Have a blown kegger gasket and fixing that opens up a lot of opportunities like, why not go for another intake M1 or FI, (keeping the fuel injector system yes) changing the stock heads for aluminum, use stock or custom rocker rollers (who knows?) of course I welcome some extra hp´s but that would only be for more enjoyable street ride....
...have a lot more q´s but lets get this thread started to begin with heh...

4x4 Dakota
...?

 

Those aren't normal tuneup items (but you know that.)

I also have a 96 5.2, with 234,000 miles on it. Got the high mileage ping, but other than that, the engine has lots of power and doesn't (literally) use oil. I have a spare low mileage engine on a stand in my carport, btw, which if I ever have the time, I'll install. I got a set of inexpensive headers ($139 shipped) in an Ebay buy it now sale.

For me, the fairly stock 5.2 is sufficient. But I've been happy with 4 cylinder and V6 engines all my life. Need for speed can be satisfied with a motorcycle.

Chasing horsepower with an obd2 fuel injected engine is kinda tough & expensive. The engine management sensors and the pcm favor the mild tune parameters for fuel mileage and emissions. My opinion is that without an aftermarket tuneable chip, it's fairly fruitless. I don't have a tuneable chip, tho. Less restrictive or more full flow exhaust might help, too.

Do the Hughes repair--you can do it a bit cheaper if you get the valley pan that the guy on Ebay has been offering & use the Dorman kit from Rockauto (I've done two of these, and they are worthwhile.) While you've got it apart, replace the o-ring on the distributor (be sure to carefully mark the rotor & distributor position,) heater and radiator hoses, serpentine belt, radiator, & perhaps the water pump. All are lots easier with the front of the engine taken apart, and you won't have to worry about them again. The idea is to eliminate worn upper engine seals and gaskets, and the Dorman kit and a water pump will do this. While you're at it, do the valve cover gaskets, too.

A really comprehensive tune up should include the usual ignition stuff--plugs, wires, cap, & rotor. And air filter. Clean the pintle and seat on the IAC or if you replace the IAC, clean the seat only. MAP sensors are cheap enough that every other tune up, you can replace it too. Be sure to use anti seize on the plugs, btw.

 

Thanks for these tips Brian

Yes, I truly agree with you about this motor, and if the gasket would be ok I doubt that I would be thinking about doing such a big changes to it.

thing is, some guys that I´v talked to say that these stock heads usually crack around 80.000 so if I´m going in there any way it´s good opportunity to go for new heads - saves me from doing them sooner than later in case they haven´t cracked yet ...? and, aluminum heads I´m told is the thing to go for now, cause of better flow and only half the weight of the cast ones, but yes they are expensive...

of course the whole picture holds new cam ( http://stores.hi-potek.com/-strse-25...4x4/Detail.bok - something similar) and all the ignition parts have to be updated, also thinking if I go for 1.6 roller rockers would be beneficial?

things like exhaust kit and valves /valve springs are something I´v not give any serious thought about yet but is truly needed with this...

like I see these changes - they would improve the air flow through the engine without the need to do anything to the OBD, (I think?) and hopefully give better acceleration up to at least 60 mph...? Not in any need to sit in this truck doing more speed, agree with you on the motorcycle there, my fireblade takes care of that part

Maby this might all be total bull**** and setup that has no connection the reality, I have not the experience in gaining more hp from motors but I´am all interested and see huge learning opportunity while going through such thing..? and, I don't know, maybe this is way out from regular motor-tuning and more hot-rodding, well, thats just fine

Kind regards - H

 

Whoever told you that the heads tend to crack at 80,000 mile is smokin' something illegal. My current engine has 234,000 and runs strong, doesn't use oil or coolant, and doesn't smoke. If you keep the fluids up and replace leaky gaskets, seals, and water pump and radiator so the engine keeps cool, it'll pretty much last forever. And there are lots of folks on this forum with similar experiences.

The thing with messin' with the stock engine--one that's already pretty reliable is that you risk screwing up the reliability thing without much to show for in increased performance...AND on older & higher mileage engines, increases in performance can hasten wear. It's why if your going to do something rash like supercharge or turbo an engine it's best to start from a fresh crate or reman'd engine. It's also why nitrous is so hard on engines.

 

These are good points Brian.

I´v been searching on ebay for the valley pan you mentioned and only thing I can find is this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DODGE-JEEP-ALUMINUM-PLENUM-PLATE-BELLY-PAN-318-360-5-2-5-9-MANIFOLD-REPAIR-KIT-/251404115423?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a88da5ddf&vxp=mtr
is it the same one?

 

Yes. I got one, quality is excellent, and the price is better than Hughes. If you get the Dorman gasket kit from Rockauto (google the 5% discount code) you have everything you need to do the job.

I see that he doesn't recommend the Dorman kit. My experience was that it worked just fine. YMMV!

 

Awesome

This seems to be easily doable and fair to do so I'm definitely gonna take a look at this,
I came across a thread (sorry, not allowed to link to it) and I see there that the valley pan is missing the embossed area in the middle and the middle plate in his intake manifold have been removed, did you have to do any adjustment to your manifold or are we just seeing ported manifold here?