Engine rebuild for future whipple?

[Ellisstrong]

I have a procharged “daily” driver etorque 5th gen that has been incredibly reliable now for almost 60k miles being supercharged…. No issues at all running about 6psi

 

[Jmac509]

I have a procharged “daily” driver etorque 5th gen that has been incredibly reliable now for almost 60k miles being supercharged…. No issues at all running about 6psi

How much did time and money did it take to have the pro charger installed? How much weight do you typically tow?

 

[MilehighRam]

@BowDown gave a lot of good info as did @HSKR R/T .

My opinion, if you want a DD (daily driver) that is boosted, go with Whipple. They do make a kit. It says bolt on but you bet there will be some tweaking involved so be prepared. The twin screw offers power right from the start. A vortex style is more top end power. Much like a turbo is, until you wind it up, there is a lag. While this twin screw 3.0 kit comes with intercooler and all, don't go this route if you sit in bumper to bumper traffic, you will overheat. Compressing air makes heat.

Long tunes can be troublesome sometimes but do offer the best exhaust flow. An alternative is to get stock manifolds from a 6.4l Challenger/Charger/300. These will easily bolt up and are basically shorty headers from the factory.

Oh, one more caveat, if you have an etorque, try again. Whipple says it is not compatible, I don't know about Magnuson, Edlebrock or others. I can't imagine one would work with the start/stop feature nor could I see it playing well with the electric motor start. I could be wrong.

Edit: @BowDown posted above as i was writing. He is right. You probably wont build what you can just buy stock without the hassles.

Whipple has a 5th gen ram etorque version coming out in 3-4 months. Direct quote from Whipple.

 

[BowDown]

I have a procharged “daily” driver etorque 5th gen that has been incredibly reliable now for almost 60k miles being supercharged…. No issues at all running about 6psi

You may be the exception rather than the rule. I saw your build thread a couple years ago.
You're one of the few that I've seen that the power added was enough and left it alone.
Most people suffer from the "just a little bit more" syndrome which is when the trouble starts

 

[BowDown]

How much did time and money did it take to have the pro charger installed? How much weight do you typically tow?

Installs are typically about a week.
Id guess install costs to be around 5k plus the SC kit.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Installs are typically about a week.
Id guess install costs to be around 5k plus the SC kit.

Should be able to get s procharger installed in a day, then maybe one or two days for tweaking the tune if you are going custom tuning. Not sure if procharger gives you a base tune with the kit.

 

[Ellisstrong]

How much did time and money did it take to have the pro charger installed? How much weight do you typically tow?

I don’t tow. Mine has been installed for 4 years but install around then would’ve been about 2k. I know people who have installed procharger kits themselves on previous gen rams. It’s not overly complicated with step by step instructions and support provided by procharger.

 

[Ellisstrong]

You may be the exception rather than the rule. I saw your build thread a couple years ago.
You're one of the few that I've seen that the power added was enough and left it alone.
Most people suffer from the "just a little bit more" syndrome which is when the trouble starts

Yeah I’ve saw what that rabbit hole can do. I have the control not to go that route. My truck is quick enough. It will surprise a scat pack at least and run with it for a few seconds lol

 

[Ellisstrong]

Should be able to get s procharger installed in a day, then maybe one or two days for tweaking the tune if you are going custom tuning. Not sure if procharger gives you a base tune with the kit.

Procharger comes with a base tune that’s 50 state legal specific to their application in the complete kit

 

[theblet]

Procharger comes with a base tune that’s 50 state legal specific to their application in the complete kit

Sounds like a competent shade tree mechanic could do this in their garage.

How is the tune applied? Do you need any special equipment?

 

[HSKR R/T]

Sounds like a competent shade tree mechanic could do this in their garage.

How is the tune applied? Do you need any special equipment?

Pretty sure it's an unlocked PCM

 

[theblet]

Pretty sure it's an unlocked PCM

Oh so you swap the whole pcm

 

[Darksteel165]

Oh so you swap the whole pcm

It's a pretty common practice.
The PCMs from the factory are locked anyways so if you wanted to apply a tune you would need to send your PCM in to someone to unlock and send back.
It's only 4 screws and 2 levers.

 

[HSKR R/T]

It's a pretty common practice.
The PCMs from the factory are locked anyways so if you wanted to apply a tune you would need to send your PCM in to someone to unlock and send back.
It's only 4 screws and 2 levers.

Three screws

 

[BowDown]

Should be able to get s procharger installed in a day, then maybe one or two days for tweaking the tune if you are going custom tuning. Not sure if procharger gives you a base tune with the kit.

Operative word is should.
Show me a shop that has a 1 day turnaround on a cetri or roots SC install.
Shops don't work on your car from open to close, they round robin it, a tech may spend 3-4 hours on your car then moves on to another. One guy may be fab, another fuel, another tuning, another basic installs.

Personally, I wouldn't want my truck in a shop that aims to have it installed, tuned and back to me in 1-2 or 3 days.
No shop I've dealt with has a 1-3 day turnaround on a blower install.
Lookup AMP performance in Arlington
AMP | Advanced Modern Performance

Probably one of the best SC shops in the country, they don't do 1-3 day turnarounds.
They are a holes to deal with but their expertise and results cannot be ignored

 

[BowDown]

I don’t tow. Mine has been installed for 4 years but install around then would’ve been about 2k. I know people who have installed procharger kits themselves on previous gen rams. It’s not overly complicated with step by step instructions and support provided by procharger.

COVID has done a job on labor cost now.
I paid $7k for a forged 434 LS stroker short block and maybe $2500 labor to R&R the engine.

Today my rebuild on that same 434, reusing the crank, rods, pistons, block is $7500 and I was quoted $3500-4000 for the engine R&R. Costs have definitely gone up and they without doubt know you're there because you have money to burn so the price accordingly.

A friend of mine was quoted $17k for an LT4 rebuild by LME in Houston. That's effin crazy but when you have hellephants going for $50-60k, it's a bargain. A compatible (to the hellephant) LS engine will be about 45K now

 

[Ellisstrong]

Sounds like a competent shade tree mechanic could do this in their garage.

How is the tune applied? Do you need any special equipment?

Yeah you can either buy a new unlocked pcm or send yours in to be unlocked and the tune applied. They are Diablo tuned from procharger. I’ve switched over to hptuners.

 

[GMetal]

HP Tuners can unlock PCMs. Never assume a "kit" wil just fit. Never seen a kit ever fit without some modification to make it all work. Covid definitely has ruined many things related to performace parts. Im still waiting on parts from 2 years ago.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Operative word is should.
Show me a shop that has a 1 day turnaround on a cetri or roots SC install.
Shops don't work on your car from open to close, they round robin it, a tech may spend 3-4 hours on your car then moves on to another. One guy may be fab, another fuel, another tuning, another basic installs.

Personally, I wouldn't want my truck in a shop that aims to have it installed, tuned and back to me in 1-2 or 3 days.
No shop I've dealt with has a 1-3 day turnaround on a blower install.
Lookup AMP performance in Arlington
AMP | Advanced Modern Performance

Probably one of the best SC shops in the country, they don't do 1-3 day turnarounds.
They are a holes to deal with but their expertise and results cannot be ignored

Just because a shop wants to milk he time doesn't mean it can't be done. And if procharger send a tuned PCM with the kit, your average shade tree mechanic can install it in a day. A procharger is a bolt on mod. You take off your stock air filter assembly, probably fan shroud, and bolt on the procharger bracket and hesd unit. Maybe swap out the crank pulley, if it uses its own belt. No changes to fuel system, that's taken care of with the tune. Any competent tech can knock it out.

But that is why I do all my own work, at least as much as I can. I'm not going to pay someone else to take their time and milk the labor

 

[BowDown]

Just because a shop wants to milk he time doesn't mean it can't be done. And if procharger send a tuned PCM with the kit, your average shade tree mechanic can install it in a day. A procharger is a bolt on mod. You take off your stock air filter assembly, probably fan shroud, and bolt on the procharger bracket and hesd unit. Maybe swap out the crank pulley, if it uses its own belt. No changes to fuel system, that's taken care of with the tune. Any competent tech can knock it out.

But that is why I do all my own work, at least as much as I can. I'm not going to pay someone else to take their time and milk the labor

Did I say it couldn't be done in that amount of time? He asked how long a shop would take.
You say milking the time, that's not what I said, I said they may only work on it 4 or so hours a day. I never said a shadetree mech couldn't do it but that wasn't the question either was it?

If a person worked on this for 8 hours straight, yes they could do it in a day. If a person has never done an install like this then it will take longer. Have a laser pulley alignment tool lying around? It's not needed but it makes the job a lot easier, who would know to have one handy or why? Oh yeah, an experienced installer. Pulley alignment alone can cost you a significant amount of time especially if you didn't know to check or to even mock up the unit 1sy before torquing everything done.

Yes, I've installed a F1X on a friend's car then later an F1R