V10 truck motor question

[Bonkers]

I fear I have done terminal damage to my IronV10 in
my ram. Most of the decent (looking) motors I have
been coming across the past two months are either
very expensive ($3000k+) or very far away... often
both. I think I asked this before but cannot find the
thread - what kind of effort would it be to shoehorn
a RamSRT motor or even an old Gen2 into a 4x4 ram?
I realize I would be losing some ultra-low range
towing power with the aluminum block, but these
motors are so much easier to find and get parts for.

Any thoughts?

 

[Kevan]

Unless you roll the auto trans, your towing is pretty much gone.
The heat that the alum. block puts out- even during normal driving- is amazing.
The other problem you're going to run into is the oil pan and crossmember.
I'm not sure if the engine mounts are different. That's something to check as well.
Throttle linkage/cruise control too.

If the iron V10's are $3000 and a decent GenIII engine runs $10K+, why not just go back to the iron?

 

[Mopar Boy]

If you are having issues locating a car part of ANY form, go here:

Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

You WILL find what you are looking for!

 

[Kevan]

If you are having issues locating a car part of ANY form, go here:

Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

You WILL find what you are looking for!

I don't even need to click it and know I can stump it.

 

[Bonkers]

You WILL find what you are looking for!

No issue finding parts on car-parts, either they are too much
money or the suppliers don't answer their phones/emails. In
fact finding engines is pretty simple - its finding one in better
condition than my own that seems to be the headache. The
real trouble behind these motors is that they are work engines -
most of the ones I am finding in "great condition" are so
beaten down they leak out of every gasket. And no one rebuilds
these motors cheaply either - the cheapest rebuilder wants
$4200 + s/h and core. My motor guy wont even attempt this
one despite its simplicity.

Kevan - your prices are slightly off. I can buy a salvage RamSRT
complete for about $7-10k depending on damage (in fact the
reason for this post is that I came across a QCRamSRT, which
is supposed to be the towing model of the viper truck, for $6500)
and gen2 motors can be found for less than $4k. I'm not sure if
the Aluminum version runs hotter, but I would find that hard to
imagine. My biggest concern is whether the aluminum setup will
mount to the truck transmissions and if they are up to hauling a
14,000# load for hours at a time.

 

[Frankster]

With all due respect, dump the V10 for towing and get a Cummins.

My Dodge Ram with the Cummins tows like no other gas engine I've ever owned. You'll get better gas milage and will probly find a good used engine at a boneyard for less than the cost of a rebuild.

Get an 05 or newer four valve per cylinder engine if you can. You can even buy a used truck for the price of a rebuild these days.

 

[Kevan]

My motor guy wont even attempt this
one despite its simplicity.

DIY.
I've found it's the best way to make sure it's done right.
(Sometimes, even with "experts", it's the ONLY way to get it done right...heh heh)

Kevan - your prices are slightly off. I can buy a salvage RamSRT
complete for about $7-10k depending on damage (in fact the
reason for this post is that I came across a QCRamSRT, which
is supposed to be the towing model of the viper truck, for $6500)
and gen2 motors can be found for less than $4k. I'm not sure if
the Aluminum version runs hotter, but I would find that hard to
imagine. My biggest concern is whether the aluminum setup will
mount to the truck transmissions and if they are up to hauling a
14,000# load for hours at a time.

Heh heh...I was scoring the transmission as well in a package deal.
A friends ins. totalled SRT-10 auctioned for $17K earlier this summer. The drivetrain was in perfect shape; the rest of the truck was crumpled up like it'd been hit with a bigass taser.

The heat I was speaking of is NOT engine temp.
I was referring to the heat dispersion of the Viper engines.
In comparing them to 5.7L and 6.1L HEMI engines, the Vipers release WAY more heat. I haven't measured ambient temps, but I'm probably pretty close with saying it's about 2x what the 5.7L does.

The Viper engine certainly has the HP and TQ to handle a 14K lb. load. Getting it to the wheels and to the ground will be the hard part. IIRC, only a couple of the auto transmissions match up with the Viper engine (NV5400 and ????). I don't think the iron V10 and the Viper have the same trans. mount holes on the block (please correct me if I'm wrong).
No matter what transmission, plan on a much larger ATF cooler. Probably something with fans.
Your cooling system will probably need a healthy upgrade as well- electric fans, larger overflow tank, etc.

I gotta agree with Frankster: if you're going to tow anything bigger than a package of Twinkies, go with the Cummins.
TONS of aftermarket goodies for it, pretty reasonable crate prices, and good MPG.
Gale Banks does some awesome stuff for the Cummins systems.

 

[Mopar Boy]

If you want to know anything about a Cummins swap, that is my specialty area! I KNOW I can help you with info on that!

Feel free to PM me with any question. I have done that more than a few times.

Kevan - Yes, I have stumped it many times as well. I was more meaning for the V10 truck motor you will not stump it...

 

[Mopar Boy]

For 10K I have done 800 hp/1600 ft lb, twin turbo Cummins motors with all day HP at that power level. Will tow like mad!

You may want to do a diff swap too if you go that high though!

 

[KNG SNKE]

You can get a NON totaled SRT10 Truck off ebay right now. I have seen them sell as low as 17k with low miles, 30k or less.