Thinkin about a 318 stroker, maybe. Only interested in naturally aspirated ideas...Maybe 410 gears taboot. Maybe make the old girl a sleeper....cuz it aint no looker....hahaha

97 318 auto 355 gears

 

how many miles you got? Any symptoms? Got some compressions test results?

 

These old magnums run for a long long time with the proper little tweaks here n there. Why do you think you need a rebuild?

 

No compression tests...yes I really want to get that done just not enough time...

335000kms...plenum is leaking, but very little.

What are these "tweaks" you speak of?

 

heres my build thread, and there are also 2 other build threads currently running...

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ld-thread.html

 

Tweaks as in fixin the stuff thats going wrong. Cheaper than a rebuild. As for the plenum, there are a lot of threads on how to fix that. What are you symptoms though?

 

Thanks.... :-)

 

Sorry for no activity just busy at work and truck is parked an hour away at my parents place, AND tryin to find a reliable compression tester.

Maybe a stupid question BUT....will the plenum leaking (and I mean it MAY use a half litre one trip then a full litre another depending how hard I work it) really make it loose so much power?

I ask because I had a 98 dakota 3.9L 5speed manny reg cab lb brand new and that truck had really decent pulling power and it had 3.21 gears. My current half ton w/3.55 gears, is a little long in the tooth and I bought it extremely well used for very little money....empty it gets decent mileage, and has ok power. Loaded....not so much...lol Even just with my quad on.

I know....need compression test....lol

 

The dakota is lighter, has a manual trans, lower (numerically) gears, and probably smaller tires.... (which sorta evens things out...) and has the same engine they put in the full sized trucks..... So, yeah, the dakota is definitely going to feel peppier.

That said, the plenum can seriously compromise performance. Oil consumption is just one symptom.... bad gas mileage, spark knock, and low power.... are others.

Sure wouldn't hurt to have a look at it, and see what's in there. Pooling oil is a sure sign of a blown plenum.

 

I am still confused as to why OP is jumping to wanting to rebuild. I have not heard anything yet that suffices to rebuilding. Unless you just want to do it for fun and this is the reasoning, then hell ya go for it!