I have heard (read) that the one from the dealer works better. Only a couple of bucks, so that is the route I went. Dealer is only about a block farther away than my regular parts store. I use the ones from AZ for my other vehicles with no problem though.

 

I rebuilt mine and installed red alto clutches, billet alum servo pistons, Sonnax Sure Cure kit in valve body, and added additional frictions in the direct clutch. I ordered parts from WITTRANS.COM.

The Mega Viper transmission has these and more upgrades added to it to make it nearly bullet proof (but costs about $2500). http://www.transmissioncenter.com/

 

Nice! I am guessing that will be my next big expense with pulling the trailer about once a month give or take a week?

Well I have all my parts now. Except the aluminum plenum belly pan which is being made by a buddy with the right machinery on hand using a stocker belly pan for a template out of 1/4" 6061 aluminum,
Napa intake gasket kit, t-stat, hoses, fan belt, cap, rotor, plugs and wires.
I plan on polishing the throttle body while it is off and installing an e-fan while I am at it.

 

Sounds like you have a good handle on it. I am wanting to change to efan when I get body work finished. If I get too many projects going, I get none of them finished!

Make sure the bolts you put the plate on with will fully engage and not bottome out short leaving the fit too loose.

 

Well.........I got the Kegger off and the plenum gasket is like brand new. I also checked the PCV valve and it is not stuck. There is a little oil in the kegger, kinda looks like it was coming from the PCV inlet because there is a dribble of oil where the inlet is and the inside of the kegger has oils residue but..........I don't see a massive issue with either where a quart of oil would be consumed over just a few hundred miles? Also I changed my oil about 500 miles ago and it looks pretty dark for being so new. Almost looks burnt already? Any ideas guys? I am puzzled with this. I thought for sure I would find a massive gasket leak or a completely stuck PCV

 

I installed a catch can after PCV to keep as much oil out of intake as possible.

On the oil consumption, if it is not the plenum, and it is not leaking from pan or valve covers or other place, then it may either be valve seals or rings. Now would be the time to do the compression test. I would do a dry and wet with leakdown.

 

It's actually normal to find an intact plenum just as much as a blown plenum. It is expected to have oil on the pan from the PCV.

See this thread for examples: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...s-post-up.html


Have you been regularly towing since identifying the "quart low" condition? There is going to be nominal oil consumption from evaporation (how much I can't say), but combine that with your towing. I didn't really see any comments about checking over rest of engine for leaks. Valve covers like to weep a little. What about backside of the keg? The PCV is then another typical source of oil loss as a part of normal operation.

I think a quart over an oil change interval (i.e., 3000 miles) isn't too bad, but we all drive differently.

I'd recommend just keeping monitoring over the next 3 oil change intervals. Get your install done good though!

 

My 6 cylinder Yota uses a little less than 1/4 quart between changes, and I do a lot of driving, but only occasionally tow a trailer. But it has 270,000 miles on it, so I expect a little consumption.

I haven't driven my Ram enough yet to need an oil change, so I cannot speak to any experience with "normal" consumption on mine. But a quart between oil changes would concern me some.

 

It is definatly concerning me now. Although there is some oil in the manifold I do not see where a quart would go in just a few hundred miles?
I dont see any loss of power. It seems to pull the trailer fine and does not miss or run rough. I will pull the plugs tomorrow morning and see what they look like? Thanks for the input.
To be continued.......

 

rear main seal? mine was leaking there as well.