5.7 Hemi swap

sounds good

Thanks guys. RG, that guy from the High Life commercials is funny!

So far I've got over 100 miles on it. It runs great. I'm seeing about 13 mpg but that's not indicative of anything just yet. Let me get some more miles on it and we'll see where she ends up. The exhaust is a bit loud for a DD. I'll need to change it b/c it wakes my boys up at night. All of you married guys know that if Momma ain't happy, you ain't happy. Well, she's cool with it right now but after the newness wears off, she probably won't be so understanding about it.

Aside from that, everything is the same as it was before. All the gauges work fine, it shifts fine, etc. The electronics seem happy with the new PCM in place. The fan runs all the time but that's inherent with AEV's setup. I might see if I can work in some kind of thermostatically controlled relay to turn on at 210-220. Burnsville's PCM's have this function but AEV's do not. Oh well. I'll need the fan on most of the time in south Texas anyway.

Sorry I didn't make the install party on Saturday. I promise to get together with ya'll soon. Or you guys can come out and drink beer at my place sometime. Whatever floats yer boat.

Just a quick update on my heep...

1300 miles on it now. No problems at all. I had a few front end components loosen up on me (track bar bracket) but other than that no issues with the drivetrain. I installed a high pressure line switch to help firm up aggressive shifts and it actually made a noticeable difference.

Driving impressions: As you would guess, it's vastly different from the v6. It'll lumber down the highway pulling 1700rpms and it's happy with it. Driving 80 is no longer a fight between OD and 3rd gear. If you jump on it, you know it's got good torque. I haven't done any smokey burnouts but I'm sure it'll do it. I've jumped on it from a roll and it pulls very hard. So far I've had it to 100mph and it was smooth. The exhaust is loud when I start it up in my garage but being an old school Mopar guy I like it. The wife and kids don't like it when they're trying to sleep! With the doors off or the windows open, it's pretty loud driving on the highway with the concrete barrier to your immediate left. I may change the muffler to something like a flowmaster 50 series. It's got a hushpower on it now.

I'm completely happy with the swap. In town mileage ranges in the 12's. Highway mileage can be 14 or better but I tend to drive faster now. Normally I hover right around 13.5-14.2 on the highway. She's not using any oil or leaking any fluids. I had one small drip from the power steering cooler but a few twists on the clamp and it solved the problem.

Any questions?

Thanks for the update.

Thanks for the update. it seemed to come together without too much fuss. glad to here something like that is very doable as a home gearhead project (if you can do without it for a week or two).


in the video, there seemed to be a loud whine after reving the engine, any idea what that is? did you have it in 4wd in the video?

congrats !! you luck sob. you have made it into an elite fellowship few of us will ever reach

The power steering had a lot of air in it. I opted to use the old transmission cooler (it's in the bottom of the a/c condenser) as the PS cooler. It just took a while to get the air out, which is why you hear the whine.

I didn't realize this was you till I just saw this update. I followed this on JKO and was actually telling a friend about it today.

You gotta take me for a spin next weekend.

No problem!

Awesome build!!!!! You bringing it to gilmer on new years?

I'm not sure if I'll be at Gilmers or not. Winter is my time to snowmobile so I spend all my free time out West.

[quote="
Finishing off the day in true Texas fashion
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your my hero! not only are you doing a damn fine job on that hemi swap ..but you have the right liquid inspiration! this whole time i thought I was the only Lonestar Light drinker.. cheers to ya bud

I'll bring ya a cold one to hidden falls!

Ya gotta keep the troops hydrated!

Hey there I was wondering how much did it cost for the engine? trying to compare price between supercharger or hemi.... not gonna be doing this for a while but figured I should atleast have a goal!! i figure the swap is quit a bit more pricey in the long run....

thanks

Brian,

If you do it yourself, figure about 10K. It really depends on the cost of the powerplant and which swap kit you use. You can do it for less than that if you are patient and acquire the parts as you find good deals.

The superchargers are getting better but I'm still partial to the V8.

Tim

ya im torn between the 2 options v8 is by far the best in my eyes , unlimited mods etc.... thanks for the info and great write up. Were you able to sell your v6? also were did you find your donor engine? I know theres a great site car-parts.com, but like you said patience and smart shopping could save me lots!

Brian,

I have a longer writeup on JKO. I just never got around to doing two threads in depth. I looked at all avenues when I was set on doing some serious power improvements.

To make a long story short, the hemi made the most sense to me. I sold my donor engine and got a good price out of it. That helped put some cash back in my pocket. Actually no, it went to other mods! Car-part is where I got mine. It was an 08 Commander powertrain with 7,100 miles with a 2 year parts warranty. You can find non VVT powertrains like that if you watch religiously. I scanned car-part about eight times a day for over three months. Finally, the right one showed up.

Here's some food for thought...if you don't think the hemi has enough ooompf, you can always supercharge that engine. What will you do if the supercharger isn't enough? Sell it and do a v8? Water injection? NOS? The v8 makes consistent power reliably for a long period of time otherwise they wouldn't use it in all the Chrysler/Dodge lineup. Plus, the V8 just sounds cool!

There's so much I learned from my swap that will make the next swap go so much more easy. Yes, I said the NEXT swap. I will do another one.

awesome ill check your other right up as well . And like you said the V8 sounds great and skys the limit with mods for it. Again I appreciate the info and thanks again