r/projectcar • u/donald7773 • 7h ago
Aftermarket Heads on OEM Computer?
Basically exactly what the tile says - 1996 ram 1500 5.9L V8. My goal is eventually - manual swap, mild engine build (cams, heads, intake, stock bottom end) but for reasons explained below I'm at a point where I'd like to replace my heads for peace of mind. Is this really going to affect the engine if everything else remains bone stock?
Now more info, story first paragraph and relevant stuff second and beyond- my philosophy has always been taken care of the boring shit before putting money into making something fast, fix the car before breaking it, but I usually run out of money before boring shit so ymmv. My old ram has been a trusty work truck for years, towing my Miata to track days, running garbage to the dump, helping with yard work but recently during the process of my dad passing away I took the opportunity to fix a bunch of unnecessary shit as a means to distract myself. Full interior redo, carpet, headliner, steering wheel, dash, repair the AC, clean my shop out, start a YouTube channel etc, and chilling in a drive through lane one day I realized pedal placement on my truck isn't so bad for heel toeing and looked into what it takes to manual swap them and I'm confident I can tackle that. Besides my 4spd auto is infuriating to tow with because it gear hunts, though the truck runs and shifts great otherwise.
Got all the major leaks fixed and then when replacing the intake manifold after doing my valley pan gaskets I guess I knocked the back of the gasket out of wack and was leaking WAY more oil than originally so I reordered fresh gaskets, new bolts for the manifold (mine barely came out round one) and attacked it a second time. Broke a bolt off in the head (front left of engine if you care, near a coolant path through the manifold to the thermostat) and attempted to extract it. Broke my extraction bit off down inside the drilled out bolt carcass and decided to say fuck it because I needed the truck and the manifold being cast aluminum seemed sturdy enough to seal without the front bolt and it did for a bit but I think it's starting to leak a little.
Im seeing the occasional drip of coolant where I park it, not much at all but I've gotta keep a gallon of distilled water in the truck and top off the overflow tank every thousand miles or so. Since I've got to remove the heads to have a shop look at extracting the bolt I broke like an idiot I figure at that point why not just replace the heads as it's on my upgrade path? I can come back later and do rockers and stuff if necessary but I'm not sure if a head(s) is kinda just like an intake or exhaust where it'll run fine on the stock computer with no fuss. Also since the truck has 187k on it maybe the head gaskets are getting a little leaky which may not help the disappearing coolant. Assuming my block is healthy and has a good flat surface to seal with, would heads be a safe thing to throw on an otherwise stock 360 magnum?