jcfb

Any of you ever had experience with this engine, it's in a '95, and I was just wanting an over all opinion.

runamuk

Bullet proof! No power but bullet proof!

Headers, roller top end, highflow cat, flowmaster,3" exhaust, air raid throttle body spacer and a hypertech reprogram should do the job!

Rick

gerry

It's the Old 318 that has been around forever.. It just runs and runs.. Good engine.. To Bad they replaced it with the 4.7

robert chilton

Do some checking. I cant say for sure(been awhile) but I think I remember my buddy, who was a machinist, saying that they went to some really thin castings making the heads nearly impossible to machine and more prone to cracking. I know there are several differences in the late model 318s that put them in a total different engine family than the older 318s we all think off as durable work horses. I just cant remember what they are.

displacedtexan

I had a stock one in a 96 1500. Beat it hard, not much power, but otherwise an awesome engine. Great for a gasser.

torquefan

Yep, pretty great engine. I've seen a few cracked heads, but otherwise bulletproof.

djgaston

Not bad. A bit underpowered for a heavy truck, but they are great in Grand Cherokees and Dakotas. I had a 318 Dakota with a 5 speed and it ran great. My uncle has a 318 in his 98 1500 Ram and it drives good but sucks at pulling any weight. We put a K&N filter on it and a dual exhaust and that helped wake it up. Throttle body spacers are a joke, they do nothing except make the truck whistle a little bit. 1.7 Roller rockers and an M1 intake with a 50mm throttle body would make that sucker run real good. The intake upgrade is not a bad idea anyway because the 318 and 360 both suffer from leaky plenums, where the plenum gets oil and crap in it and then the truck runs like crap. Going to 4.56 gears at the axles will help get you some low end power too.

HOHN

It's a 318, displacement-wise, but it's NOT the same as the old 318 we all are thinking of. But's there's a LOT that is the same-- most dimensional measurements are identical (bore, stroke, bore spacing, deck height, etc).

In the early 90s (I want to say 1992), when Mopar came out with the "Magnum" series engines, they basically just reworked the old LA series (318/360).

Magnum engines use stud-mounted rockers, LAs use shaft mounted.
Magnum engines oil through the pushrods, LAs oil through the head.
Magnum engines use vertically drilled intake manifold bolts, LAs are drilled perpendicular to the surface. (like the difference between an old Chevy and a Vortec engine)

All Magnum engines use hydraulic roller cams. But LAs did, too, starting with the 1985 Police 318 (which also had the high-swirl heads).

In general, Mopar small blocks haven't changed much at all. Even the new 5.7L Hemi has a 360 stroke and a 318 bore, and the connecting rods are the same lengths as both!



The 318 last a long time, partly due to good design features like the long connecting rods and short stroke (3.31" stroke, 6.123" rods) Compare this to a 350 Chevy with a 3.44" stroke and a 5.7" rods, and the angle on the Chev is a lot more severe.

So 318s are VERY easy on piston rings. In fact, if you see one burning oil, it's almost ALWAYS the valve guides, not the rings.


The only sore spot (imo) on 318 is that they are hard on timing chains. They tend to chew up OEM pieces very rapidly. Most of this is weak components (like PLASTIC timing gears!) and weak chains.

Replacing the timing chain with a Rollmaster setup or a ProGear set (with hardened gears and a premium Tsubaki chain) will fix this problem forever.

Head crack sometimes, but it's usually due to a coolant problem allowing hotspots to form.

JMO

EClancy

I have a 318 in my '93 1/2 ton 4x4. Super dependable so far, no real problems in almost 2 years. I would have to say its underpowered for a full size trucks, and it shows when towing a 6'x12' landscape trailer. Truck will not, and i mean NOT, hold 65mph on the interstatein in overdrive overdrive. Great motor, but maybe a tad small for a fullsize truck. We've had many of them over the years,a dn they all lasted until the trucks fell apart around them.

jcfb

I'm not looking to pull anything. I was wanting to sort of hotrod a little truck around.

jughead

my brother-in-law has a 98 5 speed with a few tweeks and a cam has dynoed 323 hp. gets 21 mpg on highway. 200k on the odometer still has same rings and bottom end.

apache

Wondered if any one had a similar problem with the blower in 83 chebby PU. 0 fan, worked a bit here and there now nada. There is a relay on the a/c core box under the hood that has power to it but no fan action. Is it the dash switch that usually go belly up or?? Dang the only thing that works in this fine truck is the speedo and temp guage. No heater,air,gas guage,oil press,amp/volt. Thank its not power windows.

donhov

Had a 97 5.2 1500 4x4 auto and it was great. Had 160,000 miles on it when I traded on the CTD I now have. Only 3 problems, there was a problem with the intake gaskets on some, mine used a quart of oil every 200 miles till I found the problem, after replacing gasket 0 qts every 4000 miles between changes. But that plugged the cat which I gutted rather than changing and the front U-joints went out shortly after getting the truck. Other wise I pulled a 25' fiver and it was a little under powered but OK truck. Drove great and millage was fair, Had 3.93 gears and got 15 MPH highway, 12-13 city and the killer 7-9 w/fiver.