vehicle- 97 Dakota V8 4x4 automatic 150k and my 1993 V6 engine

Well, my truck is burning oil and after doing lots of research I found out my plenum gasket is leaking. My engine has no performance loss which is good.


questions-

1. Somebody on another website recommended I buy a plenum kit from this website, should I? http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/p...2&partid=26190

2. Do I need to drain my coolant?

3. What gaskets require RTV sealant?

4. Since I'm taking the top of my engine a part should I replace something else?

5. Tips or advice that will prevent a common mistake?

Thanks

 

1. I believe that is the 1/4" plate kit. It can be, or you can just replace the gasket (within specs of course)

2. You should drain the coolant into a jug or similar to prevent introducing it into the crankcase. It can be put back in later if not contaminated by storage.

3. None of them, for the most part. It is precautionary in the corners as there is less pressure there than on the main rails and a typical source of leaks within an engines design. I use a thin "smear" with all my gaskets just as a habit of practice, and a dallop in the corners.

4. It is a good time to look at the valley for carbon deposits, and check the associative items for premature wear. It is an excellent time to port match your heads. Although, I do not see it as a benefit unless you were changing your cam. Some people have done an intake mod at this time to decrease the runner length to give a little better RPM range (at the cost of torque). Look at your CPS. There will never be a better time to swap if neccessary.

5. Read through the literature. Get alot of baggies for parts and WRITE on the bags what they are for. Take a few reference pics, so you will know how everything goes back together.

 

The Hughes kit is good. If you want to be sure you never have to worry about it again, I would say go with it.

The front and rear intake manifold gaskets will require some RTV sealant in the corners. Just an inch bead at each. They are cork and don't quite seal to the edges, mentioned in the FSM.

I would replace your thermostat while you are in there. Other than that you really aren't going all that far into the motor.

I know I always have this dicsussion, but I read somewhere, maybe FSM, that the intake bolts are TTY. I can't imagine them yielding, but they don't appear to be steel so I always replace them with new ones just to be safe. A buck or so each at the dealer.

 

While you have your intake off, you may as well have it cleaned (glass beads/acid bath). Local machine shop took care of mine for cheap.

 

Yes replace the thermostat, and the bypass hose. Any other soft hoses should be replaced. A tune up is good to do at the same time too.

 

+1 on the bypass hose. Always forget that thing. Until it starts leaking.

 

I replaced all my radiator hoses and thermostat in the summer. Should I replace my thermostat again? Oh and since I got to change my oil should I do a engine flush to clean the burnt oil?

 

I beleive that they are for whatever stupid reason the did it to them.

 

i just did my plenum gasket a month ago and bought a kit from rockauto.com. it came with all new bolts, gaskets, bypass hose and thermostat and it was like 30 bucks. the hughes kit is alot more expensive but it does fix the problem and you probably wont have to worry about it again.

 

I got the hughes kit the other day it's pretty nice. I can't wait to do this project because I can clean my engine up good.