A Bad Thing Happened Yesterday

"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
06/11/2016 at 08:11 • Filed to: None

My dad’s 2005 Chrysler 300C dropped a valve seat, and they’re saying it needs a new engine. He was planning to drive it for another year then get something new, but this is probably going to change his plans a little.

The 300 has 193k on it but has never missed a beat. This is literally the first thing to ever go wrong with that engine. It’s a shame, I was hoping he would get to do one more spark plug change, it would put him over 100 plugs used in the life of the engine.

So now he either has to buy an engine for it (Dodge dealer quoted $10k installed for a new one, I’m sure he could do better elsewhere) or buy a new car. He’s looking at engines right now, since he would have no problem driving the car three more years if need be. That or he’ll buy a newer 300C and we’ll have to figure out what to do with his ‘05.

The problem this presents to me, if he changes the engine, is that now I’ve got a possibly rebuildable 5.7 hemi and a ‘64 Barracuda that it would fit in. The new hemi actually has the same bolt pattern for the transmission that the old LA small blocks do, so aside from maybe needing a spacer my A833 should bolt up to it. That might almost be too much engine for that car...it’s definitely too much engine for the stock rear end, so an 8 3/4 rear would need to find its way in there as well.

But I should probably worry about getting the Barracuda here first. 7 days, the countdown is on!

DISCUSSION (18)

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/11/2016 at 08:16

That could turn the Barracuda in one hell of a sleeper!

One question though: How did you dad use that much spark plugs in 193k miles? Or is that considered normal in America?

daender > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/11/2016 at 08:21

Search for a wrecked Pursuit Charger or other wrecked V8 Mopar of similar vintage. It might not be as easy to swap engines in a newer Mopar as I’ve seen done to Stangs and Miatas, but it’s hell lot more affordable than paying 10k$.

Flavien Vidal > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/11/2016 at 08:21

Why bother replace the engine? With this much mileage it’s a 6000$ car at best. Replacing the engine makes no sense at all. You may do so, then the car will be worth 7k$ if he were to sell it right away. No reason whatsoever to replace this engine. He’d change the engine, the value of the car would keep on dropping and he will have spent 7 or 8k$ to use a 6000$ car from 3 more years.

I’d say suck on the loss, get a thousand bucks or so from the scrapyard and get something else. Throwing that much money into a car that is not worth anything anymore does not make much sense.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Flavien Vidal
06/11/2016 at 08:27

Because he would rather spend something like $4-5k fixing a car he knows and driving it for another three years so that money was worth it than spending $25-30k on a new car.

If he was going to sell the car now, yeah fixing it would be stupid...the car isn't worth fixing to sell. But if he doesn't want to have car payments again yet, it could make sense to fix it (at a more reasonable price) and drive it a few more years. The value of the car doesn't matter when you're driving it.

Flavien Vidal > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/11/2016 at 08:29

It is something we’d do (that I would do...). SOurcing a used engine and throwing it in there for cheap. That would be fine. But if he is the kind of person to even GET a quote from his local dealership to replace the engine, I’d tend to think he’d sink a lot more than that into the car...

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > daender
06/11/2016 at 08:30

Totally. I mean he found a new longblock nearby for $3k and we know a guy that will do the swap for probably $1000-1500, he's a friend of ours. At $4000 it's not too bad, more pallatable to him than spending $30k on a new car. $10k is laughable, of course.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Flavien Vidal
06/11/2016 at 08:33

Nah, when he went to the dealer with it we didn't know what the problem was...we thought maybe it was something in the transmission since the car felt like it was running fine but sounded like junk. They told him the news and quoted him on the engine all at once.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
06/11/2016 at 08:36

Ha, I thought somebody might ask that. The 5.7 hemi uses regular old copper plugs and recommends replacement every 30k miles...it also happens to use two plugs per cylinder. So he’s changed 16 plugs six times, for a total of 96 plugs.

The Barracuda would be a beast with that engine. Would probably have to go carbureted, unless I could find a junkyard intake and EFI/computer/harness for cheap.

Flavien Vidal > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/11/2016 at 08:37

ha ok ok

Than yes, source an engine with less miles on it, throw it in there and live on! :)

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Flavien Vidal
06/11/2016 at 08:41

Watch, he’ll go through all of this looking for an engine and show up one day with a CLS550 anyway, haha.

Flavien Vidal > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/11/2016 at 08:44

That would be a much better car to sink his money into :)

JGrabowMSt > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/11/2016 at 09:06

I have a lot of personal experience with this.

If you get a fleabay motor like I did, opt for a short block and buy separate heads yourself. The fleabay motor’s gaskets have gone left and right, despite having shipped with a complete gasket set. I’ve had to replace the oil pan gasket and valve cover gaskets. The oil pan on these motors is a complete bitch to get out.

Also, I can assure you, you do not want to waste any time with the bad motor. Mine had metal everywhere inside. It would be impossible to know for sure if all the metal was actually out of the block, I could have attempted a rebuild only to turn the key and have an instantly borked fresh motor. Once you pull the heads off that old motor, you’ll find that they’re going to be absolutely trashed.

My hell ended around $7500 for total installation including motor, and I’m really torn about how I would do things if I could go back. There are a lot of options for this, and honestly, it’s not easy to make a final decision. It cost me more than what I paid for the car, but considering my purchase price, I wasn’t going to find another running car with such a rust free chassis.

If you were to take my advice, here’s the plan I would go ahead with..

1) Find a good pulled motor from a running car, preferably someone who’s doing a motor swap

2) Pull the heads from the motor and do a 6.1L head swap. It involves using 6.1L pushrods and shimming the valves. It will not drop a seat in the future. Alternatively, you could look into doing an Eagle head swap, but it’s a lot more work (but makes a lot more power).

3) Find a used, medium mileage trans out of a 09+. The transmissions function the same, but the internals are a lot stronger.

The motor should be in the $1500-3000 range. You could buy yourself a rebuilt fleabay motor for that money, but you wouldn’t have to break this one in, and you’re doing a head swap anyway. The trans is only because I’ve noticed my 178k NAG1 is still strong, but getting older. Something about not putting all your eggs in one basket.

If you’re equipped to pull the motor in your own garage, get the car back from the dealer. For the cost of parts and a few nights wrenching with your dad, you could have the car back together with relatively few headaches. Swap the gaskets and any necessary parts before dropping the motor in, pull the timing cover off and check the tensioner, but overall, there’s no reason you’d have any trouble if you sourced a used motor. Just swap your sensors over, and enjoy the car.

It sucks that some people would say scrap the car over this, but honestly, it’s a defect in the 03-05 motors. Some early 06 cars can see it, but 06+ cars I think are mostly trouble free when it comes to the valve seats. Really sucks that Dodge wont issue a recall. I wouldn’t mind getting a nice fat check to reimburse me for my motor swap, but that’s just how it goes. Look on ebay and craigslist for motors, even if you only swap the motor. Only thing to be careful with is sometimes the flex plate is a bitch to re-use. It’ll go on, but you’ll need to fiddle with it a bit to get it to work.

In fact, if you have an engine hoist at all, I would consider doing this yourself. Drop the trans until the motor is bolted in, then lift the trans back in. Makes the entire process a lot easier. Ask me how I know.

LongbowMkII > Flavien Vidal
06/11/2016 at 09:11

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

mr2gud2u > JGrabowMSt
06/11/2016 at 09:29

I knew if I scrolled far enough I would find you giving the OP some good insight. Thunderbolt, listen to this kid he knows his shit.

JasonStern911 > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/11/2016 at 09:54

pull the head and check the cylinder walls for scoring. you might just need one new piston and one head refurbished.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Flavien Vidal
06/18/2016 at 08:44

What is an automobile but an engine and a transmission? You go out and buy a used car and it still needs a bunch of stuff done to it to get it how you like it. If the rest of the 300C is in good shape, then I would definitely consider re-engining it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/18/2016 at 08:44

There’s your plan.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/18/2016 at 08:49

If I were Pops, and if the seats and everything else were in good shape, I’d swap the engine. See the comment below about the transmission. Let us know how it works out. And didn’t you say you were too young to buy that Barracuda, or was that someone else?