First position rod knocking

[Nomad7801]

My truck started a knocking noise after it over heated. I pulled the spark plugs wires one at a time. The engine quieted down when I pulled the position one wire. I was thinking that I would just rebuild it. There are 320,000 miles on it. My question really comes down to wether I should rebuild or try to find another engine? All the remanufactured engines are $2000 and up. Where is a good place to find an engine? I thought about salvage yards but there's no guarantee that I won't be in this situation again.

[geezer101]

Hi and welcome to mightyram. This is a tricky question. First up - this is the original engine right? And secondly, do you want to keep your truck 'matching numbers'? You are right about finding a good used engine from a JY. The G54B has inherent issues with cracking heads (mostly with engines using jet valves) so my bet would be a lot of these trucks end up getting scrapped due to this problem. It's done pretty good for 320,000 miles. You have options - used running engine from another truck, production line recon'd engine, rebuild your own engine or a drivetrain swap from a 2.0 ram50/mighty max (easier engine to work on and seems to be less prone to head failures but this doesn't mean they don't have other quirks...), or a big upgrade like a StarQuest 2.6 turbo which needs all the ancillary gear to make it work. Building an engine properly isn't cheap. Most of your cash goes into machine shop costs (crank, flywheel, block and head refacing) but if you're up to buying parts and assembling it yourself you'll save a stack of cash. I would consider getting a lower mileage engine and run that while rebuilding your original engine. You can make a number of modifications while rebuilding it to improve performance and you won't be stranded without a running truck.

[Law Dog]

Pull it out and see what you have first maybe, them blocks are a hard material a lot of different ways you can go like geezer said it could be the time to build one from the bottom up it's all what your trucks worth to you.

A guy puts a few grand into a truck it sounds like a lot but it's paid for when your done so no payments and cheaper insurance too.

[Nomad7801]

I was thinking of either of those options. I won't know how bad the damage is untill I get this thing apart. This truck has had it's fun but I don't think I want it to go to the grave yet. I really don't want to spend more than two grand bringing it back. Could you point me in the right direction of that StarQuest engine? Will it match up to my manual tranny?

[geezer101]

They use the same transmission bolt patterns but I am not 100% sure if there's anything more into the nut and bolt side of the install (compatible clutch/flywheel etc) Been done enough times so somebody will have the low down on going 2.6 turbo.

[Nomad7801]

Is there a list of engines that fit the transmission? I cannot seem to find any g54b engines near me or in a decent price range. They are all $1000 plus...