I'm not sure about that. I think the two compounded each other. My cowl on my 04 was visibly warped and was allowing water to run directly on top of the engine. I don't care what gaskets you have- that's a recipe for disaster.

Inspect both. If your cowl is good, then you may get by with just gaskets.

 

Do you have the details on how I can order the stripping? I have an 04 5.7L LTD and my stripping is shot as well.

 

Before you order the stripping, look for warpage on the cowl itself. Mine was warped a good 1/2 inch, and I doubt improved weatherstrip would correct that big of a gap.

Don't forget to replace the intake gaskets as well. Fixing the cowl is only half the problem.

...
As for the stripping, looks like the video can be found here:
And his address on the website he mentions is here: sales@cartopcamper.com

But I would imagine walking into Napa or Auto Zone or your box store of choice will net you the appropriate stripping as well.

And again, seriously, replace the intake gaskets. I saw a 20% improvement in my wife's durango's gas mileage during our last road trip after replacing the gaskets when compared to before and compared to our friends who drive an 05 Durango with the same hemi engine.

 

So what you are telling people that the engine on a 4wd semi off road truck can't be allowed to get the engine wet after the new intake gasket I wet the engine down with the garden hose while it was running wit no ill effect shut it off and started it too try that with just a cowl gasket my cowl is cracked and leaks NO PROBLEM Here

 

Is there a model year range to which this applies or is it all G2 Durangos?

Where can I find a copy of the TSB?

 

Hey, people are free to do what they want. Drive it underwater if you want.

In my experience, the two issues compounded each other. Leaky cowl panel + leaky intake gasket is a recipe for disaster. If you have poth problems, why not fix both problems?

As I've stated previously, I think both of my issues were more on the extreme side of things. My cowl was warped a good 1/2 inch in some areas and had the weatherstrip torn and missing in several places. My intake gaskets were completely flattened and shrunk- when I ran my fingers over the old ones, I actually felt a dip where the gasket was. It was sucking air and water through that gap every chance it got.

I will say that shocking a hot engine with cold water on a repeated basis is not a good idea, regardless of the "off road" status of the truck. Regularly dumping cold water on a hot engine will stress at the least the new gaskets you've just installed, plus a variety of sensors and other crap. The rear coil packs also seem to be susceptible to water damage. My point is that it's not a good long term solution to fix one and ignore the other. Why do you think it was designed to try to keep water out of the bay in the first place?

I wanted to protect the expensive engine in our truck and fixed both problems. Just got back from a long road trip through some torrential downpours and had not a single problem whatsoever. I'm glad I fixed both problems.

As always, YMMV. It's up to you to determine how far you're willing to of to protect your investment.

 

The TSB number is 1802406, but I can't come across the original TSB anymore.

IIRC, it was specific to 04 durangos with the 4.7, not the 5.7 or 3.7. It called for replacing the cowl panel and the rear coil packs. Apparently, the coil packs on the 4.7 were more prone to water damage than the others. However, since they all use the same cowl panel, I think it would apply to all D's.

I think they changed the cowl design midway through the 05 series, or switched to a better intake gasket, or something. Most of the complaints were with the 04s, and a few with the 05. My friend has an 05 and had some warpage and weatherstrip deterioration, but has never experienced stalling in the rain.

 

Thanks, Twmays. Exactly the info I was looking for.

Jack

 

Daedalus-

In 07 they redesigned the entire intake manifold. Yours (if you still have the 08) has that wide, goofy looking cover sitting over the engine, which coincidently provides yet another layer of protection from letting water run directly over the engine. I speculate that this engine cover was a response to the water intrusion issues dodge was having. I am not a dodge or other automotive engineer- this is totally just a guess. But because you saw these covers on just about all Hemis from around 07-10 (when the models got a mid-generation refresh) until when the lineups got new body styles, I'd say its a reasonable assumption.

So if you still have the 08, consider yourself in luck because by then Dodge seems to have gotten this issue figured out - whether by better gaskets, better cowls, better engine covers, what have you.

 

Yep - still have the '08. For once I got lucky!

Thanks again