Plenum
#1
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: In the hills of north georgia
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Plenum
So I just got a new to me 1999 Ram 1500 5.2L with 57K miles on it this week and noticed that when running low grade fuel I would get spark knock and it felt a little low on power. After talking to some people in the non tech section about it I decided to check for a failed plenum gasket. I pulled the air box off and looked down the throttle body and didnt see much but it looked like a tiny bit of oil. I watched a couple of videos about a failed plenum and decided to check vacuum at the pcv valves, and holy crap it has more suction than my shopvac. So I see a replacement plenum gasket in my future. Is there anything else I need to do while I have it apart? Is it worth it to go ahead and replace the water pump while in there?
Link to my other thread. Moving to here because it is now a tech issue.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ack-again.html
Link to my other thread. Moving to here because it is now a tech issue.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ack-again.html
#2
So I just got a new to me 1999 Ram 1500 5.2L with 57K miles on it this week and noticed that when running low grade fuel I would get spark knock and it felt a little low on power. After talking to some people in the non tech section about it I decided to check for a failed plenum gasket. I pulled the air box off and looked down the throttle body and didnt see much but it looked like a tiny bit of oil. I watched a couple of videos about a failed plenum and decided to check vacuum at the pcv valves, and holy crap it has more suction than my shopvac. So I see a replacement plenum gasket in my future. Is there anything else I need to do while I have it apart? Is it worth it to go ahead and replace the water pump while in there?
Link to my other thread. Moving to here because it is now a tech issue.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ack-again.html
Link to my other thread. Moving to here because it is now a tech issue.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ack-again.html
#4
#5
The aluminum plate isn't required, but, it's not a bad idea either. The real issue is the bolts are too long, or, the gasket is too thin.... Shortening the bolts, and using a good quality gasket is all it really needs. Some folks talk about expansion rates of dissimilar metals.... (aluminum intake vs. steel plenum plate), but, I did the math, and given the materials involved, and the temperature range, the difference in movement is measured in thousandths of an inch, and single digit ones at that. Dissimilar metals is not the problem. The bolts are.
Your truck is pretty low mileage though, isnt it??? I would be tempted to do water pump, and timing set anyway. (double roller chain and gears please. ) Also, do the cap/rotor/wires, and plugs if you don't know the last time they were changed.... It won't getting any easier than when you have the intake out of the way.
#6
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: In the hills of north georgia
Posts: 251
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***snip***
Your truck is pretty low mileage though, isnt it??? I would be tempted to do water pump, and timing set anyway. (double roller chain and gears please. ) Also, do the cap/rotor/wires, and plugs if you don't know the last time they were changed.... It won't getting any easier than when you have the intake out of the way.
Your truck is pretty low mileage though, isnt it??? I would be tempted to do water pump, and timing set anyway. (double roller chain and gears please. ) Also, do the cap/rotor/wires, and plugs if you don't know the last time they were changed.... It won't getting any easier than when you have the intake out of the way.
Yea, its crazy low miles for a 20 year old truck. I went ahead and got some plugs (NGK V-Power copper), cap and rotor, and plug wires. I'm still torn about water pump and timing chain. Its got so few miles I'm not sure it needs it.
#7
Timing chain might be ok, but, the water pump is still 20 years old. It's like six more bolts to change it out, since you are removing the intake anyway. But then, once the pump is off, it's only six more bolts for the timing set as well.
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#9
Gotta be careful pulling the timing cover itself, as it also seals to the oil pan gasket at the bottom. (and there are two bolts going UP thru the oil pan into the timing cover as well.....) I broke it loose at the top first, and then tilted it forward to break it loose from the oil pan seal, I managed to NOT tear it up that way.
When you get your timing gasket set, get the normal one, NOT the one with the sleeve for the balancer. I really don't like those, and have had zero success installing them. (maybe it's just me. )