the head o-ringed. Let me know what ya'll think.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

How many miles? I would say if under 250k I wouldn't worry about it provided it has had good maintenance or not run real hard. Oil leaks and pressure blowing oil around the dipstick can be caused by a turbo with a poor seal or a problem with the vacuum pump. I did a compression check last year at 363k and had 520psi on all but #1.



I have the head off mine right now, cylinders look good, 400k isn't far off, but I'm just going to slap a new head on and keep on truckin'.

 

[Sandifer]

208k. Oil has always been changed between 3-4k miles. My turbo is factory and seems like it does not spin as easy by hand as it used too. It doesn't seem to have any play in it. Never run it over 35-37 psi. Planning on new turbo when I have the head o-ringed. I guess just about any shop could check the compression for me?

 

[RVPILOT]

engine life

Don't waste your money, you are good for another 300,000 miles with that oil change interval. I have changed mine between 8 and 10 thousand and now approaching 750,000 miles. good luck. Stormy

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Yeah with those oil changes and those miles your engine is a long way from being tired. Just get the head O-ringed and go from there. Might as well top it off with studs.

 

[Sandifer]

Studs sound like a good idea to me too. Thanks.