Hi all,

I've got an '01 Ram standard cab with the 26 gallon tank and a 5.2. The governor in the transmission is shot, I suspected this before it actually threw the code and now I have the code to back it up so I'll be replacing it next week.

In the mean time, the SOB needs to drive to the garage where I'm fixing it. Just this afternoon it started missing like crazy, getting worse over an hour to the point where it'll barely move from a dead stop. It idles normally, but the moment I step on the gas it starts missing and popping (it sounds like a backfire, only not quite as dramatic?). The fuel pump whines a bit, but I've read that a Dodge pump will either be working or dead. I also throws codes for EVAP system leaks, but I don't see how this could be related. Before I reset the codes, it threw one for the O2 sensor (0132 I think) but it's not throwing that one again. It'll rev as high as 3000 in neutral, but the moment I try to rev it under load it hiccups and farts and pops and does everything except for the one thing that it was designed to do, that being propel me forward. Any thoughts?

 

Check fuel pressure. How old are your cap/rotor/plugs/wires?

 

Plenum gasket! Typical, check that you dont have any other vac leaks. The evap system also uses vac so may want to see what the issue is with it.

 

Update: Tested TPS and it ran from 0.62 to 3.6V smoothly. Argued with parts troll over whether anyone had used a plenum gasket west of Ontario, where he insisted the closest replacement gasket was (I've never heard of one of those going, sir!) and got myself a gasket. Going to take a crack at it today. And tomorrow. And probably the next day.

 

A replacement is just a band aid. This is the cure...
http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/p...p?partid=27091

 

Like I like to post, A comp or leakdown test should always be done when a miss shows its head on these motors before money is spent on any parts. One needs to be done after the intake is put back on.

I have repaired many a plenum using the newer steel reinforced gasket and a good gasket sealant (not rtv) and they are staying sealed just fine. The aluminum plate repair is not the end all be all fix they do fail. The only true fix is a replacement intake manifold M1 or Hughes aircrap.

 

Got everything off with the exception of the throttle body (Not sure how to disengage the cables, so I just pulled the bolts and shoved it off to the side) and the accessory drive bracket (the aluminum bit that holds the alternator from underneath and holds the idler). This SOB will simply not come off. I pulled out all of the bolts, pried on it, pulled some more, had a cigarette, pulled a couple more that apparently hold the water pump together because it started leaking, and then decided to have it towed and buy a Chevy.

As an aside, if Tony Stark can build an exoskeleton in a cave, why can't Dodge make a fuel rail? To get the thing off, you have to pry it off-centre (as I read on here, using a flat-bladed screwdriver and levering against the manifold), risking damage to the injectors, which snap out of the fuel rail if they're not in the mood to let go on the block end. This is why Detroit can't have nice things anymore.

 

Gotta be another bolt or two holding the bracket on. Once all the bolts are out, it lifts right off.

 

X2. I believe there is one bolt that in deep in the casting and you often miss. I missed it when i replaced my water pump for the 15th time.

 

Done deal game over with.