Ok, I tried the Do It Yourself (top questions and answers) FAQ's
but didn't find what I needed.

My 98 5.2 has almost 160,000 miles. I have owned the vehicle since
97,000 and am not sure what adjustments were made before that.
I really want to pull the covers and check it out.
Does anyone have any info about going about this?

I just got through replacing some of the steering/suspension/wheel bearing, tranny adjust/filter, throttle cleaning/ new PCV, new shocks, new tires 31's, and a bunch of small stuff.

Of course I have a K&N in box
filter with a "home made" oversize intake tube mounted next to the temp sensor...which helps slightly, only slightly.

Truck drives good/fine now, but I have no clue on valve adjustments!!

I have always run 91 in the tank since it will only ping in hot weather
when going up hill, hard on the gas pedal. Colder weather doesn't seem to ping as much/if at all.

The 91 is run year round though as it seems to be smoother fuel.

Any info on the valve adjustment would be stellar....thanks!

Jeff

 

The valves are not adjustable. If they are making a ticking sound or the engine feels like its misfiring. Then you could have bad lifters. But if the engine is runnning fine, just keep doing reg maints.

 

+1 There's no adjustment.


Have you indexed the distributor?

 

I did replace the distributor, plugs (autolite copper), and wires
about 2,000 miles ago. I don't know what indexing the distributor is??
Thanks, just trying to do any repairs that I can to help it run even better.

 

The engine is running good but sounds louder with less boost
than it did 50,000 miles ago. Almost sounds a little dry/less power and seems to be working hard when I give it 3/4 throttle after downshifting.
I never put my foot all the way down though.
Oil is always changed at around 3,000-4,000 with new filter.
No oil additives, just straight up 10-30

I really think that I'm trying to tune up an old horse!!!
Probably not going to regain much/any power but I want to try!!

Thanks guys

 

Pull those Autolite POS out of that motor! Put in Champion Copper plugs gaped to .040, if the wires are not OEM pull them and take em back and get you money back and go to the dealer and get new OEM or Mopar performance unless they are MSD wires. Replace the Cap and Rotor with brass contact ones like Echlin from NAPA or brass contact ones from Auto Zone.

You said that you replaced the distributor. Well the distributor must be "Indexed" to the cylinder even though the PCM runs the timing. If the distributor is close enough for the PCM to run the motor you will get bucking, valve sound, and/or ping.

It sounds like the distributor isn't in the right place allowing the PCM to advance and retard the timing correctly as needed. This will cause all of the issues you are talking about. You want the #1 cylinder to the top of compression stroke and the rotor just off (past) but still in line of #1 on the rotor to distributor contact point (so about at 10 degrees BTDC on #1 you are in direct line with the #1 contact point to cap and rotor) and this will put you close "Indexing" the distributor to the motor.

The only way to correctly do this is on a computer however there is one way of doing it without and getting REALLY close if not perfect. Look in this PDF (about 1/4 way down) for Indexing the Distributor:

Tips and Tricks PDF
http://bionicdodge.com/Download/Spee...d%20Tricks.pdf

Your motor will never be as strong as it was 160K ago as you slowly loose compression over years of service as the rings ware. But we can get her feeling like new again.

 

Thanks Hydra. Just got some Champion Copper plugs today.
I will look into the distribution index, and see if I can figure it out.
Not quite sure how to tell when the #1 cylinder is at the top of compression stroke though!

 

Does this diagram look correct?

 

Pretty much, that's it. Here is another. Same order just a slight different tilt to the numbers on the disty cover.

HTH,

IndyD

 

Installed the Champion Copper plugs today....way, way better.

Now I need to figure out the dist index.

Can anyone tell me how to how to tell when the #1 cylinder is at the top of compression stroke?