I am rebuilding a 96 360. Need to do the plenum aswell. But a rebuild gasket kit comes with all gaskets.. So does every intake rebuild kit. lol I really don't need doubles of the bolts and gaskets. So I am thinking washers on the original plenum bolts or just shorter bolts. Its difficult to find a hardware rebuild kit for these things, "pump,bearings, rings and so on.That Doesn't include pistons. Is it a must to replace pistons in these engines? I have never come across this problem before. I do alot of chevy engines, and LA mopar engines. My first magnum.Is there a reason the kits all include pistons? I need one piston, not 8 haha

 

Need to measure your cylinder bores, and see if they need to loving touch of a machine shop, to make sure they are all still in spec. (or, put them back in spec, as the case may be......) So, kits don't generally come with pistons, you get them separate, in the correct size, and they get to charge you more...... Chrysler small blocks (magnums) never got quite as much love as the SBC......

 

Yeah I have to dig out the micrometers and what not and relearn how to read them haha. I used to use the local machine shop for the measuring and hot tanking and cam bearing replacement. but they closed. So now Im having to reteach myself a few things. If I am reading the specs right, .0002 or 2 thousands is the max allowable wear in the cylinder?

 

Ok I hope I dont look like a D.A. here but I havent seen mention of it anywhere. So if I'm in wrong area or anything here plz feel free to delete, but maybe point me in right direction 1st... I have a 97 Ram 5.9 L V8 360 I bought you used about year-and-a-half ago check engine light started flashing maybe a week ago just the other day dies going down the highway no sign of anything no noises nothing..I eased her home very slowly (@10-12 mph is all I could get anyhow... downhill). Just put new plugs and wires cap&rotor & water pump all less than a yr ago. So my ? Is this, how fast could the plenum actually cause a drop on pwr?can it just poof all of sudden? havent ha d chance to crack open TB yet to check for oil but wanted to know how likely it is indeed plenum. TIA...

 

That sounds more like an 02 sensor problem.

 

Smarter ppl than I will be along shortly, but a •flashing• engine light usually signifies a significant misfire.
I’d start looking at the plugs/rotor/wires, then the ignition coil... followed by investigating the timing.
Of course, if you were driving it with the flashing MIL, then you could have melted the cat by now too, which could account for the luck of power.

Plenum would not be my first thought, though would likely get repaired by the time I was done throwing parts at it.

Good luck.

 

Just all of a sudden like that though? No warning whatsoever other than flashing mil

 

Yeah or can happen like that. I don't believe it to be the plenum. Although the plenum can cause a number 8 misfire

 

There was a wire with wire actually showing shorting out against exhaust manifold. replaced the wire. Checked all the plugs they look good(ish) did notice however a gritty oil-like build up inside of 1 or 2 plug housings. Can't be good for it obviously. Still sounds as if gargling a lot of air when throttling up, and I'm not smart on a lot of mechanic stuff but I'm smart enough to know its way to much. Like almost kills the truck. I'll try to get a clip or a vid this evening hopefully. If that might help.

 

1996 Dodge Ram 2500 2wd 5.9 V8 VIN Z 120,000 miles

Truck had no CEL but had 40-45 mph shimmy indicative of a random misfire. Did coil, cap, rotor, wires, plugs, wire reroute as per TSB. United Motor Products tune up kit and coil (lifetime warranty) with Champion plugs from RockAuto ($73 with tax and shipping). Number 8 and number 7 spark plugs had white ash buildup. The rest were fine. Cleaned throttle body and IAC valve with a little B-12 Chemtool. Replaced idle purge vacuum line 'cause it was shot (bigger of two rubber hoses on throttle body). Replaced PCV. Truck runs like new... for now.

While I had the throttle body off I looked down into the Intake manifold and there it was (cue Psycho music)... the oily residue from a blown plenum plate gasket. Explains the ash buildup on number 8 and number 7 plugs.

I just ordered a new aluminum plenum plate from this guy on ebay:


https://www.ebay.com/itm/DODGE-360-M...ty!14424!US!-1


and a Dorman 615-310 from here:


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Engine-Inta...012.m1985#rwid


Had a 10% coupon for ebay which paid my NY sales tax ;(


Total for plate and gasket kit was $95. Will install soon and give update.

P.S. Thanks to everyone at this site. The info is worth a million. -M