best things to do to refresh the old girl

[the97oldgirl]

Hi all this is my first post here, lots of good info I have a 97 laramie with a 5.9l am running 265/75/r16 and the only mod I have in it so far is a flowmaster cat back exhaust what I would like to know is the best way to refresh my truck the engine has 280 000 km on it and runs beautifully but seems to be lacking a bit of jam that I remember really noticed it when hauling my camping trailer I know this is a pretty general question but am just wondering where to start and the best bang for the buck

 

[Adamc23]

Hi all this is my first post here, lots of good info I have a 97 laramie with a 5.9l am running 265/75/r16 and the only mod I have in it so far is a flowmaster cat back exhaust what I would like to know is the best way to refresh my truck the engine has 280 000 km on it and runs beautifully but seems to be lacking a bit of jam that I remember really noticed it when hauling my camping trailer I know this is a pretty general question but am just wondering where to start and the best bang for the buck

Hi, welcome to the forums!

I know exactly how you feel my 2004 5.7l has 272,000 miles! to give you an idea 272k miles is about 435,000km lol
Depending on how much you're willing to spend you can feel confident driving your truck again.

A nice cold air intake ranging from 350-500$$ for what I'd say is a decent system will give you a nice hp boost due to already having an exhaust and it will give you an increase in mpg.

Coil packs and spark plugs, about 400$ You'll shift a little easier maybe 2000rpms instead of 2150 rpms depending on age.

Maybe you have some exhaust leaks, fix those up, do all your fluids, power steering, differentials front and back, oil, coolant.

My question, what have you done to your truck so far and recently, over the years? etc...

 

[BBartow]

Aftermarket cold air intakes are a joke. They're just another ploy for manufacturers to steal your money like throttle body spacers and those silly JET chips. If you're looking to "refresh" your truck then a tune-up will do just that. Spark plugs+wires, o2 sensors, cap+rotor, pcv valve, fluids, and filters. Next thing would be to fix the plenum if you haven't done it yet and replace the cat. That's just basic stuff. Mods are another ball game.

 

[Adamc23]

Aftermarket cold air intakes are a joke. They're just another ploy for manufacturers to steal your money like throttle body spacers and those silly JET chips. If you're looking to "refresh" your truck then a tune-up will do just that. Spark plugs+wires, o2 sensors, cap+rotor, pcv valve, fluids, and filters. Next thing would be to fix the plenum if you haven't done it yet and replace the cat. That's just basic stuff. Mods are another ball game.

Well i mean you have a K&N CAI, obviously you don't hate them, they do enough, aslong as you have an exhaust and tune up, you get more air in therefore you need to shoot more air out, fix your ratio and exhaust and you get some nice HP. I think they work the little that they do is nice enough.

but as we both said if you haven't done your wires and plugs in a while you will have notable differences in performance

 

[BBartow]

Well i mean you have a K&N CAI, obviously you don't hate them, they do enough, aslong as you have an exhaust and tune up, you get more air in therefore you need to shoot more air out, fix your ratio and exhaust and you get some nice HP. I think they work the little that they do is nice enough.

but as we both said if you haven't done your wires and plugs in a while you will have notable differences in performance

I have one only because it was there when I bought it. The problem with the stock system is the paper filter, switch it out and you're golden. The stock system itself is a CAI since most CAIs draw air from the same space as the factory system. A drop-in filter is $25 and a CAI is between $150-350. Since they offer the same performance it is very clear aftermarket CAIs are a waste of cashola.

 

[dodge dude94]

Aftermarket cold air intakes are a joke. They're just another ploy for manufacturers to steal your money like throttle body spacers and those silly JET chips. If you're looking to "refresh" your truck then a tune-up will do just that. Spark plugs+wires, o2 sensors, cap+rotor, pcv valve, fluids, and filters. Next thing would be to fix the plenum if you haven't done it yet and replace the cat. That's just basic stuff. Mods are another ball game.

This^^^

Replace the plenum and timing set, do plugs, wires, cap, rotor and pre-cat O2 sensor you're off to a real good start

 

[BBartow]

This^^^

Replace the plenum and timing set, do plugs, wires, cap, rotor and pre-cat O2 sensor you're off to a real good start

Oh I forgot about the timing chain, good one.