Ok, so here's the situation. I need some serious work done, the biggest being the intake manifold gasket which will require me to rip apart half of the engine, so I will also replace a few other things that dealership mentioned while running a diagnostics test.

My only thing is I do not what i am doing, but i can be your helper and of course, pay you money. My 1997 Dodge Ram 318 5.2L, 4WD machine is crying for work on it, but there is no way I can or will pay the dealership the $1800-$2000 estimate they quoted me.

Here's what needs to be done:

Intake Manifold Gasket replaced - Leaking oil currently
Oxygen Sensors - Let's just replace them both - Upper and Lower
Idle Speed Control - Don't exactly know, but was told it was faulty
Trottle Body - Don't even know what this does, but again was told it was faulty.

I looked up all the parts and it's looking to be around $544 shipped to my door. If anyone is in Philly, NJ, DE, MD and think they could help me on a saturday or sunday please let me know. How much would you want, plus a case of beer? Hopefully, you have the tools and we can do it at your house because i carry a ratchet set and thats about it.

Is anyone willing to help? Can we do this in one day as it's my only vehicle???

Thanks,

Jeff

 

where are you man. im really busy so i dont think i could help you. and im guessing your in south jersey so thats a hell of a ride for me. you really can do the plenum yourself. its really not hard and build alot of confidence in yourself. the thing that you really need is a torque wrench that does inch pounds and maybe one for foot pounds. if you want though i can almost walk you through it step by step if you want. actually steve00ram360 did a right up on it. here... https://dodgeforum.com/m_249261/tm.htm


also i was looking at what you wana do and it sound like they where trying to rip you the hell off. do you have a CEL on? if not then your O2 sensor are most likly fine. if not you only have to replace the front one because the rear just says if the cat is working. i cant see how in the same of hell the TB could be f*cked up. ive never heard that one before in my life. ( its the thing that looks like a carb on a fuel injected motor and sits under your air box) I think you mean the IAC, which is on the back of your TB, just unscrew it and spray some TB cleaner in it first and see if that works, do the TB itself too and everything.

 

Maybe they meant you have to "clean" your throttle body... not sure though.

I have not heard of too many of these throttle bodies needing to be replaced.

I live in Northern New Jersey and do work for 3 different dealers. If you can't find anyone shoot me a PM and I will see if I can get a tech to do it on the side for you.

I think you should consider doing it yourself though... like Tani said...

 

Where are you located? Maybe I could recommend you a place that could give you a better price than the one the dealer gave you. I have a friend that has a shop that would be able to do the jobs you listed for alot less than the price you were quoted.

 

IF you want to drive to Western NY, between Buffalo and Rochester, I would'nt charge you any money, and I have all the tools. But it is a wicked hike for you to come up all the way. The only thing I would need is replenish my consumables (chemical sprays, if we need to use any) and lunch! Also I'm not really free untill next month. The calender is tacked full for May already.

 

shott, i am near philly but would take the road trip up and i would definitely hook you up with a few hundred, get lunch, get chemical sprays, etc... As for anybody else in the area, south jersey, philly, north jersey, whatever-- i drive everywhere so maybe someone wants to take a look. Otherwise i am going to buffalo. The check engine light is on so i think one of the o2 sensors is bad. Would the manifold leak cause the light to come on too? I dont know, but more help is appreciated. Thanks

 

Well, in the long run the manifold leak would cause the 02 to go bad. What codes are you popping? Have you checked? I think 1997's are the retarded years and can't be checked the easy way. Either way take it to autozone and have it scanned for the CEL. The 02 might just be dirty, every now and then you can clean them and still work well. Just keep in mind that I wont be able to work anything out untill possibly the first weekend in June. Also who did you order your intake gasket kit from? I recomend Hughes Engines' kit, thats what I put on my truck and is holding up well. If you have been burning oil for long enough to make the motor run crappy and start crapping out, then a good Seafoam treatment would be in order.

 

i am not sure what the codes are saying, i am just going off the dealerships words. i've always taken it there since i bought it so i am sure they are not lying.....just overcharging. hopefully i can take it to autozone on aturday and run the test. i will keep all informed. you think i will be alright driving around as long as there is plenty of oil in there? i was looking at aps precision plenum. what do you think?

 

Yea, if you can go find out the codes and we can go from there. Just want to make sure you get the parts you only really need. You don't need a new TB, just cleaned. And the sensor may just need cleaning along with the 02 sensor. Just keep the oil full in the truck, and you should be alright for a while. Mileage might suck for a while untill we can get to it. I wish I wasn't so busy or we could get it done this weekend, but the wife has me tacked with a buttload of stuff to do.

 

that sounds good. i can make it auto zone on thursday, so i will let you know then. Thanks.