sorry about so many questions but im trying to learn as much as i can about our trucks i have a 99 1500 4x4 with the 318 in it and i was wondering how to tell what kind of transmission it has in it i was told that it was rebuilt when i bought the truck and what types of mods will give me better pulling power? thanks to all you smart truck people out there

 

You have a 46RE trans. That's all they have in them unless it diesel or a v10.

 

best mod to start with is the Plenum....

 

I here a lot on here about the plenum, but what benefits does it give you, other than if you replaced it because it was blown?

 

You just answered your own question!

 

everyone's plenum will blow out, you cant just replace gasket...you need a kit from hughes engines or APS Precision

i went from getting around 8-9 mpgs to a good 12-14 mpgs city. but i gave it a tune up as well...

and i can go from my house, to my parents house (283 miles) on less than a half a tank (i have 26 gal.) and thats all highway....



and it will run alot better, your cat has less of a risk to get clogged, you wont have much oil consumption, and yopur plugs have less of a chance to get fouled....

plenum leads to more problems.

 

Is there a way to tell if yours is blown or is just best to replace it no matter what?

 

Actually! I read his ? again. If it's NOT blown, replacing it will give you no gains. It's not a mod.

 

The best mod will be to trade it for a heavy duty 2500 Seriously, the 318 has less towing power than my SUV, although good enough for a boat or a pop-up. Most mods I've seen here are either for MPG or for HP, not torque and I doubt there is much you can do to raise the towing capacity.

 

If it aint broke don't fix it! LOL here is a test you can do http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2000/09-05-00.htm. I would rather pull the TB and look inside the intake with a mirror and flashlight for oil pooling. I've had them check out fine using the factory TSB I provided, only to pull the intake and see the gasket hanging out the side of the plate. I suggest you do a search here for "plenum". Read up, and go from there.