6.4 engine swap from Charger or Challenger?

[EriikK]

Wow there sure are a lot of wrecked 6.4 hemi cars out there. I have a 2015 Ram 2500 with a 6.4 hemi that needs major engine work, cam and lifters and maybe more. I could tear into the engine, but swapping it out is tempting since mine has 145k miles on it. What differences are there between the truck and car engines, and what would it take to swap in the car engine? Is this a good idea or a bad idea? Not especially looking for higher performance here, just an economical replacement.

 

[Tinman454]

Sorry can’t help much on the different 6.4l engine but if your going to swap out the motor and Trying to keep the cost down could you not also use the 5.7 L as I know earlier 2500’s had them in them just an idea good luck on what ever you decide.

 

[Wild one]

Wow there sure are a lot of wrecked 6.4 hemi cars out there. I have a 2015 Ram 2500 with a 6.4 hemi that needs major engine work, cam and lifters and maybe more. I could tear into the engine, but swapping it out is tempting since mine has 145k miles on it. What differences are there between the truck and car engines, and what would it take to swap in the car engine? Is this a good idea or a bad idea? Not especially looking for higher performance here, just an economical replacement.

The 6.4 SRT swap is common in the 1500's these days.You use the trucks oilpan/oil pump pick-up tube,the front timing cover and accessories,plus your 6.4 intake. But be forewarned you'll need to tune it,and the cars 6.4's are 10.9:1 compression and require a mininium of 91 octane fuel,you won't be able to use 87 or 89 in it,like you can with your trucks lower compression 6.4. All 6.4's after 2017 are the better BGE block,like what is in your 2500,before that the cars 6.4 was the older non-BGE block.If you do swap to a car 6.4,you're old 6.4 BGE truck block is worth money to the hi-po guys,so don't be tossing it or giving it away,lol

 

[EriikK]

Cool, that's just the info I wanted.
What's involved in tuning it? I know the basics but have not dived into Hemi land before.
And the octane issue is something to consider for sure, especially with fuel prices these days and how much more they charge for premium gas.
This truck is intended to tow my 25' toyhauler, replacing an older diesel.
As for the 5.7, I would think staying with the 6.4 would be better for towing And make the swap and tuning easier.

 

[Wild one]

Cool, that's just the info I wanted.
What's involved in tuning it? I know the basics but have not dived into Hemi land before.
And the octane issue is something to consider for sure, especially with fuel prices these days and how much more they charge for premium gas.
This truck is intended to tow my 25' toyhauler, replacing an older diesel.
As for the 5.7, I would think staying with the 6.4 would be better for towing And make the swap and tuning easier.

On your 15,you'll need to either send your stock PCM out to be unlocked or buy an aftermarket unlocked PCM,before you'll be able to tune it.Figure on adding at least a $1,000+ to the cost to have it tuned.The later SRT 6.4's are rated at 485hp and 470 lb-ft of torque,so you'll pick up a noticable amount of power,but it comes at the cost of having to run premium fuel. The truck 6.4 is also built to handle full load for 12 minutes at full throttle on 87 octane fuel,the SRT 6.4 does not have that same capability,if you run it at full throttle and full load for 12 minutes,it's going to be very unhappy even with 91 octane. If you didn't tow a 25ft tow hauler,the SRT 6.4 would be a good upgrade,but in your case it might not be the best choice,as it's not really set up for towing and the engine loads that come with towing. The truck 6.4's pistons are more robust with the upper ring land farther down on the piston,compared to the SRT 6.4's pistons,and will take more shiit and abuse then the cars 6.4 pistons will handle

 

[EriikK]

Good to know. 12 minutes of continuous WOT is not something I would do more than a couple times a year, but for sure I see more throttle for more time than a non towing application. Combining that with the expense of making the PCM tuneable, it sounds like I should stick with the truck motors.

So now my decision is reman vs used or wrecked, or whether I should do cam and lifters and whatever else on my engine.

At 145k miles, I'd probably take the heads to a machine shop for a valve job while they are off for the lifters. But the bottom end would still be unknown... These engines don't come cheap, looks like reman starts at $6k. It seems to me that if I can find a trustworthy used one with under say 70k miles, or a wrecked truck for under $3000 or so, it might be the way to go.
What do you think?

 

[Wild one]

Good to know. 12 minutes of continuous WOT is not something I would do more than a couple times a year, but for sure I see more throttle for more time than a non towing application. Combining that with the expense of making the PCM tuneable, it sounds like I should stick with the truck motors.

So now my decision is reman vs used or wrecked, or whether I should do cam and lifters and whatever else on my engine.

At 145k miles, I'd probably take the heads to a machine shop for a valve job while they are off for the lifters. But the bottom end would still be unknown... These engines don't come cheap, looks like reman starts at $6k. It seems to me that if I can find a trustworthy used one with under say 70k miles, or a wrecked truck for under $3000 or so, it might be the way to go.
What do you think?

Pull the intake manifold off and check the VVT's oil control valve for glitter/shavings,if it's relatively clean,you'd be good with probably doing the cam and lifters. The bottom ends are fairly tough on the hemi's. If you don't have any noises from the oil pan and the VVT valve is clean,i'd stuff a cam in it,run a good oil and oil change program and call it good.

 

[Jim BB]

Cool, that's just the info I wanted.
What's involved in tuning it? I know the basics but have not dived into Hemi land before.
And the octane issue is something to consider for sure, especially with fuel prices these days and how much more they charge for premium gas.
This truck is intended to tow my 25' toyhauler, replacing an older diesel.
As for the 5.7, I would think staying with the 6.4 would be better for towing And make the swap and tuning easier.

I have a 5.7 Hemi with 3:21 rear gear in my truck and for towing it works great good on fuel as well ! with lots of power! i think thats what i would be changing to ! but that being said if you have the 6.4 in yours i would prob try and find as late a model as poss with as low a Mi as poss from a truck that way no B.S on ECM , tune or any other Crap

 

[EriikK]

What does the cam and lifter job cost in parts? Maybe $1K?

If I find a wrecked one, what years am I looking for that would drop in with no need for a tune? I'm thinking '09 - 2018 Ram 2500 or 3500. Or do some of them have electronic or other differences that would complicate the swap? Are the 2019-22 same or different?

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

Here ya go

 

[Wild one]

What does the cam and lifter job cost in parts? Maybe $1K?

If I find a wrecked one, what years am I looking for that would drop in with no need for a tune? I'm thinking '09 - 2018 Ram 2500 or 3500. Or do some of them have electronic or other differences that would complicate the swap? Are the 2019-22 same or different?

They didn't start putting the 6.4's into the HD trucks until 2014,so any truck 6.4 from 14 on will work. If you do the work yourself and use stock parts,you could probably do a cam/lifter swap for a little more then a $1,000. You'd have to price out the factory cam / lifters /gaskets and fluids though. General consenus is to replace the head bolts,but alot of guys get away with re-using them,the cam bolt though should be replaced.If you decide to do a 5.7 swap instead,you'll be on the hook to tune it though,which means springing for that unlocked pcm ,same as you would if you put a SRT 6.4 in it

 

[EriikK]

That Hellcat drivetrain would be a lot of fun in a sports car. Not sure it would fit in a Miata though..
and $18k is a lot more than I have into, or want to put into, this truck.

 

[EriikK]

Yeah I'm doing the work myself. I don't want to do it twice so if I repair the motor I will spring for the head bolts and whatever else is needed to do it reasonably right.
Given the cost of tuning it i think my best choice is to stick with the truck 6.4. Thanks for helping me understand this, I had no idea it cost so much to make the ECU tune-able. And for towing the 5.7 would be a step in the wrong direction I think.

 

[Wild one]

Yeah I'm doing the work myself. I don't want to do it twice so if I repair the motor I will spring for the head bolts and whatever else is needed to do it reasonably right.
Given the cost of tuning it i think my best choice is to stick with the truck 6.4. Thanks for helping me understand this, I had no idea it cost so much to make the ECU tune-able. And for towing the 5.7 would be a step in the wrong direction I think.

Kurtis has a good write up on doing the cam in a VVT engine,MMX also has a decent video on a cam swap.

How-To: 4th gen hemi cam installation

Since cams are becoming more available for the VVT hemi engine, regardless of whose cam you choose, here is the how-to of doing the cam swap for the 4th gen trucks. This is honestly a job that can be done by anyone with basic handtools and basic mechanical skills. I did my first cam swap...

www.ramforum.com

Gen3 HEMI Camshaft Tips and Installation Instruction by MMX / ModernMuscleXtreme.com

Shop Camshafts and Valvetrain on MMX: http://www.modernmusclextreme.com/c-6-hemi-camshafts-valvetrain.aspx

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