I purchased a 2002 Ram 1500 5.9L gas. just installed the leveling kit and put some larger tires on the truck. Looking to upgrade the engine what ideas do you guys have that I should tackle first?

 

Better exhaust, intake, programmer, gears, cam, torque converter. That's the best you can do before really tearing into the engine.

 

You need to fix the plenum first and foremost. Depending on the mileage that's on it, I would be willing to bet that it is leaking quite a bit.

As lonestar said, tuner, headers, exhaust, and maybe a cam.

If you want real power out of it, pull the motor and build a stroker. 408ci is the largest you can go on the 5.9 magnum block.

 

For a pretty simple bolt on I hear that the HS rockers make a nice difference on the 5.9.

 

My buddy has a 440 in a 01 and If I were to do a swap Id do the 440, might as well?

 

Back on topic.

Harland Sharp 1.7 Roller Rockers, a nice improvements (10-15RWHP supposedly)

A good tune, SCT with unlimited tunes would be my choice.

Mopar M1 intake manifold.

Exhaust and/or headers of your choice.

Throttle body, 52MM would be good for a 5.9

Even these mods on my little 5.2 have made a huge difference.

 

i drive a 5.9 mag with 92k on it, nothing wrong with it, but i put a cold air intake on mine and going to put an exhaust on it soon. you could put new headers on get a tuner. how does the leveling kit ride? im lookin to buy one when i get some money. what kind or where did u get urs from?

 

you mention that a torque converter upgrade is a good thing to do.
but what connverter is a good replacement?
what is a good stall speed for street use?
what produser to trust?

 

Thanks for the information guys. I know I want to upgrade the exhaust, I didnt know the intake was an issue. I will put those two on my list to do first then maybe upgrade the cam and rockers next.

 

I have been told about the plenum on mine. But wtf is it? I have never heard of such a thing and what would it cause if it was leaking? Power loss? If someone who knows about it could send a pm my way explaining it to me and how to fix it properly if mine is leaking.