Originally Posted by ramthis9501
The plenum plate sits underneath the intake manifold, and it has a gasket that sits between it and the manifold. Dodge messed up by putting a cast iron plate under an aluminum intake. Well in the winter, the temps fluctiate so much between the two metals that the gasket eventually ruptures and lets oil leak through into the manifold. In time it causes power loss and other problems. The best way to tell if your plenum is blown is to look down the throttle body and if their is oil pooling then you got a blown plenum. The fix is a new ALUMINUM plate to put in place of the old cast iron one so that the gasket will stay in place and not rupture. In terms it gives you better fuel mileage, performance, and takes away the potential of your engine blowing up.
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You definitely got the gist of it. It's not a cast iron plate, its just a stamped steel plate from the factory. The aluminum plate will expand and contract at the same temperatures as the cast aluminum manifold will. This helps preserve the life of the gasket in between the plate and manifold. The aluminum plate is also thicker compared to the factory plate so the bolts will not bottom out and can be torqued down correctly and completley. Having a blown plenum gasket doesn't necessarily mean you are going to blow up your engine. My truck had a blown plenum for nearly 12 years. However you are right in that it will reduce oil consumption, minor detonation, and it will help with fuel mileage and performance a little.
For those that have not done the plenum fix, and are experiencing the symptoms, filling up with premium will eliminate any detonation problems. However, eventually the spark plugs will foul out, usually starting with cylinder 8, causing some severe misfires.
Looks good so far Colton! Keep the pics coming.
By the way, you didn't have to remove the radiator shroud, but it sure gives you gobs more room huh?
2001 Dodge Ram
Hybrid Mode
