Ok so I have a friend that blew the head gasket filled up the #3 cylinder and proceeded to rip the skirt off the piston. Now we are looking for a new motor. I need to figure out if there is any difference between the J35a3 and the J35a5? I have found a 35a3 for a good price and the 35a5 is about $300 more. I need some help any one know.

 

Ok, I dont have a specific answer to your question but I do have a piece of advice that may or may not fit your scenario. When swapping engines of different types or even of the same type but a different year you MUST be aware of all the sensors and the hardware (crankshaft for example) that are on both engines. I have seen several scenarios where the same engine but a year or two newer was installed. The crankshaft had a different type reluctor so it generated a different type signal back to the computer and the computer did not recognise this signal and the engine would not start or would not go above idle, depending on the scenario on several different vehicles I have seen this on.

You can wait for a true and professional answer here and take a chance on getting everything right or you can just get exactly the same engine and call it good. Then you can add on some bolt on upgrades later for a few extra HP's and / or MPG.