In 1992, with emissions standards becoming ever more stringent in the United States, Chrysler Corporation released the first of the upgraded engines. Magnum engines In 1992, Chrysler introduced the first of a series of upgraded versions of the LA engines. The company named their engine the "Magnum", a marketing term that had been used by the company previously to describe both the Dodge Magnum automobile and an earlier Dodge passenger car (only) engine series; the latter was based on the big-block B/RB V8 engines of the 1960s-70s. The Chrysler Magnum engines are a series of V6, V8, and V10 powerplants used in a number of Chrysler Corporation motor vehicles, as well as in marine and industrial applications. This family of gasoline-burning engines lasted for over a decade, were installed in vehicles sold across the globe, and were produced in the millions. Technical information The Magnum engine is a direct descendant of the Chrysler LA engine, which began with the V8 in 1964. While the Magnum 3.9, Magnum 5.2, and Magnum 5.9 (1992-up) engines were significantly based on the 239, the 318, and the 360 — respectively — many of the parts will not directly interchange and the Magnums are not technically LA engines; the only major parts that are actually unchanged are the connecting rods. The cylinder block remained basically the same. It was still a V-shaped, 90-degree design made of cast iron. The crankshaft, located to the bottom of the block by five main bearing caps, was cast nodular iron, and the eight connecting rods were forged steel. The pistons were cast aluminum, with a hypereutectic design. Cylinders were numbered from the front of the engine to the rear; cylinders 1, 3, 5 and 7 were found on the left (driver side) bank, or "bank 1", with the even numbers on the other bank. Coolant passages were located between the cylinders. The gerotor-type oil pump was located at the bottom rear of the engine, and provided oil to both the crankshaft main bearings and the cylinder heads (via the lifters and pushrods, as opposed to a drilled passage on LA engines). Chrysler's engineers also redesigned the oil seals on the crankshaft to improve anti-leak seal performance. The oil pan was also made from thicker steel, and was installed with a more leak-resistant silicone-rubber gasket. Gasoline was supplied to the intake manifold through a pair of steel rails that fed