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3.2L rebuild

49K views 361 replies 35 participants last post by  TCPMeta 
#1 ·
Ok, Some of you know the oil pump in my trep died and caused the lifters to bite the dust. Well before I rip out the engine and hop to it im still thinking about on how to do this. Should I replace the oil pump, lifters and god knows what else is bad or should I do a complete rebuild and turn it into a 3.5L, ASP pulley, LX manifolds, Electric water pump, change out timing belt and such? My buddy at dodge can get me a 3.5L PCM dirt cheap and a few other parts, the rest im on my own. Most of the parts are a no brainier but converting the 3.2 into a 3.5 is the hard part. What actions should I consider and do? Does it use the same cylinders and use a different Cam or Crank? Or would I need to take the block in to get bored out? In all heres my list.

3.2L to 3.5L convert
ASP pulley
Oil Pump
Lifters
Electric Water pump
LX exhaust manifolds
Bore out throttle
Intake manifold spacer
Throttle Body spacer
Timing belt and tensioner replacement
Cruise control delete (doesn't work and I never needed one)
EGR Delete
Solid Motor Mounts
Transgo Shiftkit

A lot o do and a lot of money but this is going to be worth it. Might as well go for the gold and get all of the mods done and out of the way. If I ever blow up this motor i'll just buy a 4.0L or get rid of the trep and buy a mustang.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
I would say just get a super low mile 3.5 HO out of an 04-- and convert it to 98-01 using your 3.2 external parts, then do all the mods. If the oil pump failed the damage to bearings, etc is probably pretty bad. You would most likely be looking at a full rebuild once you got it torn down and inspected. As for converting it to a 3.5-- pistons are very hard to get for both engines-- and are available only thru Chrysler at a cost of $140 each, with the connecting rods attached-- this is what I had to get when I rebuilt my 3.2, very costly. By the time your done converting a 3.2 to a 3.5, you can just get a 3.5 with like 10k miles on it and install your mods-- lx manifolds, electric water pump (not sure how your going to do that when timing belt drives it), etc, rather than re-building the whole engine.

In case you do decide to rebuild, theres some pics in my sig thread from mine which should give you an idea what your getting into.
 
#3 ·
Ouch! I knew we all have come to a general consensus that the lifters were making noise, didn't realize you figured out the oil pump s**t the bed too. Didn't your oil light ever come on?
 
#5 ·
my pump **** the bed and my oil light never came on. i was told something about pressure only make the oil light come on.

i'd just get a used 3.5 tcp. even if the pump failure didnt cause so much damage that you might be able to rehab it. it might have still shortened the life of some of the internal parts that are in okay order.

basically for peace of mind just "replace" not "repair" as repairing is usually just a band aid.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I was told that the oil pump might of died and caused the lifters to die and that would explain why oil was coming out of the TB. I won't know until I pull the engine and take a look see. How much does used 3.5L engines run for? Thing is I don't have much money and rebuilding would be easier on the pocket since I wouldn't have to toss around a grand or two at once.
 
#7 ·
same deal as my 2.7. the oil pump died causing no oil circulation causing a "burn in" and starving the engine of oil after a while. this caused a metal on metal friction which eventually froze my engine.

you might of caught yours early enough to rehab it but if burn in started or metal on metal friction started rehabing that will be hard, very hard. i took a look at mines and couldnt figure out how in the hell i was even driving around on that. check for metal or a mixture of other fluids on the oil dipstick, also dropping your oil pan would help too. mines was full of metal

3.5's are normally in the range of $1500 - $2000 some yard may even have them waaay cheaper. if your lucky like me and NONE of your local yard have any (sarcasm) check here: http://www.car-part.com/

whatever the case hope you get her fixed soon and back on the road.
 
#8 ·
If this is what you like to do, go for it. I work on my car mostly beause I enjoy it. But I can't help but think it would be easier and more reliable to drop in a used 3.5.

That 4.0 you mentioned, what engine is this?

The Mustang: a buddy has a Mustang Cobra with the 4.6 DOHC engine. It's a fantastic engine. I keep looking under the hood, wondering if I could shoehorn on of those under the hood of my Intrepid. I know, I just wandered right of the rails of practical.

I always thought the biggest let down Dodge did on the Intrepid was no V8 with rear wheel drive.

Jim Snover
 
#13 ·
Thing is if I buy a used 3.5 wouldn't I have to rebuild it? The thing I don't like about used engines is that who knows whats wrong with it until you drop it in and start it. For 4 grand I can get a Nitro's 4.0 longblock or 2 grand for a short block.

Thing is when I was trying a few things in that last thread people were shooting at me I did a oil change and tossed in a quart of MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil) and 4 quarts of Mobile 1 10w30. Wouldn't chunks of metal fall out when the old oil was draining? When I get off of work today I'm going to clean the garage out and start on the car. Drain the oil, pull off the plenum, wire harness, heads and I guess I'll drop the pan to check for metal shavings.
 
#14 ·
i guess if you get a 3.5 from a scrapper you can listen to it before having it pulled.

not sure if you would necessarily have to rebuild it but inspecting it is needed.

i had my oil changed 4 times (since my ownership) 2 of whice were days apart before it finally went out on me. when draining the oil it didnt have chunks of oil in it at all. even the oil in the filter was pretty good.
(my guess would be that because there's minimal to no oil cirulation metal woulnd really move anywhere :dunno: im no mechanic nor do i claim to be)
the dipstick had shiny particles on it once the engine finally blew.

however, once the oil pan was dropped, metal was abundant. my mechanic said my pump had to of been clogged since i got the car (5months of ownership at that point). and the 4 oil changes were more than likely pointless as the oil wasnt circulating fast enough anyway. it just completely hampered out once the pump completely go clogged. by that time my block was pretty frozen and past the point of salvage. i assume this might be the same with yours, especially since your engine is bigger than mines and can take more abuse. hopefully it isnt and it will save you some cost.

will the nitro engine be an easy drop in? also why go nitro isnt it only like 5hp higher than a 3.5 h.o? correct me if im wrong.
 
#15 ·
I haven't started on the inspection of the engine yet. Too damn hot out.

The 4.0 is 5 more HP then the 3.5L but it's basically a new updated 3.5L when you get down to it. The swap should be easy. Just use the oil pan and intake. The rest should bolt up quite nice. The Valve system in the heads are different also. The 3.2/3.5 uses Hydraulic end-pivot roller followers while the 4.0 uses hydraulic center-pivot roller rocker arms. In all im in it for the more torque. 3.5 has 250 @ 3900 RPM while the 4.0 has 262 @ 4,100 rpm.
 
#18 ·
I can make my own wire harnesses or even get a wire harness for the motor. From what I was told it's the same programing as the 3.5L PCM. Right now I have a friend of a friend trying to locate a cheap 3.5L that runs. It started to rain just as I pulled the drain plug for the oil. So tomorrow i'll pull off the oil pan and take a look see.
 
#21 ·
I tried to drop the oil pan but I ran into a road block. The front of the pan hits the crank pulley and none of my three pulley pullers fit. (can someone recommend one that works?) The backside hits the tranny. I have to say the Haynes manual sucks ass for this. I tried to follow the directions to get the oil pan off and it skips a lot of stuff like I had to end up removing the radiator mount under the car to get to the front bolts and also jack up the engine to fit a tool in. Also you don't have to remove the whole stabilizer bar or take off the front tires, just have to remove the two mounts/bushings on the frame and push the bar back or forward. Also to remove the oil pan completely you have to remove the crank pulley.

Anyway, heres a few pics.





Oh, also the oil filter is stuck can the nut got stripped out. Damn you K&N! lol. Anyone have some tips on removeing a stuck oil filter? I tried bare hands, oil filter tools and nothing works. I had to end up punching a hole to get the oil out. Also I was looking at the oil and it seem to have a lot of metallic to it like small pieces of metal. I'm kinda worried.
 
#28 ·
Got a long screwdriver? Or a really short crowbar? Or even a long socket extension? I always used a screwdriver. Take a hammer and pierce the oil flter can all the way through. In one side, out throught the other. Then use the screwdriver to turn the filter. Its clumsy as hell, but you only need to to see that can turn a little bit to break the seal and you've got it.

Tough news about the metal shavings, man.

Jim Snover

snip

Oh, also the oil filter is stuck can the nut got stripped out. Damn you K&N! lol. Anyone have some tips on removeing a stuck oil filter? I tried bare hands, oil filter tools and nothing works. I had to end up punching a hole to get the oil out. Also I was looking at the oil and it seem to have a lot of metallic to it like small pieces of metal. I'm kinda worried.
 
#22 ·
the haynes manual blows ass on our trep for alot of parts. i wasnt paying full attention when my mechanic was dropping the oil pan but it seemed fairly quick. the metallic thing is something to worry about. mines was so bad my oil dip stick was loaded with some metalic flake. did you take a peek at your dip stick? its kind of hard to notice the flakes until you look closely.
 
#24 · (Edited)
yea, sounds pretty much done for. the metal on the dipstick is hard to see but once you notice it, that isnt the case so much anymore. mines is a 2.7 so im not sure if their different in how to remove the oil pan, but my mechanic had it done quickly as i waited. he put it back on afterwards dropped the car and started getting ready for engine removal the same day. he was working pretty fast though and he was pretty experienced in the 2.7 failure. lol, not that its a good thing.
 
#25 ·
I used these all the time at the shop. This here. Works wonders, The harder you turn, the more it bites in.

worse comes to worse, cut the oil filter near the bottom *close to the engine block* and use a screwdriver and hammer to turn it *wedge the screwdriver in to the holes in the bottom plate, and whack it with the hammer*

I use to work at a oil change shop, I use to maul filters in creative ways all the time.
 
#35 ·
I left the A/C lines connected. Just unbolted the compressor and set it aside and tied it back with a 3ft long zip tie.
Theres more to it then just a simple recharge. If you discharge it and recharge it thats fine but if you leave it discharged for a while like a week to a month or longer you will have to pump out the system then recharge it.

I've been using masking tape and a sharpie to mark all of the harness connections. I've also been keeping all of the bolts inserted into a chunk of cardboard with labels that tells me where they go and what size socket (deep or shallow) or wrench to use. Also I have a photographic memory so most of the parts I remember where they go. I hate using plastic baggies because on my last engine build I lost a few that had head studs, bolts, washers and such, went over my budget on the build for new bolts and crap.

I'll have pics tomorrow.

Since the 3.2 is dead tomorrow morning im going to hold a garage sell and get rid of a bunch of junk and use the money for the new 3.5L.

I found out I can't get a 4.0L short block for 2 grand. That's what the dealership pays for from mopar and they won't sell it direct to me and the manager at OrangePark Dodge and Westside Dodge said no for the two grand but they would do it for 5 grand and the long block is around 10 grand. So far no luck on a used 3.5L. I found one but it had a hole in the block next to cylinder 3. My boss at work is going to give me a number to a dealer that might be able to get me a used 3.5L for 500 but doubtful. I found a few 3.8Ls around town but I think the 3.5L is better and most of my good parts from the 3.2 are compatible with the 3.5L.
 
#36 ·
I cant remember where I read it but I do remember reading you can use an LX 3.5. You need to take the LH lower intake manifold and bolt it on to the lx block.Then you can use the lh plenum so you dont have to worry about the differance in the sensors.

Ill try to find the source of that but look into it.
 
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