i dont want to spend a ton of money for a CAI and want to make one myself. on problem is that the throttle body sits on top of the engine and i dont know what will fit on top of the TB and will fit when i shut the hood, any sugestions

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...d=330393281966

This is probably the best thing you can do. Putting a short ram intake on the truck wouldnlt help much and a real cold air intake goes completely out of the engine bay, usually in the fender well, Which wouldnt be very easy in one of these trucks.

Maybe I'm wrong, Just my opinion.

You'll prolly just have to build your on like i am.

do you have any ideas for a peice that would fit a couple inch gap

Well it depends if you want a true COLD air intake or a Just a performance or just to change stock style.

Stock style already is a cold air intake. The hose is routed to the grill which brings in cold air. You can just a performance air filter to improve the flow.

You can add a cold air intake from a 2nd gen Dakota which will fit on ours. But in the since most of these are not true COLD air intakes. They just use HOT air from under the hood, and have a good performance air filter. Like this one. HERE

Or you can go with the open air filter like the link that is posted above. Good performance air filter but again HOT air from under the hood.

The COLDER Denser air you can get into the engine the better performance.
Using hot air which is less dense will not get you the best performance possible.

So for less money just buy a performance air filter to drop into a stock air filter setup.

You can find an intake cover off a 93-98 Grand Cherokee with the 5.2 at a junk yard. And build you on from there using cone filters and some PVC. They have small intake covers to the TB cause of the close fit between the hood and TB

Waste of time, money and effort...unless you open up your exhaust to match. I've done this on three American products between 90 and 95 year models. The computer is not sophisticated enough to for it to make a difference without a significant exhaust swap, and the Cat does nothing but hurt. It does make your ride sound better and quicker out of the hole, but you're mpg will go down cause you keep your foot in it all the time cause it sounds cool. All of mine were homemade, using muffler pipe and straight, smooth pvc ducting to put the intake up in the grill to draw cold air. All cost less than $50.

IMO, I think engines run better with the OEM air cleaner and exhaust. The only part about the exhaust that doesnt matter is the tail. So upgrading it from 2.5 to 3" will make a small difference in back pressure if you're not towing with it.

I'm just not sure if this is the case... CAI, even a short ram intake is better than a stock setup. The way I see it (logic tells me) with the short ram intake The grill (and air scoops if you have them) lets cold air in the bay and it is inducted into intake. It's no hotter (probably much less hot) than most stock setups. Most cars performance can be improved upon with these mods. Why else is business booming for the manufactures? It's a highly polished aluminum tube with a conical filter on the end. If you want to do a little test unclip the case to your stock plastic air filter and listen to the difference all that extra air makes when you rev the engine.

Sure but your intake can only handle so much volume on stock cam and pistons set-ups. And the exhaust system is designed to purge the cylander correctly and providing enough vacuum.

IMO, if you ran a cowl hood and ran one correctly. That would definately provide more cooler denser air.(other than switching to an air to air setup) Because the air moves faster across the hood and at the bottom of the windshield. I used a cowl setup on a sportman series race car and seen a 12hp gain. And 12hp in race world means the difference between winning and losing and a fatter paycheck. But if your using it as a DD, I see no need in making the mod. Spend your money elsewhere.