My 2004 1500 5.7 Hemi powered 4x4 quad cab ram just recently turned over 205,000km mark. Been a good truck, other than the rust over the rear fenders!
It has been maintained quite well mechanically. Plenty of running gear parts have been replaced over the years.
A few things on it need attention at this time. As the title of this thread, I am wondering which is the better option at this point for the following problem.
The old Hemi has what seems to be a common issue where the bolts on the rear exhaust manifolds on cylinders 7 and 8 are broken. It is ticking and puffing now more and more so I will have to deal with it. The heat shields are also corroded off and rattled loose in the engine bay. I just grabbed and pulled and they both fell out.

Looking for some advice on best way to fix this up for another 200k.
Option 1: replace the manifold gasket (FelPro), install new bolt kit (Dorman 03211), and oem Heat shields. Reusing the old manifolds
Option 2: get the Dorman manifold kits which include the shields and gaskets, 674-905 and 906 plus the bolt kit 03211
Option 3: look at some other manifold/header kit option. - what are they?

Pricing of 1 and 2 are surprisingly close if am resourceful in sourcing them. I have no idea on headers.

The engine is original, runs well, good power, strong. I am not really looking to go out of my way to boost performance and I do not want to have to redo the exhaust piping.

What would you do with this? What other bolt-in header options are there that are cost effective?


Other stuff on the todo list - for separate searches or threads
- a new hum/howl of a wearing out bearing. Others tell me it is tires sound. I know my truck. It is a new sound, getting louder, it is not tires, it s a bearing somewhere. It is not the CVs, or wheel bearings. I am suspecting the transfer case so have started looking into the forums as to how to pinpoint the sound source and ultimately the easiest way and steps to take the Tcase out so I can pull it apart and change bearings. Separate thread, but if you have a link to such on your cuff please let me know. I believe it is a 243D case.
- front and rear diff fluid changes
- transmission, 2 to 5 second delay to go into gear after a cold start. No problems at all later when it has been run or is warm. Fluid looks good, but has been awhile since I have dropped the pan. Thinking and hoping new filters and a fluid change resolves this. I plan to pull the cooler return line off and feed new fluid in down the dip stick while engine is running and transmission is in neutral, will put 18 litres through. What is the consensus on the best fluid for this 545RFE? The last change I put in Mobil Super ATF+4.
- rear crank seal is leaking a few drops over a week. ... deal with that one sometime next decade.

Thanks for any thoughts, comments, advice, links. !

 

I would be real tempted to ditch the stock manifolds completely, go with some decent shortie headers. (as they are direct bolt-ins) Use Remflex header gaskets, and a good quality header bolt kit. (not Dorman......)

 

OK, kool. So what headers are suggested that would be "stock bolt in" with no modifications and about the same economy price? I intend to do the work myself in my garage, meaning ending up having to go to a muffler shop is not on the table ... at the moment.

 

Most any of them will be just bolt ons. So, pick some you like, and run with it. Keep in mind, you can probably find 'em for 100 bucks or so..... but, you get what you pay for.... spend more, less problems.

 

Called a local muffler/performance shop whom I've dealt with before and does great work. Asked for advice and to check on parts/labour stuff for the job. He was quite adamant to NOT put headers on but instead to replace the manifolds with new ones. Saying the old ones will break the bolts again and that headers would cause other new problems to the heads. So I guess I am back to option 2, (admit I am confused a bit now).

 

New manifolds are the exact same design as the old ones, what makes him think they aren't going to break manifold bolts?

I am real curious what 'other issues' he thinks running shorties will cause, considering the number of folks that run them, and the distinct LACK of anyone complaining?????

 

Called a local muffler/performance shop whom I've dealt with before and does great work. Asked for advice and to check on parts/labour stuff for the job. He was quite adamant to NOT put headers on but instead to replace the manifolds with new ones. Saying the old ones will break the bolts again and that headers would cause other new problems to the heads. So I guess I am back to option 2, (admit I am confused a bit now).

 

Yeah, you said that, about 14 minutes ago.

WHAT problems will headers cause? (I suspect he is just trying to dodge having to install them.......)

 

LOL, yeah, I don't know. He was pretty pumped and animated at the suggestion. Must have had bad experience(s) of some kind.
I think I will do some shopping and costing of both and let the dollars decide. Whichever option added up with all the necessary parts and hardware that gets it done for the lower all in price will be the one selected. I do not go for cheap stuff, but I do not needlessly toss money at the problems either. I am ok with it either way. I am just looking for an economical reliable, durable, longevity repair here. Not focused on to squeeze every hp or torque out of an already old engine, but not going to step backwards either.

So it is either going to be a replacement set with the Dorman stuff, or a shorty header kit such as the BBK or PaceSetters or ??.

 

I don't know if headers will actually solve the problem..... no data on that as yet. I DO know though, that the stock manifolds will still have the problem, whether they are new, or not. I am just thinkin' the thermodynamics of headers are quite a bit different than cast iron manifolds..... so, there is at least some chance that they won't snap bolts on such a regular basis.