Well boys, I did it... R.I.P.

chri5k said:

I am trying to figure out how you find time to post here. With driving 600+ miles per day and all the other things necessary to run a business. If it were me, this would the last thing I would do.

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ramffml said:

Its sad that guys are recommending the absolute worst engine ever released in a modern pickup to people who require 0 down time for a business. A few success stories (which are amazing) doesn't change the probabilities of that engine ruining your year.

OP, talk to a few mechanics who fix these things before wasting your money.

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Docwagon1776 said:

You drove 220,000 miles in one year? 600 miles a day on average, every day? WTF were you driving around to earn extra money doing? How much did you make on that huge investment in time and the value of your truck?

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gwuhesos said:

Okay guys, it's go time. I need all the help I can get! Here's the quick run-down... There are many thing I likely could have done to avoid this situation, but I am where I am. Thanks for reading. Enjoy, and let me know if you can offer any insight.

So... I've had this truck, my 2017 1500 BigHorn, since early 2020... picked it up with around 40k miles on it.

Started off as a daily driver, bringing me to and from work, then started working from home, so it was just an errand runner pretty much.

Fast forward to a mid 2021 and we see the $**T hitting the fan, so I started doing some driving to earn extra money.

While I still had the extended warranty, I brought the truck in for a peculiar tick that was fairly loud... Turned out it was an exhaust leak at the header due to a broken bolt... They fixed it, and a few months later, that sound came back... and I was busy driving around, didn't really think twice about it as I had extended the warranty by getting the work done at the dealer.

Well, the warranty expired, and I was stuck with this "exhaust leak".

2022 - Drove 220,000 Miles

Replaced my front wheel hubs due to near failure, recognized symptoms pretty early, and the repair was pretty smooth. Cost like $700 at a local mechanic's shop.

Driving out to Colorado, during a pretty violent wind storm, the truck began exhibiting some issues. The truck was kicked out of cruise control, which at that point was inoperable, and the traction control light came on. I did some quick research and decided it was a wheel speed sensor that was malfunctioning due to the high wind, and load I was trailering. Continued on my trip, and the following day, the issue(s) went away.

2023 - Drove 40,000 Miles

Fast forward to a couple of months ago, I get a P0420 code... which gather is a catalytic converter issue code - which I assumed was due to THE ORIGINAL SPARK PLUGS still being used... ** I am waiting on a prototype set up spark plugs from a Nascar racing development team that they are actually making specific for GEN IV RAM's ** So my plan was take it into the shop, without really having more time to wait for the plugs to be made (available in early 2024)... I get into my truck on Thursday morning, and head over to the mechanic shop, when all of a sudden, the truck made an "odd" sound and began driving terribly. Poor throttle response, noisy, and ROUGH. I immediately turned around and came back home. Had it towed to the shop, and waiting 6 grueling hours to hear that I had collapsed lifters in bank 4.

The truck has 313,000 miles roughly. The engine is shot.

What should I do?

New engine, Used engine, rebuilt engine, rebuild my engine?

Please, I need someone to talk to about this. I think this is the best place for it.

Thanks ahead of time!

**UPDATE** Oct. 27 - Picked up my truck from the dealership, with a new longblock installed. I'll answer all posts below. Happy to answer any questions for clarity to help anyone in the future, though not sure how much of help I would be. Thanks for everyone's feedback and advice.

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Cmz2800 said:

You drove 220k in one year?!?! WT ever F…

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gwuhesos said:

I've had the new engine for about 3 weeks, and have 14,500 miles on it...

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Cmz2800 said:

Lol what do you do for work? That’s bananas

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GTyankee said:

That is a load of miles for someone home based in New England. Traffic moves so darn slow back there.

Out here where i live, once i am outside of San Diego's Metropolitan area, the population thins out. 25 miles from the ocean the speed limit is 70 MPH.

I can easily drive from my place to the middle of El Paso Texas in 10 1/2 Hours, that is a distance of 700 miles.

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tig_d said:

@OP is there anything you'd do differently regarding the new long block? We're facing a complete engine replacement for my girlfriend's 2013 RAM 2500 and I'm wondering what questions we should be asking, requests we should make while the mechanics are in there, etc. Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Glad you're back on the road!

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gwuhesos said:

well, depends on what happened, and why you are in this boat... with a "long block", they don't include quite a few things, like spark plugs, intake manifold, and things like that... I can go more into detail if you need... the dealer claimed that in the case of catastrophic engine failure, the intake manifold should be replaced. Because of the mileage, I have the fuel system serviced, the coolant system services, the 4x4 system serviced... I would just make sure they change the spark plugs, belts, and hoses... and find out what is and isn't included with the new engine. I had various options including a rebuilt engine with 100,000 miles warranty (& 3 years), less with used engine... Luckily this one dealership where I got the work done gave me an UNLIMITED mileage, 3 year, warranty on all parts they installed, including the long block... your gf's ram... is it gas, or diesel?

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KYPOTLICKER said:

Depends on your financial situation. If all else is good on truck, reman engine and carry on. If not purchase another vehicle. Just my two cents

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G-Ride990 said:

I need clarification on this. Spark plugs are spark plugs. What does Nascar have anything to do with this. Especially since Nascar doesn't do any research and development, the teams do.

You have 313k miles on it? Sounds like the engine is tired and I think you got your money out of it. Time to replace/rebuild it. I can only imagine how the rest of the truck is doing with so many miles.

If I was in the same boat, I would get a junker in it and sell the truck. That is a ton of miles. I would prefer to start over with a newer truck.

just my opinion, take it as you will. Good luck with it! Nice to see a hemi going so far.

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ThinkMud said:

This was a wild ride (no pun intended), and worth the read lol. Hope things are rolling good still gwuhesos!

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Stavinksi said:

congrats on 300k plus miles on your truck. You got your moneys worth at any rate. Extra miles on new motor=gravy, new transmission still cheaper than new truck. I’m curious if you got that many miles original transmission. Tranny fluid change ever?

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GTyankee said:

In my one man business, my biggest cost, is that i have to pay for a $750,000 Commercial Auto Insurance. That is State mandated, if i want to also operate in New Mexico, i would be required to have $1,000,000 policy.

Because i got Influenza in February 2020, it ruined my lungs.
I have not been able to work, i still lose my voice in a very short period of time, so i can't use my CB Radio, which is another mandated tool.

I once did a job, that started in South San Diego & ended in upper West Virginia, near the Pennsylvania State Line.
That job paid close to $4,000, the job involved moving a Wind Turbine to Storm Mountain.
That job took 6 or 7 days.

View attachment 530888

Doing longer jobs like that, allowed me to go from owing money.
To being able to pay cash for my last 2 New Rams, a 2009 & 2016 & i have money enough to buy another new Ram.

I also have my SS checks & 33 years of Civil Service Bucks to pay the rent, etc.

This Dump Truck body went from Texas to California, i did not go all the way, unfortunately

View attachment 530889
The Police that were running Traffic Control, were all on Overtime

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