Ok...I know this topic is beat to death, and I know purple dodge is doing a write up. However, quick question.

I am almost 100 positive my plenum is shot. I experience knocking under acceleration and it is loud and soundes like keys on a metal plate ratteling. I also noticed that I was almost bone dry with my oil with no leaks which again, 2nds my theory.

Question I have is if I go back to the delearship is this a warranty item? I've only recently got the truck with 83000 miles. I know there is a TSB but does that mean if I go to the dealer I can have them replace for free? You would think they would, after al it's there F-up. If not I will have to bring her to the shop as I am not this savy and would rather pay a mechanic to fix i for me.

Thanks!

 

If your truck is under warranty they might do it for free.. Or give you the run around. Even if they would do it for you it would just buy you some time. They wouldn't spend the money to reinforce it and it'll just go out again when it's out of warranty.

As for how much it would cost, the best place I could find for getting it done was for 400 just labor, plus the cost of parts. Then you'll be looking at 600+ dollars. That's a lot.

 

Good luck getting them to replace it. Might want to do a full tune up. Plugs wires ect and oil change lol.

 

I would be afraid that the Dealer "fix" might just be the death flash and not fix the plenum. Then you have same problem and truck with no power.
Dave

 

Are they still doing the deathflash on warrnatied 2nd gens. i talked to my local dodge dealer i know really well and he said he hasnt warranty flashed one since 05.

Semper FI

 

I don’t know if they are or not but I can’t see them tearing it apart to fix it right when all they have to do is flash it. Just my 2cents. What does the TSB tell them to do, I have not read it?

Dave

 

I read the TSB awhile back, cant remember exactly what it says. I ate breakfast at a local place and was talking to the owner of the dodge place and he said he hasnt replaced a plenum in a long time(he couldnt remember the last time he saw that problem). Maybe enough of them were deathflashed so the owners dont really know what is going on. maybe its just us educated ram owners that really know our trucks in an out, He was really wondering how i knew about plenum problems and deathflash, had a little worried look on his face. haha

 

A death flash will not cover up a plenum leak. If you have a bad plenum leak, and you go get the death flash, you will still get single digit mpg and you will still have oil loss. You plugs will get fouled and your cat will get clogged if you let it go long enough. Please explain to me how the death flash will prevent any of this from happening. It doesn't. I don't know how else to explain it to you guys. If you have a plenum leak, the death flash will not do anything to fix it.

Why would you let them give you a flash if you know the problem is your plenum. You're in control of what repairs happen on your truck, not the dealership. If you know your plenum is shot, and they want to give you a flash, it's on you to correct them or find a better shop to go to.

 

how well do you know this fellow and how much do you trust him not to tell a lie?

i work at a place with a number of 95-01 era 5.2/5.9 dodge rams, durangos and dakotas in the parking lot and this is an ongoing problem for everyone. our local dodge dealer replaces them on a regular basis. he probably pays for his beach house on plenum repair alone.

 

back to the original problem. spark knock is almost 100% plenum. you can always ask your dealership IF its under warranty and HOW would they fix it. i can't image that a 12 year old truck with 80+K miles would be under any kind of warranty. at best, i'd think it was a 7/70 or 10/100 warranty, whichever comes first. 12 years is a long time.

if you didn't want to do it yourself, ask some local repair shops how much they would charge to replace plenum gasket, with you buying the Hughes kit for about $150, including intake bolts. expect at least 4 hours labor charge. if you can find a $50/hr mechanic, then it won't cost too much.