Hi guys, i just bought a 2000 ram sport 5.9l. i am very excited about it. one thing i noticed about these rigs is they produce a lot of torque, but they are pretty sluggish. i was wondering what to do about this. I don't need to have a screamer, but i would like a little more. also keep in mind i am on a Strict budget.

my plans: first and foremost, i will be installing true duals. i love the sound of the 360, so this is a must. on top of that, i was wondering about long tube headers. how much of a B**** are they to install?? this is my daily driver, so my mods need to be able to be completed on the weekends, and the truck needs to be ready to rock on mon! also, i have heard a lot of people talk about the rocker arm swap. does this hinder reliability of the vehicle? (tranny, or computer problems). why not just put in a mild cam? anything else i should consider?
once again, i just need to wake up the 250 ponies that are already there, i don't need to have a race car. lol. let me know what you think. i like hearing from you veterans.

 

Congratulations, and welcome to the forum!

This is usually caused mainly due to two things...
1. 3.55 gears (most trucks have this ratio unless its the Off Road edition)
2. The "Death Flash", where Chrysler "updated" the computers to retard the timing. Reduced pinging complaints due to faulty plenum gaskets.

So you plan on installing two pipes, one from each manifold (or headers later) out the back (or cut off), and the pipes never touch each other at all? Thats a fine setup, but JFYI, if they connect in any way (X-pipe, for example), its not a "true dual" setup.

Not usually a huge pain if you have the right tools. Air tools, that is, as the manifolds are usually rusted on so tight. Make sure and coat the suckers good in PB Blaster for a day or two (multiple times) to try and break through or weaken the worst of the rust.

First and foremost, you should repair your plenum gasket. If it is a 1994-2001 model year Dodge Ram, it will eventually (if it doesn't already) have a blown lower intake (plenum) gasket. This is due to the fact that Chrysler used steel plates on the bottom of an aluminum intake. Different metals, different expansion rates; they tear that gasket to shreds at some point. Hughes and APS both make aluminum plate replacement kits that are very nice, and not to expensive either.

After that...

A mild cam is more expensive and time consuming than rockers, but could be done. 1.7s are easier, cheaper, and basically the equivalent of a mild cam upgrade. Hardland Sharp makes a good set. I've not heard any complaints (reliability or otherwise) about them.

Another item to think about eventually is a tuner/programmer. If you don't plan on going wild, and don't want to spend over $400, the Superchips Flashpaq 3815 is the best out there. The SCT is actually one of the best of the best, but its not cheap, more than half again the cost of the Superchips. If you plan on getting a cam, maybe some more advanced stuff later like a supercharger or etc., the SCT would be the one for you, though; the reason why its so expensive is that you get custom made tunes exactly for your application. If you are on a really tight budget (which it sounds like you might), look around the used parts section here and eBay for a used 3815 or 3715. Just make sure they are not VIN locked before you buy them.

The round 14x3 air cleaner kit is one of the easiest and cheapest upgrades I know of. Look in the DIY thread, you'll find it very informative.

52mm Fastman (5.9L) or 50mm Fastman (5.2L) throttle body is also a worthwhile upgrade. Costs you $315 up front (shipped), but after you send him your old throttle body, he refunds you $80. Ends up costing only about $235. Don't confuse this with a throttle body spacer, those do not work at all on our trucks (don't buy them!). This is a complete replacement TB.
http://www.thefastman.com/Throttlebodies5x.asp

Don't forget the basics either... tune-up, for example. New wires, plugs, dist. cap and rotor, maybe a new ignition coil. Synthetic oil would help a tad as well.

And last but not least, always have a couple thousand bucks saved for a transmission rebuild later. These transmissions have a habit of quitting on you at the worst times. It may last you 200,000 miles, it may quit you tomorrow. Some of us get lucky... evidentily my previous owner already replaced/rebuilt my tranny, or it happens to be a good unit, because I've had zero problems so far. Others have not been so lucky (just ask 01DodgeRam360). Speaking of that, make sure you know a good transmission shop as well that you'd trust if it comes down to it. The best piece of advice I can give you if you tow... DO NOT tow with O/D on!!!

Thats about all I can think of at this late (or early) hour. I'm sure others will pipe up with their advice, or corrections or additions to what I already said.

Once again, welcome!

 

Very good write-up Jason.

Welcome to DF dukhunter!

Start with basics: get good and fresh fluids in there, do a good tune-up with quality parts. For spark plugs, the favs seems to be either Champion, Champion Truck plugs, or Autolite 3923 (<--can be had at Wally World). Then go from there.

Like jason said, you are most likely a victim of the death flash. If your main concern right now is waking the truck up, there are two things I would do first. (after the tune-up of course)

#1 Get the kit and go ahead and fix your plenum to rule out that being an issue.
#2 Get you a Superchips 3815.

With those two things done, you will be back to full power and can enjoy your truck more while saving $$$ and preparing for other mods. From there, you could start with your intake and exhaust set-up, move on to headers and a good exhaust, then maybe hit the 1.7 rr's. There is also a decent mod you can do to your throttle body if you don't want to buy a Fastman.

http://dodgetruckworld.tenmagazines....erformance_mod

It all depends on the order you want things to happen. If you really want to be blown away with the unleashed power...do all those things I mentioned and save the SC 3815 for last and it'll be a big whammy under your pants when you drive the truck. It's all up to you, man. Good luck, and keep us updated.

 

i would still consider dual exhaust with a balance tube (x-pipe or H-pipe) to be true dual, however, it is really quite pointless to use this setup on these trucks because the driver side pipe has to swap over to the passanger side of the truck to clear the fuel tank, an in order to keep the torque, you will need to use 2 1/4" pipe, and a balance tube is ALWAYS a good idea. that being said, you can get the same performance by using a single 3" pipe and save the money on buying two of everything. just my $0.02

 

^^^I actually like the look and sound of a single 3" or 3.5" better than the duals in 2.5".

 

I have a question regarding a dual exhaust setup whether it be true or x-piped; where in the blazes do you run the driver side pipe? i mean i looked under my rig and i don't see a space large enough unless i go outside of the frame and that would be retarded because you would then have to cross back underneath it once you get past the transfer case.

 

never mind i should have read the complete thread.

 

I totally agree with helms. i don't see what all the hype is about with a dual set up. i have an exhaust set that includes pacesetter shorty headers>stock cat(not magnaflow)>3in exhaust>Flowmaster Super 40 3in center IN/OUT> split tailpipes exiting at an angle out of the sides of the rear. I have excellent torque and performance even on the low end where these rigs perform best.

 

Those 35s look small with that 9'' lift.

 

i know that's why i'm going back to the 37's. The orignal plan was to take the 37's on 15 in rims and transfer the size via 17 in rims and 35's. it looked alot better when the tread was new