Hello, a few months back I purchased a 98 Ram 1500 4x4 5.2 roughly 150k miles. I do need assistance please!.. But.. first things first.
--Background--
Purchased from original owner who is a honest friend of mine, he did or had it done, general maintenance on the truck (oil changes, tune ups, breaks, new alternator etc) but didn't really replace many parts on the truck as most everything is factory-Good and Bad. The truck was throwing an intermittent code for upstream 02 sensor.
Overall the truck is in good shape body, frame, transmission, interior, heater core, engine(mostly....), so I'm not too afraid of putting Some money/time into it.

--What I Have Done So Far--
New water Pump- bearings shot on old pump
Transmission filter and flush. (should have put a plug in the pan...)
Recent Problemo(s)
Fuel Pump gave out when the truck was at idle warming up-New Carter Fuel Pump a week ago. After I replaced the fuel pump things started acting up. Cold start idle was about 1,000 RPM, after warm-up it would drop to around 600 RPM. I figured I would start with 3 things, 02 sensor, clean IAC, and change the plugs. 02 and IAC are done now and it seemed to fix or at minimum really help the issue at hand, I however figured I bought the plugs might as well change them since it has been running so lean between the weak FP and the bad 02.

NOW THE FUN STARTS......
While changing the plugs #7 was seized extremely bad! Long frustrating story short, the plug broke just the other side of the hex with surprisingly little force... tried extracting it (Removed the ceramic and all without any going into the cylinder) soaked in PB Blaster, ATF+Acetone mixture (old trick I learned), heater, froze, tapped, impact turned down low and on and on... end result is the threads aren't budging, the easy-out is buried so deep it twisted, so i gave up in an attempt to not crack the head. From what I see at this point best case scenario I am removing the head... However the motor has 150k miles on it, has factory plenum, and a couple small oil leaks and coolant leaks and transmission has a slow leak that drips onto the torque converter shroud. I am strongly considering just pulling the motor and fix it all at once and that way I can get to the torque converter and rear main seals etc.

--Questions--
--I Don't need a racing truck, it is used for work (General Contractor) and a little play

Do you think pulling the motor is...
Necessary?
Going to be easier?
Will produce better results (access)?

If I do pull the motor and rebuild it, I was thinking of mostly just doing all the seals and only fixing the things prone to issues/show extreme wear.
What should I PLAN on taking care of (aside from seals)?
What indications should I look for in particular?

I would very much appreciate any and all input, even if i did not ask the question. I am a contractor with a little mechanic inclination not the other way around so I KNOW you guys are much more knowledgeable about these things then I am. Thank you!

P.S. I have been pricing things so far at RockAuto.com, where would you recommend shopping?

 

Can you get your extractor back out? If you can't, then you at least need to yank the head.....

How does the engine run? (before this little problem.....) Use any oil?

Does the engine provide enough power for you, or would you like a little more?

 

I could get the extractor back out but I am still at a loss as to removing the stuck plug. It is hard to determine how much oil it "Uses" because it does leak a little too but there is an oil residue below the TB and underside of the butterfly. Not pooling but glossy. The motor ran fine just kinda gutless, no crazy noises, oil pressure at warm idle was about 30-35 and bumped up to 40+ with acceleration. The new fuel pump and 02 helped the power but I must say the low end had sucked prior to that, I never drove it new so I don't necessarily know what it "should be" as far as power/torque but more would be suitable. Chief complaints I suppose prior to this would be Lack of low end, transmission leak (slow granted), Oil leak, coolant leak.

 

Yank it, and rebuild it then. Replace the heads, and cam. Maybe even go with a better flowing exhaust. A tuner would help you as well. Simply freshening it up would probably get you back some of the lost power though. I know JUST doing the timing chain on my truck made a BIG difference in perceived power.

How much are you willing to spend, and how much of the work can you do yourself?

 

^^This. Also, spend some time (or money) porting and polishing the heads.

Send your throttle body to The Fastman to have it cleaned, bored, and new brass butterflies installed.

You will not be disappointed.

 

Hmm, I was considering a few things, in conjunction with what you guys said, you think it would be worth the time and effort to simply pull the heads, do plenum gasket (not do aluminum for now but hear me out ), clean TB etc, and not pull the motor? The reason I'm thinking this is then I could plan the rebuild a little better and really do it, strip down to block and even have new cam bearings pressed, do piston rings, valves, lifters, cam, crank, aluminum plate for plenum at that point, and so on? I'm just thinking more planning and not bein rushed as i would be to do it now usually ends in a better result. However I don't really want to waste the time if that just won't be enough to get her running healthy for a while. Any thoughts?

 

What kind of budget are you looking at? Pulling the motor would be the best way to do this.. That is if you can be without the truck for some time..

 

You can do the top end without pulling the engine.. Do the heads and you dont need the new aluminum plenum pan.. Just use shorter bolts... Either way you go you for sure want to do something with the exhaust.. Mainly the CAT.. replace it or gut it or straight pipe.. It will save you some headaches in the future..

 

Or, having another motor to build, while still being able to use the truck. Pick up a 'low mileage' junkyard motor that runs, drop that in, drive the truck, and take your time on the rebuild.

 

That would be an option. Then, he'd have an extra intake that he could modify by cutting the runners and polishing the injector bungs.