2001 Ram 4x4 Sport Restoration

[DodgeLady]

So I have been reading about the plenum for a while now. Everyone seemed to describe it as having really horrible gas mileage, check engine lights, and absolutely eating oil, so I didn’t think it was an issue for me. I go through oil, but maybe a quart every 1000 miles. I get about 11-12mpg. Not great, but not terrible...
Last night I was reading on Hughes’ site how to easily test it by unplugging the pcv hose and seeing if it has vacuum with engine running. Sure enough mine has it. So I just ordered their plenum kit. While I’ve got it pulled apart, I’m going to replace the timing chain, thermostat, water pump, cap/rotor, and the lifters. I dread the project, but I can’t wait to see how well it runs! I think it has gradually lost power over the years, and I’ve just gone easy on it thinking it’s an old engine that I don’t want to push too hard. I have a feeling I’m going to be very pleased when it comes back to life.

How many miles in your engine?
I’ve read about the plenum gasket also - but no way would I try this repair myself! Watched a video.[emoji38]

I don’t burn/lose oil so maybe mine is not a problem. I do have low power but always attributed to high mileage engine.

When I’ve mentioned it to mechanics they don’t recommend putting ANY work into my 323k mile engine. Kind of frustrating.

I’ll be interested to hear how you come out!


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[Spike95]

I have 215k on my engine. If you’re not consuming any oil at all after 300k then that’s awesome!
im actually a heavy truck technician, so I’m not too scared of trying the job.
I’m only nervous about doing all of this work because I don’t have a lot of free time on my hands, and I always have to have it done within the span of a single weekend. I am fortunate that my employer will let me work on it at our shop over the weekend, but come hell or high water, it has to be out of there by Monday morning... even if that means getting it towed to my house. I am not quite to the point where I have a full second set of tools at home yet. Also sucks for my family if I spend my entire weekend at work.

 

[Spike95]

One little thing I did this weekend... I still had a little play in the steering wheel after replacing all of the linkage and damper. I made a small adjustment to my steering box sector shaft. Only did 1/8 of a turn. Best to be very conservative, because you can screw stuff up if you go too far. Made a nice difference. Not going to fix your front end if everything is loose, but having already done the rest, it was the icing on the cake. Took about 5 minutes including finding the right tools.

 

[Spike95]

Another small step forward. My diff fluid hadn’t been changed in much longer than I care to admit. The fluid was milky and contaminated from going through high water. Gave everything a quick clean up and sprayed the cover with some high temp caliper paint I had available. One of these days, when I have more time available, I look forward to completely repainting my axle.

 

[Spike95]

Also added a fresh set of Carr steps While I was waiting for diff sealant to cure. My old set had been on there for about 19 years. A lady veered into the passenger side and knocked one of them off a couple years ago... Now my wife won’t have so much trouble climbing into the passenger seat.

 

[Joe w.]

Which bilstein shocks do have I need to get front and rear for mine. They have never been replaced.

 

[Spike95]

Which bilstein shocks do have I need to get front and rear for mine. They have never been replaced.

They are the 4600 series.

sorry I somehow missed this question before now.

 

[DodgeLady]

I had dealt with the stock radio not playing CDs anymore for years, and the radio signal wasn’t that good either. As much as I had wanted to keep it, I finally cut the cord and moved to a new Kenwood head unit. Nothing extravagant, but I’m so pleased with the result. Being able to connect to my phone with Bluetooth is fantastic. I also had one of the original Infinity amps that was going out intermittently, so I bypassed the old amps and wired the head unit straight to the speakers. As a side note, if you’ve never done it, I highly recommend tuning your aftermarket stereo using a pink noise test track and an app such as Spectrum or Dynaudio Meter. Made a huge difference in the clarity of my sound system and didn’t cost a dime. Made my old speakers sound better than I thought they could.
View attachment 211878

I don’t know how I missed all this industry on your seats and the install! It looks fantastic! I will look into seat cushions from Geno’s.
I’m taking a break from the truck fix up for a bit. Waiting for summer to pass...

I put a new Bluetooth connection radio in my truck a couple of years ago. Money well spent!


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[Moparfanatic21]

I just did a frame off restoration on a 2001 2500. Living in the rust belt sucks.

 

[Spike95]

I just did a frame off restoration on a 2001 2500. Living in the rust belt sucks.

View attachment 217893

Very nice. I’d love to do that someday when I have another daily driver. Fortunately I don’t live in the rust belt. I don’t have any major rust to speak of.

 

[Moparfanatic21]

Very nice. I’d love to do that someday when I have another daily driver. Fortunately I don’t live in the rust belt. I don’t have any major rust to speak of.

Wasn't that bad but you have to prepare for the salt

 

[Marc Taylor]

Dude...
You are an ANIMAL.
This is so awesome.
Please continue

:-]]

 

[Spike95]

Dude...
You are an ANIMAL.
This is so awesome.
Please continue

:-]]

Thanks. I am itching to move forward, but waiting for the free time to do it. I have a couple items on the agenda that I’m hoping to complete in the next month or two.
1. Plenum repair along with replacing water pump and timing chain. (Have all the parts. Just need free time)
2. Having my axles rebuilt and regeared to 4.10 (Outsourcing to a specialist)
3. New 16x8 wheels and 295/75r16 tires.

 

[Spike95]

My alternator took a crap on me last night, so that was the final push to make me start my engine work. I just got done installing the double roller timing chain along with a new water pump. Now about to start pulling apart the intake to do the plenum.

Here’s the old original timing chain with a lot of slack in it.


Here’s the new Mopar Performance double roller timing chain set. It gives you the option to advance or retard the cam timing by 4 degrees. I opted to stick with factory specs. I’m not trying to build a hotrod, just making my motor a bit more solid for the long haul.


I also had a moment of great frustration when it came time to pull the balancer off. I had bought a nice balancer pulling set to do it with, but it would not work. Apparently the later years of the 360 have the balancer and pulley made as one piece, so there are no bolt holes to attach a puller to. I wound up having to walk to the parts store (uphill both ways in the snow) to buy a cheap little 3 jaw puller to put through the middle of the pulley. Got it off, but that turned a 10 minute project into an hour and a half. At least now I can return the $80 puller set I had bought.

 

[Spike95]

Just pulled my throttle body... and got the my first look inside my intake... yeah. I’d say I have 100% confirmed where my oil has been going.

 

[DodgeLady]

The pictures are great! Good to see your progress!


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[Spike95]

Here’s a better look now that I’ve pulled the plenum off. What a mess! This is always one of the most exciting parts of any project for me. Everything has been pulled off and starting to clean parts. All down hill from here!

 

[Spike95]

Finally freakin’ done. Man, what a marathon this project was... Two nights in a row of working until nearly daylight, but I feel like I accomplished a lot.

1. Double roller timing chain set
2. Water pump
3. New hoses
4. Idler pulley/tensioner/belt
3. Hughes plenum fix
4. Valve cover gaskets
5. New alternator
6. Cap/rotor/plug wires
7. PCV valve
8. Coolant temp sensor
9. Injector o-rings
10. Cooling system flush
11. Oil change

I don’t want to do another project that long for a good long while, but so glad it’s done.

 

[joeygster]

Very nice. I’d love to do that someday when I have another daily driver. Fortunately I don’t live in the rust belt. I don’t have any major rust to speak of.

That must be awesome living somewhere where rust is not a major factor to deal with. Southern Ontario is a nightmare with roadsalt and this new brine spray. It gets everywhere.

I can't believe the progress you've made on your truck brother. It must be awesome to have these skill sets. Your generation of Ram was what first drew me to the brand. There was nothing like them on the road back then.

 

[Spike95]

That must be awesome living somewhere where rust is not a major factor to deal with. Southern Ontario is a nightmare with roadsalt and this new brine spray. It gets everywhere.

I can't believe the progress you've made on your truck brother. It must be awesome to have these skill sets. Your generation of Ram was what first drew me to the brand. There was nothing like them on the road back then.

I can actually remember the place I was when I first saw a 2nd gen Ram driving down the road, and I was instantly in love. I was only about 11 years old.

I know what you’re talking about with the salt rust. I’m a heavy truck mechanic, and a lot of the trailers at my company were purchased used after being up north. I hate dealing with them. It’s crazy how badly they age.

As for the skill set, I can figure most of this stuff out on my own, but YouTube sure is helpful. I can go on there and watch someone else’s steps that has already bumped their nose on the project and made the mistakes for me. You just have to judge for yourself whether or not you trust the person who’s video you’re watching.