318 Magnum cylinder heads

[SpaceDoggo]

I have a 318 magnum that I will be putting in my 73 satellite. The heads were cracked and I need a new pair. I'm wondering where I can find a good pair of cast iron heads. I don't have the money for aluminum heads otherwise I would get some. I have found two but I just don't know enough to make a proper decision.
Chrysler Dodge Magnum 318 / 360 1992 - 2004 Cylinder Heads, Assembled (Pair) - EQ Cores & Recycling
New Dodge V8 Magnum 5.2 5.9 318 360 Cylinder Heads Pair

 

[Don Frelier]

You should be able to find 5.2l heads in a junkyard.
Try and find an engine with lower mileage 100 k or less.

 

[Kern Dog]

You should be able to find 5.2l heads in a junkyard.
Try and find an engine with lower mileage 100 k or less.

Most of the time, the reason that trucks and SUVs end up in the junkyard is engine or transmission failure where replacement costs exceed the value of the vehicle....here in CA anyway.
In 2008 I toyed with the idea of running Magnum series heads on a 360. I pulled several pair and took them to my machinist. He kept finding cracks in them, mostly between the valve seats. He said that most of the 5.2 and 5.9 engines had cracked heads that posed no problems but he thought it made far more sense to start off with heads that had NO cracks. His reasoning was Why start with cracks that may or may not become a problem.
There are replacement heads available. I didn't check the link the OP provided....was that for Engine Quest? I thought that they were from Australia.

 

[SpaceDoggo]

You should be able to find 5.2l heads in a junkyard.
Try and find an engine with lower mileage 100 k or less.

I'm willing to look in a junkyard but I would rather have a pair I know are not cracked and are reinforced.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

I have a set in my shed... too bad you are so far away they are freebies... But you gotta take the block too.. lol

 

[SpaceDoggo]

I have a set in my shed... too bad you are so far away they are freebies... But you gotta take the block too.. lol

dang, if you weren't Atlanta I would jump on that offer!

 

[toolmanmike]

dang, if you weren't Atlanta I would jump on that offer!

Good thing this isn't a Parts Wanted thread.

I have a set in my shed... too bad you are so far away they are freebies... But you gotta take the block too.. lol

 

[69Bee]

I have a 318 magnum that I will be putting in my 73 satellite. The heads were cracked and I need a new pair. I'm wondering where I can find a good pair of cast iron heads. I don't have the money for aluminum heads otherwise I would get some. I have found two but I just don't know enough to make a proper decision.
Chrysler Dodge Magnum 318 / 360 1992 - 2004 Cylinder Heads, Assembled (Pair) - EQ Cores & Recycling
New Dodge V8 Magnum 5.2 5.9 318 360 Cylinder Heads Pair

Those are the common aftermarket ITM heads, and the price is commensurate with ones the I put together with new parts. They come as bare heads and assembled with valves, springs, locks, seals, and retainers (new or reclaimed). A lot of the OE Magnum heads are crap and are cracked between the seats. They cannot be repaired by welding and will re-crack worse if tried. They might be able to be pinned but would not trust it.

 

[Cranky]

Didn't know the Magnum heads were so bad.....unlike the LA heads.

 

[ckessel]

At one of the dealers I worked at, in the parts department, we kept 6 or so pairs on hand due to the frequency of heads cracking. This was in 2000-2002.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Back when I had my Dakota RT's one was a 99 and the other was a 2000 I never had the issue but it was a well known topic on dakotart.com about the heads cracking. One of the fixes was to buy some Mopar performance Magnum RT heads. Good article on the heads.. Not sure if they are still around.

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/mopp-0407-magnum-rt-cylinder-heads/

 

[ckessel]

Dropping a 180* t-stat in helped some too. At the dealers, we only kept the R[ reman] part number head in stock. Maybe those castings were better than what was on the trucks? No clue. I believe Hughes and Indy have the updated castings.