I'm not certain but I suspect that there are numerous differences in the wiring, the fuel injectors, the PCM and who knows what else.

I brought the engine home today.

I tore it down to a short block.

I cleaned the tops of the pistons to look for any ID markings.

These numbers ....I did an internet search and only found one reference to it....some guy rebuilding his 2006 5.7 engine saw these numbers on the pistons.

I still see cross hatch and there is no ridge at the top of the cylinders.

I'll take the heads and the short block to my machinist tomorrow.

. [/quote]Dave won't he start throwing codes with the Eagle Heads? [/quote]

Yeah, I would. The Eagle heads don't have an EGR valve. Mine does.

Dave won't he start throwing codes with the Eagle Heads? [/quote]

Yeah, I would. The Eagle heads don't have an EGR valve. Mine does. [/quote]


Takes about 2 minutes with a hand drill to add the passages, it is zero issue at all.

If I knew of someone nearby that knew about this stuff, it sure would help. This isn't like the old days where just about every machine shop guy knew the specs of the common engines off the top of his head.
I'm sure there are plenty of tricks to wake up these engines and make more power while still remaining reliable.
I hate to come across like the crusty old dude that refuses to deviate from stock because thats how they built them when they were new so thats how I'm going to build this one.

That isn't the case. Emissions compliance is a big factor if you live where there is testing. Adding EGR is an interesting thought but I'd still have to consider the compression ratio difference.
It was stated that there was a fuel economy increase with the higher compression. I understand that. I'm still pondering if it balances out ....overall fuel costs for each mile.
I'm guessing that all of the gains in HP from 2008 to the 2009+ engines is from multiple points. VVT, improved efficiency in the port design, active intake manifolds, different exhaust manifolds, etc.
The 2008 was rated at 345 HP. The 2009 was 395. Is 50 HP in a 5000 lb truck that noticeable? How much of that gain is from the heads? I'd suspect that the biggest gains were from the cam timing.
If a 2006-2008 5.7 were fitted with these Eagle heads bumping compression about 2 points, I see that one would gain power from the compression increase as well as from the improved head design.
In the past, it was thought that each point of compression can make a difference in HP of about 4%. 8% added to 345 is 372. Add in the increases from the head flow, are we now closing in on the Eagle 395 HP number?
For a classic car, I don't mind running 91 octane premium all the time. I don't drive the car nearly as much as this truck.

I brought the heads and the short block to the machinist. He says that unless they are abused, most late model engines run a long time. He liked how the cylinders walls looked but plans to take a micrometer to them to see if the engine has been bored over. That weird 21_015 number has to mean something.
He thought the heads looked fine at first glance but will disassemble and check the valve guides and report back.
He works part time a few days a week. The 440 block I had there last Summer took awhile and that was just a bore/hone/deck/clean/cam bearings. That took 2 months.
If all he has to do is go through the heads, the turnaround will be quicker. I'm going to take my fuel injectors to a friend that has a cleaning business.

I get more than 8% better economy, more like 20% but it comes from more than just increased engine efficency from compression increase. The ratio increase alone is just over 2.5 points more so about 10% less fuel just on that but there is also more airflow, double quench pads. Also the increased TQ from all that means a lot less downshifting around here so if you live and drive on long flat roads you may not see much improvement from that if it don't down shift a lot already. Without tuning the extra airflow and exhaust flow means the ratio is gonna be leaned out significantly when it is not adjusting for the o2 sensor readings. Also since it requires less throttle opening and higher vacuum in the intake the computer advances the timing more so all in all there is a lot more advantage to the swap that strictly having more compression.

I was just throwing numbers around for the purposes of comparison.

I am curious about why they juggled the combustion chamber and piston design. What advantages did they seek?
A flatter piston and smaller chamber provides what gains? With dual spark plugs, I don't see any gains in flame travel. Did this allow for more overlap with the cam?

A flat piston has less surface area for it to absorb heat. Smaller chamber more compression and the dual quench pads give the fuel/air mix and extra mix right bee four ignition. It also flows more air because of improved ports and bigger valves.

Thanks.
I made it nearly 400,000 miles on a stock engine, I'll just default to a stock replacement.
For a hot rod, I'd be open to deviating from a factory type arrangement but this truck is a daily driver, commuter, tow rig, parts hauler and it needs to be able to run on any grade of available gas.

I have yet to hear from anyone that has logged more miles on their original gas engine.
Yesterday I rolled over 395,000 miles.
Each cold start brings a MIL. That is Dodge/Mopar speak for Malfunction Indicator Light.
Everyone else calls it a Check Engine light but I try to follow what the Dodge owners manual dictates.
The MIL is always a random misfire or a cylinder 6 misfire. Once the engine is running a couple of minutes, the idle smooths out and it idles great. You'd never know that the engine has this many miles on it. It does blow a little steam if it has been ran, shut down and restarted a bit later. I suspect the head gaskets are leaking a minute amount of coolant into the chambers. I smell the sweet tang of coolant from the exhaust pipes even if it isn't pushing any steam.
Power seems on par with what it has been for years but it may have incrementally slowed down a bit. I'm tempted to run it on a dyno before I pull it for the swap, just to have a before and after comparison.
The machinist has had the replacement engine for almost 3 weeks. I don't know if he has done anything yet. I'm going to check in with him tomorrow. I don't like to be a pain in the ass to people but I also don't want this to drag out 3 months. I want to have the engine here before THIS one craps out.