Plenum gasket replacement recommendations Indianapolis area?

[Quagmire]

Hello, did a vacuum test on my '99 Ram 318 2wd and had lots of suction. Truck has 188k.... Peered into the plenum and saw oil. It's eating oil pretty bad but actually still running pretty well. The truck is in good shape and got some life left In her. I work two jobs and this looks like a substantial time commitment. I was hoping someone knows a place or person in the Indy area that would be will to do the repair for some good old cash. Thanks for allowing on the forum!

 

[Dodge 1500 4X4]

Welcome to the Ram Forum, did you replace the PCV valve what the vacuum reading if you have 15-21 in lbs of vacuum you should be good and you said its running well.

 

[Quagmire]

Thank you for replying! I replaced the pcv as soon as I noticed the increased oil consumption with no change. I disconnected the hose up to the breather box and plugged the pvc hose going into the manifold. I fired the motor up briefly and covered the breather hose with my thumb. It had a significant amount of suction. I didn't actually throw a guage on it..After that I looked through the throttle body butterflies and could see and oily coating. Drove it to work this morning and it idled kinda rough and smelled terrible. She's pretty sluggish too... Thanks!

 

[crazykid1994]

I did the one on my wife’s 97 ram with the 318. It’s a very easy job. If you have the tools to do it, you can order the parts from Hughes engines. It’s also a new plate and a gasket with the bolts and the paper that shows you the torque sequence for reinstalling everything. May be a few hours at max if you take everything apart and clean it while you’re going. My only advice if you do tackle this yourself is to take and clean everything off before dismantling so that you don’t run the risk of any debris dropping down into the lifter valley. A leaf blower, a vacuum, and some degreaser will be your best friend for cleaning that up.

 

[Quagmire]

Cool, did you pull the radiator and fan? I thought the dealerships showed 10hrs labor for the repair. So, I figured being a shade-tree mechanic it would take 12 or so... Thanks for the reply!

 

[crazykid1994]

I did not. I drained the coolant. Pulled the intake off. There’s a few hoses attached that make it a pain in the butt but very doable with the right tools. I did a coolant flush after and used fresh coolant after. Take a look. It was about 8 or 9 years ago since I did that job.

 

[Quagmire]

Awesome, thanks for the information!