plenum test?
#11
05-20-2010, 09:33 AM
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^Actually that was a wasted post. "beamwalker" was asking how to tell if it had been been repaired by a previous owner. Something I pondered too.
Aside for looking for recent marks on the involved fasteners, evidence of newer gaskets etc.... I'm not sure. But at least I admit it.
Aside for looking for recent marks on the involved fasteners, evidence of newer gaskets etc.... I'm not sure. But at least I admit it.
Last edited by Signal 2; 05-20-2010 at 09:38 AM.
#12
05-20-2010, 09:37 AM
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I'm willing to bet that it is bad though. How many people even KNOW about the bad plenum? And for the people that do take it in to get fixed, what are the chances that it was fixed the correct way? I can see people takin it into the dealership with the pinging, dealer diagnoses the gasket, changes it out with the same defective setup, prolly throws a deathflash at it while its there, and charges some ungodly amount to the customer. And then says 'see ya again in a few thousand lol'
I bet 98% of the people here never ever heard of this issue until they came here, myself included...
Not tryin to argue with ya augie, that's just the way I see it....
I bet 98% of the people here never ever heard of this issue until they came here, myself included...
Not tryin to argue with ya augie, that's just the way I see it....
#13
05-20-2010, 09:39 AM
Record Breaker
once you've been here for so long, the plenum issue gets a little played out....
#14
05-20-2010, 09:48 AM
i love this plenum problem. i just traded my pos v6 mustang for a 2001 on 35's because the messicun on the other end thought the motor was blown.. 
sure it taps at higher rpms. but i know he didnt have the smarts to seach forums for the answer. i bought the parts to fix it before i got the title in my name. it cost what 250 to fix??
sure it taps at higher rpms. but i know he didnt have the smarts to seach forums for the answer. i bought the parts to fix it before i got the title in my name. it cost what 250 to fix??
#15
05-20-2010, 09:55 AM
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Been here so long? You've been a member less than 1.5 years....1200 posts?
#16
05-20-2010, 10:01 AM
Probably because the problem is so common, folks suggest doing the plenum fix as a matter of course. The thin steel plate has dramatically different thermal properties from the aluminum manifold... so, it is a bit of luck on if a repair will solve the problem. The aluminum plate from hughes, or APS, is just a bit of added insurance. Is it truly necessary? I don't know for certain. But, it IS good for peace of mind. For my part, I would much rather do a fix that is documented to work, and not have to deal with it again. If you want to run the steel plate, and just use shorter bolts, that is up to you. I would be interested to follow that one, and see how it works out for you. Why is that different than an aluminum head, against a cast iron block? Mainly due to mass/dimensions of the part involved, and torque on the fasteners holding it in place. Not to mention composition of the gasket.....
If you look inside your manifold, and do not see any oil, you may not have a blown plenum gasket. Yet. If the previous owner didn't do something to address the issue, chances are very good that you will end up with the problem later on down the road. You can pre-emptively address it, or, wait until it is actually a problem, and deal with it then.
I also own a 96. 160K miles at this point, mine is most certainly blown. I think this is more than likely the rule, rather than the exception. This is one of THE most common failings on these engines, therefore, on of the most common suggestions for repairs. (as it contributes to a fair number of people's performance issues.)
If you look inside your manifold, and do not see any oil, you may not have a blown plenum gasket. Yet. If the previous owner didn't do something to address the issue, chances are very good that you will end up with the problem later on down the road. You can pre-emptively address it, or, wait until it is actually a problem, and deal with it then.
I also own a 96. 160K miles at this point, mine is most certainly blown. I think this is more than likely the rule, rather than the exception. This is one of THE most common failings on these engines, therefore, on of the most common suggestions for repairs. (as it contributes to a fair number of people's performance issues.)
#17
05-20-2010, 10:30 AM
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if you have an issue with me for some reason, feel free to pm me about it
I'm here to help and be helped, not to fight about things like join dates, posts, etc.
#19
05-20-2010, 12:00 PM
Yah I'm getting kinda tired of hearing E....If the op is like me he bought the truck used and theres a good chance its already been fixed...my plenum is fine and I have 140k on the truck....I know another guy out by my cabin with a 96 who has never touched his and he has 120k and it doesnt burn oil so.... the whole joke about assuming can be true...for example I had a lot of stuff go wrong with my truck shortly after i bought it I join here and find all these people with the same common issues....does that mean I can assume all second gens are lemons??....no thats silly...just most 
(Im kidding to make a point)
I read a thread here yesterday where a guy took off his throttlebody and found no oil in his throttlebody and also stated he wasnt burning any oil....and right away everyone here was quick to tell him its blown anyway and to change it....so which is it? the sad fact is not every shortcomming on these engines is from a blown plenum gasket.... and the other thing that goes unmentioned here often is the largest contributing factor to the blown plenum is the fact that the bolts holding the plenum plate sandwiching the gasket were too long from the factory and everyone here you has actually just changed out the bolts to the proper length when replacing the gasket have never come back to report a failure afterward. Including one guy here who runs a garage and have done this many times....everyone insists its caused by expanding and contracting rates of different metals used and an aftermarket overpriced plate is needed (steel against aluminum) if that were true most head gaskets would have failed on most new motors with aluminum heads right?
(Im kidding to make a point)I read a thread here yesterday where a guy took off his throttlebody and found no oil in his throttlebody and also stated he wasnt burning any oil....and right away everyone here was quick to tell him its blown anyway and to change it....so which is it? the sad fact is not every shortcomming on these engines is from a blown plenum gasket.... and the other thing that goes unmentioned here often is the largest contributing factor to the blown plenum is the fact that the bolts holding the plenum plate sandwiching the gasket were too long from the factory and everyone here you has actually just changed out the bolts to the proper length when replacing the gasket have never come back to report a failure afterward. Including one guy here who runs a garage and have done this many times....everyone insists its caused by expanding and contracting rates of different metals used and an aftermarket overpriced plate is needed (steel against aluminum) if that were true most head gaskets would have failed on most new motors with aluminum heads right?
I did the fix just to make sure and when I took the kegger off I found pooled oil at the back of the plenum plate. It wasn't a ton but it was there and my gasket was leaking.