i hear you guys talk a lot about the plenum gasket.I am wondering if i should go ahead and just change this thing now before it goes bad or just wait till something happens???? And what all is involved with changing it?I am not not pro but i have changed motors and trannies.....no pro but a weekend mechanic i guess you could say.I am thinking that i am going to just go a buy a handbook for this truck,not the chiltons but the regular dodge manuals. So should i change the plenum and what is involved and what do the dodge manuals cost????

 

Yeah I was wondering the same thing. My truck has about 130,000miles on it and I highly doubt it has ever been changed. On the other hand I looked down in the throttle body with a flashlight and didnt see and oil so I dont think it is leaking. Steve told me I might have a bad head gasket so im trying to figure that out now. If I have to do the heads I prob. just put a new plenum gasket on while I have it off. If it isnt leaking and isnt bad I wouldn't mess with it.-Dave

 

I would do the test on it 1st, there is a tsb on how to test it. another way of checking is to look down the throttlebody and see if there is any oil pooling on the bottom. If there is, then it's leaking.

http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2000/09-05-00.htm

 

That'd be kinda like pullin yer teef sos ya don't get cavities!

 

If you do change it though, go get one of the plenum kits out there that is an aluminum plate instead of the steel one that is on there now. You'll never have a plenum gasket failure again...

 

There is a test for it. It involves pinching the pcv line and the breather line (I think) and installing a vaccum gauge into the opening of the oil dipstick tube. If there is any vaccum it's bad. But the easy way, like the other guys said, is to look into your throttle body for oil. If you look off to the sides you might even see the gasket sucked into the manifold. If it's leaking, go to the dealer and get the revised steel plenum gasket and an intake gasket kit. 2-3 hour job to replace. Make sure you clean the throttle body and check you spark plugs for oil fouling, if it is leaking you will be burning oil.

 

I would not recommend getting the "revised steel plenum". Hughes Engines makes one...a 1/4 inch aluminum pan and all the bolts and gaskets to go with it. Use that one and it will not leak again.

 

yeah, funny thing about the new gasket... I have one on mine that started leaking (spotted oil on the plenum) so I started monitoring the oil level and it dropped about 1/2 quart. then a couple of months ago I did an oil change and forgot to check the oil level so one day at a gas station, I took a look... 1 quart low. I went back and checked my records and found I had driven 5000 miles since my last oil change... shame on me. but I never added oil during that time so my motor only used 1 quart over that period. I'd have to say that the new gasket must be holding pretty good otherwise I'd see more oil loss...

 

KEEP TO THE OBVIOUS MAN, IF IT'S NOT BROKE WHY FIX IT.