Soapy water won't find vacuum leaks. It will just get sucked in....

Need to check the crankcase pressure, with PCV disabled. (and both inlet, and outlet hoses plugged.) If you don't see some pressure there, you have an internal vacuum leak. It would have to be pretty bad for the engine to stall though.....

Refresh my memory please, what symptoms are you experiencing now?

 

Did they set the fuel sync? I have never had a good dealer experience....They can't even change the oil without screwing it up! Let them change the oil on the Durango the day before we went on vacation, get to Kentucky and notice a small puddle of oil under it.....they used a claw type filter wrench to tighten it to around 150 foot lbs? Judging by the 3 dented areas on it and the hole in the side of one of them! Luckily there was an advanced auto down the street from the motel, a filter wrench, filter and 2 qts of oil and all was fixed.

 

OK. I just went back and read the entire thread again. I wee that you replaced the plenum gasket, and suspect you may have a vacuum leak. At the rear of the block there is a gasket for the intake. When I did mine a couple of weeks ago, the old gasket came apart, leaving what looked like bare cast iron across the block. As I was attempting to install the new gasket, the little dimples did nt fit in just right. That is when I noticed that the half of the gasket that goes on the block had a metal piece in it that I thought was block. I then removed it. If this new gasket slips, which is a high probabilty when installing the intake, it could have pushed out slightly, levaing a gap causing a vaccum leak.

If you can, reach around behind the intake and see if you feel any of the gasket protruding out. If so, remove intake, reset or replace gasket, and reinstall. I know pulling intake is a lot of work, but obviously the dealer cannot figure it ou.

Let us know what you come up with.

And as magnum stated, fuel sync needs to be set... since you pulled dist.

 

so it came out to 490 for 2 hrs diag and to replace an iac...they billed me 1.5 hrs labor to put in a an iac which took me 10mins lol...its not funny but i guess all i can do it laugh...i spoke to the service director and he gave me 10% off so that brought it down to 428 and he gave me a new manifold gasket set at whole price...so i guess he tried to meet me half way...well they said the mechanic spent alot more then 2 hrs on the truck, more like 5 hours...so i got the truck back, 500 in the hole, and still the same problems...im 99% sure this is a vacuum leak on the intake manifold which i prolly screwed up myself being my first time...that or my heads being warped a lil and the aftermarket gaskets being too thin...thats why the service director told me to get the oem ones b/c dodge makes them thicker cause these engines have the intake leak problem often...wuteva the reason is, i got oem gaskets and im ready for round 2! hopefully this fixes the problem and i can clean and store my camaro for winter! that and getting the automatic back to drive home from work in new york city traffic is a plus cause my freaking leg is killing me!

 

428 bucks and they didn't fix it. That's no bueno. Maybe the new gaskets will fix it. Good luck.

 

im not sure how to check the crankcase pressure...im sure i could google it tho...the symptoms are...
1)engine stalls without giving it gas
2)wouldnt pass 50-55mph on the highway
3)is pinging like a mother trucker

when i disconnected the iac i got it to idle without stalling but it would stall soon as u put it in gear and the pinging is only when giving it gas, never at idle


hmm...your talking bout the little rubber black gasket that contours around the distributor? theres one on the front and one on the back of the manifold? when i took the old ones off they came off np...i didnt notice if a piece of it was stuck on because i saw bare metal too and assumed it was the block...i will try and see if i feel it sticking out tomorrow when i get home from work. yea i think when i out the intake on i may have moved a gasket becuase that manifold aint so light and its not a straight drop lol...gotta kinda hook it under the windshield and then set it down...pain in the ***! and yes magnum they reset the fuel sync...he said the reset my ecu.


got a question tho...my friend used red permatex to seal the corners of the gaskets...i wasnt sure if red was the right stuff to use but i didnt wanna question him since he is a mechanic and was nice enough to help me do this for free lol

 

thanks....fingers crossed

 

Shoulda grabbed another set of intake manifold bolts while you were there. You can't re-use them ya know.

Next time.... pull the intake, and make sure all mating surfaces are SPOTLESS. You should be able to eat off them, and see your reflection in the nice clean surface. Cut the heads off of four of the current intake bolts, and screw them into the four corners. Place your gaskets, set the manifold, and start the four center bolts, pull out the four on the corners, put in the rest of the bolts, and then follow the torque sequence.

While the manifold is off, verify the plenum pan is still sealed up nice.

To check crankcase pressure, disconnect the inlet hose from the air filter box, block the end with duct tape. Pull the PCV valve out, and tape over that hole as well. Take off the oil fill cap..... Start the engine, and just put your hand, or, a piece of paper over the oil fill hole. If it gets sucked in, you have a vacuum leak...... there should be a breeze coming OUT of the hole. If there is, prolly not a vacuum leak.

 

Gotcha...I just got to work now so ill be home around 330 and ill check the crankcase pressure...and i bought the intake set from dodge...that would come with bolts no?

 

The pinging makes me think....running lean...maybe there is a vacuum leak...check like heyyou says. Should not be much of a pressure breeze..but there should not be vacuum. Or the fuel sync is way off..The position of the distributor sets the injector timing, squirting at a closed valve is not ideal.

Another thing would be firing order, 5 & 7 are easy to cross. 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2, Drivers side 1-3-5-7 pass side 2-4-6-8

Just some things to check.....Hope you figure it out

The seals at the front and rear of the intake will not cause a vacuum leak. the ports seal to the head on the sides of the intake individually...the end seals will cause an oil leak though.