My suggestion. If you have a track record of Misery with the dealership..

Seeing as you were towing a boat, with a 3.0, it sounds like you would want more ' umph ' to begin with. From listening to TremorJohns 3.0popcorn pinging machine, and hearing of a few people that have had 3.0's go boom.. They don't have good fuel econemy compared to their big brother ( 4.0 SOHC ) .. Why not just fine a 4.0 and stuff it in? Its offered for the year, wouldn;t be an emissions issue as the suggested 5.0 swap ( I noticed your from cali, CARB is a wench! ) , and is probably CHEAPER ( if you can get a salvage vehical ) then paying someone to re-build your current engine.

D.

 

Litigation requires 2 consistent things. Money and Time. Even with expendatures aside, your still on foot, with your vehical in ' standby ' mode and your boat in your driveway/parkinglot/storage...

The Magnuson Law doesn't cover ALL mods. While lawyers bill by the hour and the Dealerships having a write-off for the incident ( Business expense ) , the purchaser is in limbo..

Find a salvage vehical and start grepping the 4.0 out of it and all related parts. I've grabbed everything needed for a 4.0 recently along with a good part of the front suspension in less then 3 hrs. That engine will be replacing a 3.0 in a friends truck this weekend. Was less then 500$, engine has all of 105 Odometer miles and its from a 2005.

People can debate all they wish, but if your pulling a boat, this would seem like the no-brainer thing to do.

D.

 

I would like to state first, John has the voice of reason... I just have a heated garage and a NICE salvage yard to pick from.. as well as all the tools needed to do the job.

You would want everything from the engine compartment possible. A recent discovery when I picked up a set of torsion bars for a friend, John noted that he and I both had the SAME torsion bars ( code F ) . The front suspensions are more then likely the same ( outside of shocks ).

If you currently have a manual tranny, you would need the bellhousing. the 5m55 was used in both the 3 and 4 litre setups ( Wowak/Brian has the same tranny as I had stock ) .

You would want to grab the Y pipe and forward on the exhaust. I believe teh Last/larger Cat is teh same for the 3/4 litre ( Maybe Bob could chime in on that one ) . All the electronics, unbolt them from the firewall and grab the harness as well. The radiator, intake system and the brackets for the accessories as well. The power steering pumps and altenator should swap so long as your on the same year.

The real problem your going to run into is a minor one. The EGR. in 2003, some 4.0's didn't have them. They are simple to add. If you grab a local engine in Cali, it will more then likely already have it.. if not, I can mail you a full egr setup.

Its all factory parts and you should not have to fabricate anything. I don't know what insurance wrecks are going for in your area ( I'm sure it differs per state/area ) but I snagged the better half of a 2005 dirt cheap.. everything from the cab doors forward ( engine bay, front suspension, dash board [ bezel, gaugecluster], headlights.. ). Boneyards in NYS give wreckers 50-100$ per vehical. If you find something that has come in recently and hasnt sat, the yard will LOVE to double their money, especially if your doing the work.

A SOHC is not that heavy ( my opinion ) and if you have 2 strong people, you should be able ( with a picker ) to snag an engine without too many snags. I have banged up knees from my accident but a friend ( he's bigger then myself ) and I took off the hood and fenders, grabbed the engine by its exhaust manifolds and took it out with a pair of poles and a chain ( too snowy/icy to get a picker going ) .

It's time consuming, but ( again ) , if you can do the labor or have a mate that will help you, its more intimidating then difficult.

Hit me up on messenger, well talk.
D.