you can attempt to mod your stocker.. it's not that hard, just time consuming...

 

is there an aftermarket intake manifold available? like an edelbrock or Holley that would fix this problem as well as increasing power

 

Certainly. You could get an M1 intake and call it a day. You'll gain, or at least have the potential for gain, a lot of high RPM power. You'll lose low end throttle response and torque though, as those intakes are more designed for racing applications.

For daily-driver or hard working trucks I'd steer you towards one of the modified OEM intakes. By shortening the runners you move the power band up in the RPM range

 

actually, it's been mentioned that if you do a custom flash on the pcm you will not loose any on the low end. w/o it you will. In a dakota it may not matter anyway since they are alot lighter than the rams. a std cab 2nd gen is about 3400~3500 lbs IIRC...

 

My quad cab 4x4 weighs 4600, which isn't all that much lighter.

 

Does the 3.9 V-6 have the intake manifold plate as shown in the picture? My V-6 seems to use about a quart per 1000 miles. Also, there seems to alittle oil residue inside the intake.

Thanks for any input.

 

I've never actually paid any attention to the 3.9 (sorry!). It is, however, a LA-based magnum motor, same bore/stroke as a 318, so I would wager the intake manifold would be similar as well.

A little residue coating the inside is normal blow-by from the PCV, when you start seeing puddles is when you know you've got a problem. I don't know that the manifold has the same flaw just because it's a smaller manifold so it could be more reliable.