97 dodge ram....pulled old 360 out put one in from a 98. Neither truck has the timing at idle written on the emissions sticker. Not finding much searching and stupid Haynes says look at the sticker, Autozone says non adjustable

So......I need to know where it should be set at idle. For both years if possible.....maybe the same? Thanks!

 

AZ is correct. It is non-adjustable, unless you have the specialized ability to reprogram the PCM. My guess is the programming is the same between the two years. Why do you need to change it?

 

truck was bogging when given gas, rotated the distributor a few times and found the right spot....read on the forum that this controls the fuel timing, not the ignition timing....anyway got it goin

The truck does still have a problem though. When I swapped motors I stayed with the torque converter and flex? plate that it is bolted to from the original motor. The flexplate has weights on it to balance it. The two were different between years. I stayed with the one from the original engine and now I have some chatter down around there when giving it gas. If I am parked and goose the throttle, when it backs down I can hear the rattle. When driving I can pretty much always hear it until I get going around 40-45.....truck itself is so loud I cant hear much from the engine at this speed.

So my new ? is since the flexplate was different (more weight) for the newer engine, and I stuck with my old (lighter) one, is this going to cause improper balance probs on the crankshaft and could this be the source of the noise? It sounds like its coming from that direction....definately towards the rear of the engine compartment

 

Short answer is yes. The way I understand it, the 5.9 is externally balanced as opposed to the 5.2 which is internally balanced. The 5.9 front balancer is counterweighted and cannot be used on a 5.2. Not 100% sure on the flexplate, but I believe you also need to use the one that came with your donor engine. Sounds like the one you have in there now could be cracked between the bolt holes. Maybe someone else can chime in with more info.

 

dont have a 5.2........both are 5.9L