What's it worth? '14 Ram 1500 w/ engine problems

[Brad96]

I have a 2005 GMC Sierra 1500 CCSB 2WD pickup with the 5.3L V8 that my wife and I have owned for a long time, and I frequently drive back and forth between Houston and Dallas for work. It's been a very good truck, but it has >250k miles on it, and stuff is wearing out. I could just keep it, but I don't have a lot of time to work on cars right now, and it's expensive to pay someone else to fix things as they break. Plus, I thought it would be nice to have 4WD, better gas mileage, and a longer bed.

So, about a year ago, I decided to "upgrade" to a newer truck with fewer miles on it. I ended up buying a 2014 Ram 1500 ECSB 4WD with the 3.6L Pentastar V6 and ~140k miles. It ran great on the test drive, but began running poorly after sitting for a day or two. Long story short, I pulled the right cylinder head and found coolant in the #3 cylinder. I don't see any cracks in the cylinder head or bore sleeve, so maybe it was just a head gasket failure. But, that cylinder bore probably needs to be honed, and I don't know if the bottom end suffered any damage. I have the tools to pull the engine, but unfortunately, I really don't have the time to mess with it.

So, the Ram has been sitting, and I'm still driving my Sierra, which now has 261k miles on it. I have to admit that I'm not going to have the time to pull that V6 any time soon. I need to either sell it as-is and take my loss, or drag it to a shop to fix. Last year, my local mechanic's shop estimated just over $8k to put a Jasper rebuilt engine in it.

Finally, I get around to asking my question: What do you think this truck is worth as it sits? $4,000? Other than the engine, it seems like a good truck. It looks good, the body is in good shape, and the interior is pretty good, too. There is a tiny rust bubble spot on the tailgate. I know it needs brake pads and probably rotors. It only came with one key, so another needs to be made/programmed. The driver's seat is showing some wear on the edge. The shop told me that the airbag light is on because of a bad sensor in the driver's seat. The CarFax report looks clean, other than a few minor accidents at the front of the truck, which have apparently all been repaired.

[Brad96]

If you want to see something ugly, here's what that #3 cylinder looked like when I first pulled the head, before I cleaned it up.

[Twist]

Good night.

Not trying to be a downer here but my opinion, if someone will give you 4k for it don’t turn it down.

Or do a V8 conversion with the MDS delete. That’s going to cost you more than the Jasper engine quote if you go new though.

[PondPopper]

Keep it. Buy a new motor and install yourself!!
Drive for a long time.

[Twist]

Keep it. Buy a new motor and install yourself!!
Drive for a long time.

Also an option, hoists can be rented. Just need to have related tools and a buddy or two to help you out.

By the way, I’m aware you can’t just drop a 5.7 into it. There’s a good chance the harness might be the same but I’m pretty sure the 6 and 8 speed transmissions are different so you’d have to factor that in.

It would also need a tune so the programming matched the engine difference.

[Brad96]

Twist, if $4k seems too high, does $3k seem more likely? I'm just trying to run the math both ways, to decide what makes the most sense. Unfortunately, it's painful either way, but sitting on it (like I've been doing) isn't fixing anything.

I don't think a V8 swap makes sense. Too many things have to be changed. Probably cheaper to buy a V8 truck than convert a V6 truck.

I already have an engine hoist and other tools. Just not the time. Pulling and installing engines is time-consuming on these modern vehicles with so much plumbing, wiring, and junk in the way of everything.

Yes, PondPopper, "Buy a new motor and install yourself!!" is the answer that I like. But, at some point I just have to admit that I don't have time for that. I've got projects stacked up everywhere, and they seem to be piling up faster than I can fix them.

[Kingfisher789]

Have you checked the head to see if it’s warped? I would also clean the block deck and check for any imperfections. I saw one last week with just a little deck imperfection that led to a head gasket failure. How many miles?

[Twist]

Twist, if $4k seems too high, does $3k seem more likely? I'm just trying to run the math both ways, to decide what makes the most sense. Unfortunately, it's painful either way, but sitting on it (like I've been doing) isn't fixing anything.

I don't think a V8 swap makes sense. Too many things have to be changed. Probably cheaper to buy a V8 truck than convert a V6 truck.

I already have an engine hoist and other tools. Just not the time. Pulling and installing engines is time-consuming on these modern vehicles with so much plumbing, wiring, and junk in the way of everything.

Yes, PondPopper, "Buy a new motor and install yourself!!" is the answer that I like. But, at some point I just have to admit that I don't have time for that. I've got projects stacked up everywhere, and they seem to be piling up faster than I can fix them.

I honestly can’t answer that but someone could be looking for something like that. Thing is, even if you don’t tell them about the issue (I would) they could probably tell pretty quick by pulling the dipstick and looking at the oil. It would most likely be noticeable.

I actually have a 2014 sitting in the driveway right now. It’s a lower trim truck, V8 with some Hemi Tick but has over 173k miles on it. The only thing keeping me from swapping a new engine is that my father backed into it a little over 2.5 years ago so it has several thousand dollars worth of damage on the passenger side. It was absolutely gorgeous before then and still is now, but it would need a replacement cab, bed side and back passenger door to line out, and then paint it for the truck to even look right again. Probably looking at every bit of 10k to fix that, Hemi Tick is no big deal to me because it started at around 70k and I figured out how to mitigate that in order to make the engine last. It’s obviously worked because I’m more than 100k further down the road and she still runs strong.

That’s why I said I’d probably take 4k for yours if someone offered it up. Or I’d just redo yours altogether and basically end up with pretty much a new truck at well less than new truck prices. You can definitely go the V6 route like Popper suggested and there’s nothing wrong with that. You said you bought it used so there’s no telling how it was used (abused) before you bought it.

You already said you have that Chevy though, that’s why I said I’d just swap a bunch out. It doesn’t have to be all done right now and you can get what you need as you can. It’s exactly what I’d do unless it just wasn’t in the cards because it’s still cheaper than buying new and you’d end up with what you want.

Just be aware that it ain’t an easy process and might not make sense, but that 5.7 Hemi without the MDS and with and 8 speed really is a very good setup.

[Brad96]

Have you checked the head to see if it’s warped? I would also clean the block deck and check for any imperfections. I saw one last week with just a little deck imperfection that led to a head gasket failure. How many miles?

Do you mean like with a good straightedge and feeler gauges? That seems worthwhile. If it's just the head that's warped, possibly it could be repaired without pulling the short block out of the truck. If the bore cleans up OK and the rod bearings and such didn't get damaged by trying to compress water.

The truck has just over 140k miles on it.

[Brad96]

I honestly can’t answer that but someone could be looking for something like that. Thing is, even if you don’t tell them about the issue (I would) they could probably tell pretty quick by pulling the dipstick and looking at the oil. It would most likely be noticeable.

Oh, no. I'm not talking about trying to pass it off as a good truck, like the guy who sold it to me. I mean literally selling it "as is", with the right cylinder head off, so the buyer can see for him/herself what's wrong with it.

FWIW, the oil on the dipstick actually looked OK when I checked the truck out before buying it.

[91cavgt]

For some reason, a coolant leak on that #3 cylinder is somewhat common from what I’ve seen. Rainman Ray on YouTube had one in his shop not too long ago in a Chrysler Pacifica. It had a cylinder 3 misfire. Eventually, that cylinder hydro locked due to the coolant and sent the rod through the side of the block!! So you got to it before it got to that point which is a good thing!!

If you do decide to just get the head resurfaced and put it all back together again, make sure you replace the oil cooler that is in the valley between the cylinder heads, and of course put new gaskets on it too. They are known to leak oil, and since you already have the intake off, it isn’t that hard to replace it. Dorman I believe makes an aluminum one that is popular instead of the factory plastic one.

[Johnny Dangerr]

I am seeing used motors with 80K selling for around $3000.00

[Brad96]

I am seeing used motors with 80K selling for around $3000.00

If I were going to DIY an engine replacement, a used motor would be the most economical way to go. But, I don't have time for that project, and my mechanic isn't going to install a used motor.

I did order a machinist's straightedge, so I can check the head for warpage. Compared to the cost of an engine replacement, the tool is pretty cheap, so this seemed like a worthwhile check.

[Kingfisher789]

If the heads not warped clean the deck real well and tell us what you see.

[Brad96]

I appreciate all the suggestions. The machinist's straightedge is on the way. Once it comes in and I get a little time to work on it, I'll update this thread with what I find.