Hey again, I have the 5.2L 318 in my truck and underload or hard acceleration i get bad valve knock, higher octane doesn't work nothing does so i was wondering if theres a top end rebuild kit out there where i could redo the top end without taking the engine out! thanks

 

I don't know if that would fix your pinging problem or not. Have you checked your plenum gasket? There is a good possibility that your problem lies with it. If you did decide to rebuild your top-end you should plan on your truck using more oil. When you put fresh heads on an engine that is well used, the new sealing from the heads will often cause oil to be sucked up past the piston rings.

 

plenum gasket is that where the intake meets the engine? how do i kno if mine is gone? I thought that problem was only with the 360s?

 

The 318 and the 360 use the same intake manifold. The design of the barrel manifold requires a plate be attached to the bottom of it. This is called the plenum. There are many threads in this forum that talk about identifying if yours is leaking or not. There is also a lot of other information about replacement plenums and gaskets that will help you determine the best fix for you.

 

yeah i was reading the other threads about the plenums and the article in the DIY section, does seem to difficult or anything i but i did see people suggesting that i replace the plate aswell with a better designed one? Is this nessesary? If i just replace the gasket will it solve the problem and for how long?

 

i havent done the work yet but i just orderd one from hughes last night.
http://www.hughesengines.com
$139.13 got me the plenum kit, the bolt and side gasket set, and shipping and handeling. thought it was pretty reasonable. should be getting it within a week or so. if you havent done anything about it yet i will post up and let you know how much of a pain in the *** it is for a novice mechanic

 

ok cause i was just going to see how much the gasket would be at my local auto parts store. I don't know if i want to go all the way of replacing the plate and everything i just want it to stop the knocking and oil consumption so i dont damange the engine. I looked down the intake and there is "pools" of oil but they are not sludge or black or anything like that on teh bottom, theres some of it on the sides should i still consider replacing the gasket? And if i do i would want to do the 180 thermo swap but where i live we get all 4 seasons it's really hot in the summer and cold in the winter and i was wondering what they termo would do for the heater/engine i've heard of some people getting a code where the engine is running too cold?

 

the thermostat tripped a code on my truck. I live in MA. winters get pretty cold but not too bad. it really isn't that hard to replace so im just gonna go 180 in the warmer months and 195 in the winter. plus i think that the heat comes on warmer with 195.

I can imagine that the plenum will overall hurt the perfomance of your truck. If the oil gets burned itll foul up the o2s which will rob you of everything, your cat will get messed.
Myself, every 3000 miles im down about a quart and im on a never ending mission to stop my truck from sucking off the line. I guess ive been death flashed too.

sucks to be me

 

The reason most of us replace the plenum also is because the APS and Hughes plenums are 1/4 inch billet aluminum and are very good quality. The OEM plenum is stamped steel and flexes when the motor is running. if you replace just the plenum gasket without replacing the plenum at least get a fel-pro gasket for the repair. Can't really give you an estimate on how long just the gasket replacement will last you but I can assure you that in time it will leak again. Haven't heard of anybody needing to replace the gasket on an APS or Hughes plenum except when they forgot to torque the bolts correctly and the part can't be blamed for that.

 

Everyone's truck seems to be a little diferent when it comes to throwing codes with the 180 degree thermostat. Most are OK, but some trucks seem to throw a code. It gets cold in the winter where I live and I've never set off the CEL running 180 thermostat.