5.2 performance mods.

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01rammer1500

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Ok, so ive had some time to look throughout the internet and ive decided to keep things simple!
Ive decided to go with some aftermarket headers (not sure which ones yet) and a nice 3" cat back system to go with them. Im also going to be ordering a k&n cold air intake. Next will be a set of roller rockers!! And so far thats all i got! What other mild bolt-ons are there?

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Stegs

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Ok, so ive had some time to look throughout the internet and ive decided to keep things simple!
Ive decided to go with some aftermarket headers (not sure which ones yet) and a nice 3" cat back system to go with them. Im also going to be ordering a k&n cold air intake. Next will be a set of roller rockers!! And so far thats all i got! What other mild bolt-ons are there?

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may I ask what your goals for the truck is?

what direction are you thinking you want to go?
 
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01rammer1500

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I want power. Right now its severely lacking. I came up a small hill and with the petal to the floor it stayed at 5000 rpms, wouldnt shift, and wouldnt go above 70mph. A 2004ish chevy blew right past me. So something has to change. I use the truck to haul dirt bikes and quads qutie often also. I just want to actually have power and the ability to haul ass.

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Yeret

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Sounds more like your problem is a loss off power rather than a lack of. No truck should have to run WOT (especially to redline!) to make it up any hill with speed.
 

Merc225hp

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Forget the CAI and just get a drop in filter. SCT/Superchips tuner first. You will have to spend some good coin to keep up with any newer truck, you might be better off by getting a newer truck.

Comp test been done on this motor? I would before you spend a dime.
 
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01rammer1500

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I guess i didnt go far enough into details. So heres the full story of the truck.
I got the truck about 2 weeks ago on a saturday about 350 miles from home. The dealer was willing to work with me because i was paying with cash. So i asked their mechanic to be honest and tell me everything he knows about the truck. He told me " the truck has a vaccume leak that he was unable to find, and could use new plugs, wires, cap and rotor for a good tune up" so when i took it for a ride he agreed to go to a near by advance auto parts store and allow them to read the codes. And he was correct. The only code was for a vaccume leak.
So i ended up buying the truck, i filled up right after leaving the dealer and drove 200 miles until i filled up again. My father was in his 2014 dodge durango following me and when we filled up my truck used less fuel than his durango. But after getting it home the mpg has dropped. It gets about an average of 9.5mpg driving 28 miles of highway at 60mph each day to work. I took it to a family friends shop to have him look over it and change the fluids. Compression check came out good, he said the coolant was clean but very old. The trans fluid was also clean. He agrees that it needs plugs wires, etc for a std tune up.
with concerns of it being the intake plenum, i went and got the gaskets to fix it. Havent had time to install them though. Im working 10hr days 6 days a week. So i havent much time. Do yall think a bad plenum gasket could cause my above issues?

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Merc225hp

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Do the tune up, fix the plenum, get a tuner and get rid of the death-flash go from there with your mods. Average mpg is see posted ranges from 8-15.
 

Stegs

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a bad plenum gasket will knock under load...if you were going 5000 rpms in a truck with a blown plenum...you would have heard it. When mine went I had a bad knock even with 93 octane fuel.

Now there is other symptoms of a blown plenum, but if your mechanic guy knows what he is doing, sounds like your truck is in good health

when I read you went up a hill at 5000 rpms and didn't gain any speed, Id agree with the post after that as in "power loss" or lack of

I know what my little 5.2 will do, and I know if I ever got close to 5k rpms (which I would never do) that little motor and I would be screaming right along


Im going to say plugged cat, something is holding you back.

My opinion is rip that cat off, put a temp pipe there and drive the truck, see what that does for you....if it is, get a magnaflow high flow cat


My truck had similar issues, it felt like I was pulling a trailer everywhere I went...just didn't have the power


I did a few things,

opened the exhaust up,

good tune up (cap/rotor/wire/plugs)

lots and lots of seafoam thru the gas tank and break booster (did this first before the tune up)

that helped a lot, from there I went with a m1 intake, gears, stall converter etc...


but.....it sounds like your cat is shot...mine went at 115k

another thing that sounds like a possibility is a plugged fuel filter...not getting enough fuel to the motor

trust me, these magnum engines love fuel....the more the merrier
 
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01rammer1500

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a bad plenum gasket will knock under load...if you were going 5000 rpms in a truck with a blown plenum...you would have heard it. When mine went I had a bad knock even with 93 octane fuel.

Now there is other symptoms of a blown plenum, but if your mechanic guy knows what he is doing, sounds like your truck is in good health

when I read you went up a hill at 5000 rpms and didn't gain any speed, Id agree with the post after that as in "power loss" or lack of

I know what my little 5.2 will do, and I know if I ever got close to 5k rpms (which I would never do) that little motor and I would be screaming right along


Im going to say plugged cat, something is holding you back.

My opinion is rip that cat off, put a temp pipe there and drive the truck, see what that does for you....if it is, get a magnaflow high flow cat


My truck had similar issues, it felt like I was pulling a trailer everywhere I went...just didn't have the power


I did a few things,

opened the exhaust up,

good tune up (cap/rotor/wire/plugs)

lots and lots of seafoam thru the gas tank and break booster (did this first before the tune up)

that helped a lot, from there I went with a m1 intake, gears, stall converter etc...


but.....it sounds like your cat is shot...mine went at 115k

another thing that sounds like a possibility is a plugged fuel filter...not getting enough fuel to the motor

trust me, these magnum engines love fuel....the more the merrier

This post has been the most helpful so far! Thank you. My truck does knock when i first start it up but last night at 5000 rpms i didnt hear a single sound. Would there be a way to test the cat before cutting it out? Its highly frowned upon around here and gets you hefty fines when going to get it inspected.
I was thinking of getting a 3" y pipe with the high flow cat when i order my headers and tail pipe. The truck starts fine, idles fine and shifts fine. Litterally my only problem is it having no power.:banghead:

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Yeret

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To test the catalytic, start the engine and let it reach operating temperature. Then, with the transmission in park, give the engine gas and keep increasing it. If the catalytic is plugged, the engine will reach a certain RPM and not accelerate past that no matter how much gas you give it. I did this to test my cat when I suspected it was plugged and my engine wouldn't run past 3,000 RPM even at WOT.

However, since you've mentioned driving the truck to 5,000 RPMs, I'm not sure I would suspect the catalytic...
 
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01rammer1500

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Tonight on my way home from work, I turned the heat off, radio off, and really listened to what the truck was doing. It does have a ticking noise when I really romp on the throttle. The truck seems like it should still be pulling like hell, but it just won't do it. Anyhow, I have Monday off of work for hunting season. I believe that I'm going to tear into the truck and tackle a full tune up.
 

Stegs

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Tonight on my way home from work, I turned the heat off, radio off, and really listened to what the truck was doing. It does have a ticking noise when I really romp on the throttle. The truck seems like it should still be pulling like hell, but it just won't do it. Anyhow, I have Monday off of work for hunting season. I believe that I'm going to tear into the truck and tackle a full tune up.

ok, id go for the plenum gasket...even if its not bad, its a good thing to get rid of it..either a new intake or hughes kit

then your done with it forever

let us know what happens
 
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01rammer1500

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I went to the garage today to change the gaskets. And when i put my scope inside the intake, there was no oil or any sign of damaged gasket. But i went ahead and put my new aluminum plate and gasket on. My new plugs had to wait to go in because i wanted to seafoam the truck. And boy did that help.
Im considering doing some pacesetter headers with a highflow cat 3" pipe into a thrush turbo muffler to wake it up some.

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