Been down that road a couple times myself Barry. Not always an easy one. I
might not be able to tell you what to do - but I can tell you what not to do.
Stay the hell away from Jasper. I've heard good and bad about them, but mostly
bad. That kind of track record is more than enough to make me not consider
that option. (bad as in motors blowing, not upholding warranty etc)
Finding a local machine shop to do the job is also not so easy. Word of mouth
and references are best. Local machine shop here was known for shotty work.
Heard from a reliable source that they tore down a motor that was rebuild by
this shop, to find that not a single main bearing matched. Instead of grinding
the crank all to the same specs, they ground one or two that were bad and just
replaced one or two bearings. Needless to say the motor didn't last long,
hence the reason it was torn down.
Machine shops are like body shops. A machinist and a body man who are honest,
do a good job, are worth paying a little more, and seem to be impossible to
find.
Obviously the route with the best margin for success and quality would be
summit, jegs, or even Mopar. They do sell short/long blocks for Magnum motors.
Or at least the used to - havn't checked for a while.
-- TerribleTom> Ok, I have been thinking about motors [my Dak has 160k miles and my > Durango has 170k] lately, and trying to decide on a plan. I like both > trucks enough to put a new motor in each when the time comes, so I think > I have a couple of options. The first and cheapest is just get a > junkyard motor, but I think we all know the odds there.. > > The Second option might be to have the existing motors rebuilt, and if I > do it while they still run fine, the process should go better than if I > wait til something goes poof. The downside is there isn't anyplace > local that I trust to do this, and Warranties vary where they exist... > > The next is to buy a short/long/crate motor from a remanufacturer. This > seems the most expensive, but places like this: > http://www.flitelineenginesupply.com/ or Jasper or Summit > sell motors and some even include decent warranties. Going with a crate > motor even gives me the option of going better than stock, too. > > So, what is everyones opinion or motor replacement options if I decline > to replace the motor holder [truck] at the same time as the motor? >
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