Had to pick between a junkyard motor and a reman for my 5.9 Cummins

Threw a rod in my '02 Ram last month and had to make the call. Junkyard motor was $1,200 with 180k miles on it, no warranty. Reman from the local shop was $3,800 with a 2 year parts guarantee. I went with the reman because I didn't want to gamble on someone else's problems. Got it dropped in last week and it runs smooth, no leaks, oil pressure is solid at idle. Has anyone else seen those junkyard motors hold up long term or is that just asking for trouble?

3 comments

3 Comments

ben_nguyen1mo ago

Actually I think you might have that price backwards for the reman. Most of the big rebuilders like Cummins and Jasper are running closer to $5,000 for a full reman 5.9. $3,800 sounds more like a short block or maybe a rebuilt head if anything. I helped a buddy swap one last year and the cheapest we found from a legit shop was $4,200 with just a 1 year warranty. Not trying to be a jerk about it, just saying you might want to check your paperwork to make sure you got the full long block and not something that's missing parts.

the_thomas1mo ago

Yeah you're probably right. $3,800 does seem low for a full long block these days.

clark.robin1mo ago

Double check that paperwork like @ben_nguyen said. A full long block at that price sounds too good to be true.