ok, so i have a 97 ram with a 318 and 33s, stock 355 gears and i get 12 mpg average city/hwy! I have friends with rams and 360 motors with 35s and they get like 15-16 hwy WTF?!?!? what could cause my 12 mpg? i just did a tune up on it and it improved from 10-11 mpg to 12 but still! ik rams r not gas friendly but this doesnt seem right! is there any way to check the plenum gasket? i dont wanna tear it all apart for fun and waste my time! ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!

 

My 98 w/ 360, 3.55 gears, and 265 x 75 x 16's gets 13 on a recent tune up and fresh plenum gasket. Go to google and type in ram, plenum, tsb. You can find the dodge technical service bulletin for checking the plenum. Its not 100 percent accurate I don't think, bit will show if the gasket is leaking badly. You can also remove the throttle body and look for oil in the intake. If it doesn't burn oil or ping and there's not much oil in the intake, the gasket is probably not leaking badly. If the gasket has never been replaced, it is probably leaking to some degree, although maybe not enough to effect performance yet. The only sure fire way to know if the gasket is leaking is to remove the intake and inspect the gasket. I went for about a year wondering if my gasket was leaking, looking for oil in the intake until I finally said the hell with it and just replaced the gasket. Mileage did not improve. Performance did slightly. Mine was leaking slightly, as the gasket was pushed out of position from where it had originally been.

 

it pings real loud when i turn the truck off after driving of course

 

You can also find that TSB and a whole wealth of other info on common problems, including the plenum, in the 2nd Generation FAQ section on the main page.

 

your plenum is probably shot, and you have the deathflash...do a search theres a gazillion threads on this.

 

Say what?

 

If it pings after you shut it off then that has nothing to do with the plenum. Does it act like its trying to stay running after you cut it off, or do you just here some ticking after you shut it off?

 

i think the ticking sound is the exhaust pipes returning to shape....

 

My truck is losing oil for sure but not burning it so this plenum gasket sounds like it could be the problem. I have no problem pulling things apart for the fun of it so I may just pull the intake off and take a peak. I have a rattle coming from one of the valve covers on the passenger side also. this could be where my oil is going too.. =[

 

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