hello everyone, first id like to say ive been hangin around for a few weeks now and there seems to be quite a few knowledgable people here. so anyways... i just recently bought my first truck. its by far not my first vehicle, but ive always owned cars before so theres a few things i have never had to deal with on this truck. to start i bought a 95 dodge ram 1500 4x4 with 220k on the body. it was originally a 318 auto and the person before i bought it put in a 360 with a 5 speed. the motor/trans is supposed to have around 80k. the truck is in pretty good condition overall but since getting it home ive noticed a few "issues". 1) theres a small leak somewhere on my transfer case. is there a common issue with this? how hard will it be to pull it down and replace the seals? 2) i noticed a little bit bigger leak coming from the steering box right at the pitman arm. again is this common and how hard to take it down and replace some seals? i saw a new remanufactured steering box for $190, but the seal kit is 20 so.... the only real issue ive noticed driving the truck is when the motor is cold in 2nd gear if i give it middle pressure to the pedal it sort of bucks around and makes me want to push the clutch. any ideas on this? any and all help is greatly appreciated! thanks again, jesse

 

Hi and welcome to DF. Where is the TC leaking? And it's not a very hard job. Here is a link to a DIY for the seals on the steering gear. http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech-article-34.html . Last but not least, do a search here for Plenum Gasket. And here is a DIY for the TC. https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...placement.html

 

thank you very much, i will look at the links now. and why the plenum search?

 

The plenum plates go bad on these trucks almost as often as you do oil changes. The bad plenum causes oil consumption, MPG problems and can cause other more serious issues, such as mis-fires and oil fouling plugs, etc.
It's a good idea to check it and see if it's bad, unless the previous owner did the Hughes Kit (which based on the swap, they might have so I would ask).

 

and as far as where its leaking, i will have to look again, but there are 2 large bolts/cap screws on the rear facing side of the case maybe 18mm? i could be very wrong but i think they are maybe the drain and fill holes? looks like it might be coming from there

 

the plenum is a gasket mounted to the bottom of the intake manifold...manufatureers defect is that the bolts are slightly to long so they cannot torque to spec, and the pan is steel while the manifold is aluminum, and metals expand at different temps so this causes leaking...

you must get a hughes or APS plenum kit, it will make it go much better....and you CAN NOT just replace the gasket, it will blow out again...and you will not be a lucky one...everyone will have their plenum blow out, its innevitable...

to check if its bad, take off the air cleaner assembly... open the TB, and look down inside the manifold, if you see any oil, the gasket is bad...

 

thanks for the heads up, ill check today