01 1500 rcsb 4x4 318

[Bthompson]

Alright I’m not sure where to post this I’m new to the whole form thing. I’m starting to redo my 1500. I’ve contemplated selling and building and doing this and that so I’m just kind of diving in and getting what I like. The whole reason I took the dive was because I am not the easiest on my vehicles. I was drive down a creek bottom and when I got to the end it was a river, well me being me I knew I could turn around and just go back. Well it went way different the minute I hit the soft gravel under the water I sank like a rock. And then the transmission that had a little leak went to a huge leak to a transmission that wouldn’t do anything in a matter of 2 days. (Which I planned on rebuilding anyways)(I can get it done at a local shop with a very good reputation for $1000 that includes a new tq converter and a full rebuild including the overdrive with a 1 year warranty)



So within the past 2 weeks I have ordered new fox shocks, 3 inch lift springs, control arms, front locker to get rid of the vacuum, 4.56 kit for the front and rear, and miscellaneous stuff.
The reason I have started with the suspension is because I have not decided on the engine and trans yet I would like something pretty fast but also still be able to play a little. I have been looking at just EQ heads, headers (already have a 3 inch exhaust), the F1 huges intake, small cam and a tune. Depending on how far I want to go with the truck I have kind of toyed around with a hemi swap but idk if I want to go that far into this vehicle, But who knows.





The trans and transfer-case is already out I don’t have any pics yet. But when I get home I’ll get some pics of the trans and the parts that have been delivered so far.



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[Bthompson]

Also left out Harlem sharp rockers


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[Bthompson]

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[Bthompson]

Well got the engine pulled today. I do have quite a bit of oil on my plenum. But I couldn’t find anywhere where the seal was broke or pushed out. While I was pulling the intake I did snap off 2 bolts. (But I already plan on new heads if I go that way.)


If you look at the front left bolt and the back right you can see them broken off.

 

[Bthompson]

I was also having problems with miss-fire on 1 & 8 before pulling. Replaces wires, plugs, and cap.
This is #8 it seems to have a lot of oil up around the valve. And on the exhaust port.

This is #1 looks like the others.

This is number #7 there is actually oil sitting on top of the valve. Not sure....



These are #3 and #5 not sure why but there is a lot of hard build up..


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[dudeman2009]

Thats an engine thats been used hard and put away wet. Oil in the plenum is normal at certain levels due to the PCV valve. Getting the broken bolts out of the heads looks pretty possible on both bolts, you have quite a bit to grab with a pair off visegrips. You'll need a lot of penetrating oil and a torch, MAP or Oxy prefered. You'll have to heat the bolt and head then cool it with oil, then repeat that 3 or 4 times, then heat the head and grab the bolt with visegrips and just try to wiggle it back and forth to break it loose. Once it starts moving, you're home free, just keep wiggling it back and forth until it comes free.

 

[Bthompson]

Got the heads of tonight and I’m not impressed



Pistons look pretty rough.. I think... but the cylinder walls are smooth as butter.





I couldn’t see any cracks in the heads around the valve seats, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.





Hopefully going to tear into the bottom end this weekend and do an inspection.

I would like yall’s opinion. Where to go from here. This is my first gas vehicle I previously owned a 24 valve tore it all the way down, rebuilt with some goodies a ppump conversion. I know Cummins pretty good. I got a this 5.2 because it’s been in the family for years. I want to do a rebuild but with plenty of power to have fun, but it doesn’t have to be a drag car. Money isn’t a problem. No kids, just a woman, 2 dogs and a house.




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[Bthompson]

Thats an engine thats been used hard and put away wet. Oil in the plenum is normal at certain levels due to the PCV valve. Getting the broken bolts out of the heads looks pretty possible on both bolts, you have quite a bit to grab with a pair off visegrips. You'll need a lot of penetrating oil and a torch, MAP or Oxy prefered. You'll have to heat the bolt and head then cool it with oil, then repeat that 3 or 4 times, then heat the head and grab the bolt with visegrips and just try to wiggle it back and forth to break it loose. Once it starts moving, you're home free, just keep wiggling it back and forth until it comes free.

Right right. Good info to know. For extracting bolts. Thank you


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[MADDOG]

Good luck with the build.

 

[dudeman2009]

Got the heads of tonight and I’m not impressed



Pistons look pretty rough.. I think... but the cylinder walls are smooth as butter.





I couldn’t see any cracks in the heads around the valve seats, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.





Hopefully going to tear into the bottom end this weekend and do an inspection.

I would like yall’s opinion. Where to go from here. This is my first gas vehicle I previously owned a 24 valve tore it all the way down, rebuilt with some goodies a ppump conversion. I know Cummins pretty good. I got a this 5.2 because it’s been in the family for years. I want to do a rebuild but with plenty of power to have fun, but it doesn’t have to be a drag car. Money isn’t a problem. No kids, just a woman, 2 dogs and a house.




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You've got a woman and money isn't a problem? Hot damn I want your job

If you're looking for some power there are a some things to consider. It will never be a street racer, but you can certainly make it perk up to feel very responsive. The short list of parts to get a good build out of it is as follows. Shorty headers and possibly an exhaust to fit your liking (the factory exhaust is decent past the stock cast log exhaust manifold), An intake, edelbrock, Hughes or the M1, they all have their uses but the edelbrock and hughes are most common. A 52-54mm TB, or port out the stock one (I think 52mm is the largest you can go stock without running into problems). The factory heads flow like a hollowed out ****, if you want the best performance you'll need to replace them, but you can still get a major boost without replacing them. Copper heat range plugs work the best, a nice set of plug wires to avoid crosstalk, or just carefully route some ACDelco wires, cap and rotor. Then you can email with FRP Tuning to see what tune will work best for your setup, you'll be getting a canned tune, but it'll be recommended by a pro (Ask Yeret or Dapepper about their tunes, they love them).

Since you're already messing with the trans, make sure you put a decent trans cooler on there to keep it from burning up in the future. You'll likely need to replace the torque converter if its original as they can and do fail, when they do they make a ton of heat that kills the rest of the trans. Followed by a shift kit to improve and fix some of the factory mistakes like not pumping fluid in park or too weak of shifts for anything but mall crawling.

 

[Bthompson]

You've got a woman and money isn't a problem? Hot damn I want your job

If you're looking for some power there are a some things to consider. It will never be a street racer, but you can certainly make it perk up to feel very responsive. The short list of parts to get a good build out of it is as follows. Shorty headers and possibly an exhaust to fit your liking (the factory exhaust is decent past the stock cast log exhaust manifold), An intake, edelbrock, Hughes or the M1, they all have their uses but the edelbrock and hughes are most common. A 52-54mm TB, or port out the stock one (I think 52mm is the largest you can go stock without running into problems). The factory heads flow like a hollowed out ****, if you want the best performance you'll need to replace them, but you can still get a major boost without replacing them. Copper heat range plugs work the best, a nice set of plug wires to avoid crosstalk, or just carefully route some ACDelco wires, cap and rotor. Then you can email with FRP Tuning to see what tune will work best for your setup, you'll be getting a canned tune, but it'll be recommended by a pro (Ask Yeret or Dapepper about their tunes, they love them).

Since you're already messing with the trans, make sure you put a decent trans cooler on there to keep it from burning up in the future. You'll likely need to replace the torque converter if its original as they can and do fail, when they do they make a ton of heat that kills the rest of the trans. Followed by a shift kit to improve and fix some of the factory mistakes like not pumping fluid in park or too weak of shifts for anything but mall crawling.

HVAC/R tech pays pretty good!

And yes I have a 3 inch exhaust with a super 10 muffler, I plan on shorty’s, I have already ordered the EQ heads, and I’m going to order the huges f1 intake and 52mm body, 1.7 Harlem sharp rockers and a full msd system. I’m not sure on the cam to run tho... probably going to call EQ and see what cam they would recommend.


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[dudeman2009]

HVAC/R tech pays pretty good!

And yes I have a 3 inch exhaust with a super 10 muffler, I plan on shorty’s, I have already ordered the EQ heads, and I’m going to order the huges f1 intake and 52mm body, 1.7 Harlem sharp rockers and a full msd system. I’m not sure on the cam to run tho... probably going to call EQ and see what cam they would recommend.


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There are a couple options for cams, might email FRP tuning see what they recommend on their tunes, Yeret might be able to give some input, I don;t remember if he put a cam in his. As for the MSD stuff, don't use the MSD ignition coil, the PCM doesn't like it and there have been cases of damage being done to the rest of the system from feedback. Stock ignition coil is just fine, strong spark as long as it isn't damaged.

 

[Bthompson]

Good info to know. Does anyone know if I should get pistons along with a rebuild kit for the bottom end? Those pistons are black haven’t tried to clean them yet but the carbons on there pretty good


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[dapepper9]

Comp test would've been a good idea before tearing it down bit of you're rebuilding might as well go a few thousands over. You CAN put new bearings in everything and just run it as is but there's no guarantees on longevity doing that.

As for your planned build; EQs are great, Hughes intake is great, hipotek throttle body will help a decent amount as well for pretty cheap. Frp tuning is the very best there is though if you're not in Texas you may have a hard time getting his tuning as it's primarily in person. He does do email tuning unofficially but without some previous rapport or special circumstances i wouldn't even bring it up. You'll just be disappointed, in person tuning eliminates liability in a customer not following directions and screwing things up then bad mouthing the tune. I've only heard 1 bad review of Ryan's tunes and that was from somebody who did that very thing and never got past the base tune that is done to get it driving for datalogging and fine tweaking.
Headers i would skip shorties myself and go with a Mid-Length or longtube. Much much better suited to that 3" exhaust and the engine. You won't be trying to squeeze everything through a 1-7/8 ball collector and the longer runners really help tq. Pacesetter longtubes fit fine on a 4x4 regardless of many forums, i love mine and several friends love theirs. Lift also helps with that a fair amount. Only thing is the "matching" y pipe is trash. Other than i would highly recommend em. Or Spintech mids are awesome and can be found around 4-500 on Facebook groups instead of the nearly 800 new. I'm actually selling mine to a guy in November through a Facebook deal i made. There's also Doug Thorleys and Mopar PPH headers that can be found there.

When you mentioned the locker up front to eliminate the vacuum, you might wanna explain a bit better. If you're talking the posi-lok cable kit, yeah that'll do it. Won't be a "locker" for the differential but it'll engage that axle shaft just fine. If you want a differential locker, that won't eliminate the vacuum system at all. Just an fyi.

Trans PATC makes killer crate transmissions or they also sell kits for em. Ditch factory converter, probably one of the worst things about the 46re.

Definitely interested in your build. Keep us updated.

 

[Bthompson]

Comp test would've been a good idea before tearing it down bit of you're rebuilding might as well go a few thousands over. You CAN put new bearings in everything and just run it as is but there's no guarantees on longevity doing that.



As for your planned build; EQs are great, Hughes intake is great, hipotek throttle body will help a decent amount as well for pretty cheap. Frp tuning is the very best there is though if you're not in Texas you may have a hard time getting his tuning as it's primarily in person. He does do email tuning unofficially but without some previous rapport or special circumstances i wouldn't even bring it up. You'll just be disappointed, in person tuning eliminates liability in a customer not following directions and screwing things up then bad mouthing the tune. I've only heard 1 bad review of Ryan's tunes and that was from somebody who did that very thing and never got past the base tune that is done to get it driving for datalogging and fine tweaking.

Headers i would skip shorties myself and go with a Mid-Length or longtube. Much much better suited to that 3" exhaust and the engine. You won't be trying to squeeze everything through a 1-7/8 ball collector and the longer runners really help tq. Pacesetter longtubes fit fine on a 4x4 regardless of many forums, i love mine and several friends love theirs. Lift also helps with that a fair amount. Only thing is the "matching" y pipe is trash. Other than i would highly recommend em. Or Spintech mids are awesome and can be found around 4-500 on Facebook groups instead of the nearly 800 new. I'm actually selling mine to a guy in November through a Facebook deal i made. There's also Doug Thorleys and Mopar PPH headers that can be found there.



When you mentioned the locker up front to eliminate the vacuum, you might wanna explain a bit better. If you're talking the posi-lok cable kit, yeah that'll do it. Won't be a "locker" for the differential but it'll engage that axle shaft just fine. If you want a differential locker, that won't eliminate the vacuum system at all. Just an fyi.



Trans PATC makes killer crate transmissions or they also sell kits for em. Ditch factory converter, probably one of the worst things about the 46re.



Definitely interested in your build. Keep us updated.

Very good info thank you. I have took a pause the last few days on the engine. Had to replace cast drain pipes under the house to pvc. And yes I’m from Texas so I will definitely be looking into him and his tunes. But while I haven’t been working on the truck I’ve been thinking about it. I can get a 2001 360 block crank pistons and cam from the local junk yard for 120 bucks and the ecm for 30. Since the heads and intake are the same, would it be a good idea to go ahead and get the 360 and stick in it I can just use my EQ heads and the huges intake still. Is it worth the money? And power? From what I understand the only difference is the neutral safety switch and if that’s true I could get a harness also I’m sure it wouldn’t be to much. Honestly I broke almost all the injector clips 214,*** miles weren’t good on em I guess lol.


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[Bthompson]

Also I could just rebuild the 360


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[Bthompson]

And the locker I do mean the actuator and also an ox locker with 4.56’s but I have yet to make that decision might just go with an true track or something


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[Bthompson]

Got a little more work done these past few days. Cleaned up the engine some removed the oil pump. Oil pump looked good couldn’t find any signs of wear, I’m going to finish cleaning it up and reuse it.

Also does any one know where I can get a T for the oil port from. I want to leave the factory oil pressure gauge working but I also bought a glow shift gauge I would like for it to be at the top of the engine also. I cleaned up the pistons pretty good but a few of them are dinged up pretty bad so I am just going to order new ones.

And does anyone know if these grooves are factory? The are on top of the motor where the intake would sit. I don’t know why they wouldn’t have smoothed them out.





M


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[Bthompson]

Also any ideas on this?? PTO wire?







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[Bthompson]

Okay sorry I’ve been out awhile been slammed with family stuff it seems like lately and most truck stuff has been boring clean up stuff. But I do have a question someone surely can answer, I have been removing and extending the wire for the tuck and the vacuum lines that go to the actuator for 4x4 are going away bc I’m going with the pull cable conversion so, do I need to cap these 2 lines back at the transmission or run the to each other in order to keep the 4x4 light off on my dash?



(the red end has been broke since I owned the truck) but those two go back to the actuator and the other end goes to the 4 line plug on the transfer case.


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