if it isn't choking down on oil it sucks in and pinging awfull bad and popping back through the intake you should be fine short term. as duke sais
"You will be fine for another month. Chances are that most drive around with a blown plenum and dont realize it. Then curse Dodge for making a ****ty truck. "
most don't realize it till it smokes or the o2's or cat are dead. if your are gonna put it off and have the cash to save i'd save for the m1 and never have to worry about it again. that's the reason why i didn't put in all the updated parts on myne. short 13 and 15 swivels a long fifteen and fuel line disconnect tool 3 cans of brake parts cleaner some black rtv (for the intake ends where the rubber meets the sides) heater tube o ring thermo and gasket and your set. don't forget the new intake bolts. better safe than sorry on them. if you have the right tools you can bang it out in 3-5 hours depending on how fast you want to work. another thing if you clean up really well before you pull the intake and leave the lower rad hose off you really save alott of crud getting in your oil that you won't have to dig out. it's best if you have a in lb torque wrench although on the 2nd go around i didn't use myne. i've run my pretty hard in the last 24 hrs (pulled some steel seated in concrete out in the back) and idled it for a few hours and so far i'm still dry.

 

I was going to start a new thread but, I figure the point 9652dakota brings up makes sense and should be thought out when trying to determine the best fix for the plenum gasket problem.

Should you buy and install the Hughes kit with the chance you will face a blown gasket again? or Spend the extra money and replace the manifold with a M1 intake and never have to worry about it again?

How long should someone expect the Hughes kit to last? Is it a permanent fix?

I looked up the M1 intake at Summit Racing and it runs close to $700. What are the advantages of swapping out the intake besides never having to change the plenum gasket again?
I would have to realize some substantial increase in performance to shell out that kind of money.

 

The billet plate should be a permanent fix since it solves the thermal issue between steel and aluminum.

That said the Fel-Pro steel core gasket is a viable solution also myself and many others have used the gasket with success while it isn't a permanent fix it works well if you're in a time crunch or on a limited budget since it is cheap and available in stock at most part stores.

The M1 is a for sure permanent fix but there are set backs price being number 1. You'll also lose some low end torque but gain some high end HP.

 

as for the cost i looked one up a day before myne became immediate problem and i found one for $320 but i couldn't wait so i just did myne. so far i've heald up good with the axle
sealer and a steal gasket but it is not permanant. if you wanted to you could get the alu plate and have some one with a tig fix it up but it's really not worth the trouble. if you don't mind to do it once in while just keep fixin it. as for the torque loss. i know a guy that has a m1 and he sais that he didn't notice much in low end but picked up a good bit in the high end.

 

I am having a hard time with the hughes fix not being a permenant fix. Honestly not trying to stir up anything. But if the metalic gaskets between the intake and heads can hold up, And the reason why the old plenums were blowing out was because of two different metals having drastic tempers....Why wouldnt a permanant fix for this be making the two metals the same and using a metalic gasket?

 

the piont im hittin at is just that you still have a seem there. and while i can not see why in normal circumstances it would not hold im just saying that there is a very very small chance that it could go. i should have clarified that better.

 

I gotcha. No worries. There is always a chance in any situation.

BTW, Started doing the plenum tonight. Only hang up that I have found so far is the !@#&%#$ fuel line clips wouldnt release. I had to hold onto the line with a pair of pliers, pinch the clip on the line with needle noses, while my neighbor tapped on the end of the clip with a large blade screwdriver. Even with all of that it took a lot of tapping for it to finally come loose. I am REALLY hoping that the other line doesnt go the same way.

 

I had the same problem with the fuel lines - was doing it myself so I cut the hose off and put a new one on over the "quick" disconnect.

 

ok, dumb question, is this plenum leak problem unique to the 5.2L V8, or is the same intake design issue common to the V6?
there was mention of popping back through the throttle body in previous post, and that is definitely something i am facing with our 3.9L
appreciate the input.

 

Yes the intake problem is for all Magnum engines. V6 and both V8's.