It would be an interesting experiment
to run a good & carefull MPG experiment
along the rules of the SAE/TMC
on two Rams with high miles on their engines
to see if Restore improved ring seal
and increased MPG.

See end of this link for how Goodyear Tire did a MPG test using SAE/TMC guidelines:

http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=60421

My own experience trying Mobil One Synthetic 0W-30 in an MPG experiment at low rpm highway speeds against Mobil One Synthetic 20W-50 went against my first guess....the 20W-50 gave slightly better MPG.
In discussing this with other engine guys they speculated that the higher weight oil was giving enough better ring seal at low rpm that it overcame the slightly higher friction.

It may be that Restore can give enough better ring seal in an engine that has seen 120,000 or more miles to improve MPG...but only a careful test with two trucks could reliably prove this.

Ring seal becomes more important at lower rpms and higher throttle opening where there is more time for gas to leak past the rings when pressures inside the cylinder are high. Your engine comes closest to this when you are in overdrive in the 65-79 mph range.

 

Compression ratio is not determined by compression pressure. It is volume of the area above the piston at top dead center compared to the same at bottom dead center.

 

awesome mod just did it,have 122000 miles on my truck when i did it , alot better now

 

Hi all!
First, I am new to the forum, I have had my Ram for about a year or so and just now getting around to working on it.. 1997 1500 LB Regular Cab, 5.9, Gibson ceramic headers, flowmaster from the Y back..K&N set up, ( K&N is OK, but cold air intakes on these are not really 100% functional..these motors arent really a Direct Air intake set up from what I understand...Cold air intakes are one of those preference things..honestly.. never had my old ram @ 4000RPM so its just a nice sound device.. but better then stock..) The truck has 92,000 miles, and alot of things that need dealing with.So.. for my first real post here... I read alot of posts about the ever present rough idle, the mystical dissappearing oil, ( plenum gasket???)a very "soft" or sluggish tranny, and a little noise ( valves? lifters? Timing chain? ) in the mid range acceleration..and decided to try a few simple things first....

I tried some restore in my oil hoping to see if any of the idle roughness would go away... it seems to have a bit... more power? not really, compression is a tad better in the two cylinders that were just slightly lower then the rest.. my concern is.. I also put a can of sea-foam in the tank when I filled up. Yesterday, for the first time... I noticed alittle white smoke when I started my truck this morning... smoke for just a second as it started... cant really see any after that driving ... could this be the sea-foam?? Just seems alittle weird that it started after putting restore and sea-foam in.... anybody tell me if this has happened before to them too? I drive this thing everyday and never saw it smoke before... so I'm alittle nervous a valve, seal, or ring is letting go....Great forum.. I have lots of reading to do....I was contemplating doing a plenum gasket change myself...but if I have a bigger problem right now with this smoke issue.... I'm not sure what my next steps will be.....Thanks in advance for any replies!!!

 

Just wanted to get this in.... upon alot more reading.. seems the " noise" I'm hearing when I stomp the peddle through the mid range might be attributed to the leaking plenum... again.. alot of great info here... thanks all!

 

Welcome

The smoke is probably from the seafoam. The restore shouldn't matter as far as using it with the seafoam, since the seafoam is in the gas tank and the restore is in the oil. The disappearing oil is probably from a blown or leaking plenum gasket. Take your air cleaner off and look down into the throttle body with a flashlight...if you see a pool of oil it is leaking. It's my understanding that seeing a "film" of oil is normal and does not constitute a leak. Also, if you haven't given it a good tune-up, that could contribute to your rough idling. There is also a TSB somewhere on hereabout doing a plug wire re-route...check that out.

Most people on here run either Champion 436, Champion 4436, Autolite 3923 or Autolite 3924 plugs, and recommend using an 8mm plug wire. NAPA distributor caps and rotors seem to be popular, as well as NAPA Gold oil filters. Oil differs from person to person...

 

Thanks for the reply!!! Yeah.. just had my first cup of coffee, then its outside for a look down my trucks throat to see if I can tell if the plenum is leaking... I'll do a quick vacuum check through the pcv vents to see if theres any vacuum present too. Guess my next question will be posted in a plenum thread... Thanks again!

 

OK, had my java, went out and looked down the TB, saw its pretty wet..not too dirty.. but looks like its got significant amount of oil in the pan...so I tried the vacuum test..hope I did this right.....
on a '97 5.9L, the pcv is on the passenger side..took the hose off to the manifold, plugged both the hose connected to the pcv and the port I just disconnected from... then pulled the hose from the air box (air hat )that goes to the valve cover breather, started the truck.....had so much suction on that hose to the breather my thumb turned purple....J/K'ing.. but it is sucking so hard you can hear it just standing there while the trucks running. So.... I'm guessing my plenums almost non existent ... got the Hughes coming along with a 180 T-stat...might as well do the wires plugs and cap and rotor too..I've seen that some people here saythe Felpro plenum gasket is a better option...I was driving past Advanced.. they only list one from Felpro around 10 bucks...this the one everyone is suggesting? Thanks for all the great write ups and help.

 

Yep, sounds like your gasket is probably blown. The Fel-pro is probably the right one...just the standard gasket for the stock intake manifold. Check to see if you have the "death flash" as well...if so, you may want to get a pcm flash or tuner after you fix the plenum. Do a search on here to find out more about the death flash.

 

If you bought the hughes kit it comes with a felpro gasket, and new intake head gaskets and rubber end seals. You should buy new intake plate bolts as they are torque to yeild and the originals have already stretched on the first install. You can reuse the outer intake hold down bolts.