Plenum Gasket Replacement by steve00ram360
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07-06-2005, 02:12 AM
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Shelby Twp, Michigan
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Plenum Gasket Replacement by steve00ram360
Thanks to steve00ram360 for this article!!
Please Read DodgeForum.com's Disclaimer
Performed on a 2000 Dodge Ram.
This DIY can be used as a supplement to the TSB 09-05-00 on the plenum gasket repair {spark knock and oil consumption due to intake manifold pan gasket oil leak}
These steps are my method to removing the intake. On my truck it is much easier to remove the fan and shroud and stand on the inside of the engine compartment and work rather than leaning over it. The amount of time saved by not pulling it off is not that great compared to the potential pains of leaning…
Remove the fuel pump relay and start the motor and wait until it dies. This will relieve the fuel pressure in the fuel rail.
Disconnect battery
Remove the air cleaner or CAI from the engine compartment.
Remove the distributor cap and all of the sparkplug wires.
Drain coolant into a bucket using a hose on the end of the drain plug so you don’t make a mess.
Remove the accessory drive belt, use a 15 mm wrench or socket to move the tensioner so the belt is loose and remove belt off of pulleys. You be able to do this with the fan on and you will not have to move the belt over the fan to put it on and off.
Using a strap wrench to hold the water pump, loosen the fan clutch assembly. Some vehicles may have reverse threads so check your manual. I use a 12” crescent wrench which barely fits onto the fan clutch nut when loosening the fan clutch.
Unbolt the fan shroud and remove the fan assembly and the shroud at the same time. You will have to remove the washer fluid bottle and overflow bottle off of the fan shroud before removing the fan shroud.
Remove the alternator, and the wiring to the alternator, the positive cable on the back uses a 10mm socket to remove the nut. At this point you can do what I do and re-install the bolts into the bracket so there is no confusion when re-assembling it.
Remove the a/c compressor by removing the 4 bolts that fasten it to the main accessory bracket and the bracket that mounts to the intake manifold. Disconnect the electrical to the a/c compressor.
The bolt in the pic requires a wrench to remove, a socket and ratchet will not do it. You’ll also have to remove it with the a/c compressor. I tie-wrapped the a/c out of the way so I could work and not worry about having it drop or put stress on the lines.
Remove the belt pulley to expose another bolt under it.
Remove the remaining bolts that hold the accessory bracket on and remove it from the engine compartment. Remember to store the bolts in the bracket… makes putting it back together a snap.
Remove the upper radiator hose. Now is a good time to cut off the “Front” tab on the thermostat housing so your able to remove it without having to tear apart the front of the motor.
Remove the main heater hose to the left of the t-stat housing.
Remove the bypass hose that goes from the intake manifold to the waterpump. I usually just cut it off and get a new one since its such a PITA to get to.
If your working on a Ram, this is how much room you’ll have once you have the fan and accessory bracket off. You should be able to stand inside the engine compartment now, this will make working on the intake much easier. The power steering pump does not need to be removed.
Unbolt the ground that is in the fuel injector wiring harness on the drivers side of the engine from the power steering pump bracket.
Disconnect the IAT (intake air temperature) and CT (coolant temperature) sensors from the wiring harness on the passenger side of the intake manifold.
Disconnect all of the fuel injector connections on both sides.
Carefully move both wiring harnesses out of the way and secure them so they are not dropping back into your work area.
Disconnect the IAC (intake air control) valve connection from the back of the throttle body, the TPS (throttle position sensor) from the drivers side of the throttle body and the MAP sensor (Manifold Absolute Pressure) from the front of the throttle body.
Remove the cables from the throttle body (throttle, TV for the transmission if an Automatic, and cruise if equipped).
Remove the vacuum lines from the intake and throttle body, depending on your year and motor, the number and locations may vary.
Disconnect the fuel line. You will need a fuel line removal tool that you can get for about $15 bux max at the auto parts store. This tool fits in between the fuel line and the fuel rail and has a spring clip on the inside that needs to be opened to get the line off.
Older Jeeps have a return line that goes back to the fuel tank, remove this line from the fuel pressure regulator.
You can at this point remove the throttle body if you choose but it is not necessary , get a new gasket for it when you put it back on. The pic below shows the 3 electrical connectors and their approximate locations to the throttle body.
If equipped, remove the EGR connections off the back of the intake manifold. You might have to disconnect the pipe coming from the exhaust (mine is doesn’t have this so do what you have to do so you can lift off the manifold).
Loosen all of the intake manifold bolts, then remove them.
The manifold is now ready to come off. It might need a little bit of prying but nothing major. Although my valve covers are off, you do not need to remove them to get the intake manifold off.
Here’s the only picture I have to show that has the intake off.
Once the intake is off, send in your helper and have him clean off ALL of the gasket material that is on the heads and block. I always put an old towel in there to catch as much debris as possible, then shop vacuum the lifter valley to make sure I don’t miss anything. There will be gaskets that your removing from the front and rear of the block that are rubbery, toss these in the trash and make sure to get all of the sealant off of the block and head.
Here he’s cleaning the silicon off the ends of the lifter valley using a scraper that has a razor blade in the tip. Nice and sharp… (note that my heads are gone because of a head swap that I did).
Make sure your helper is out of the way when moving heavy objects… he got wacked with a header…
Here is what the plate looked like with oil seeping in. Note that it was coming from the end of the manifold near the distributor. This is a mild leak. Others have the gasket torn and have oil pools much larger than this.
At this point you can either put on the new gasket and bolt it back together or put on a plenum kit that has an updated pan made of aluminum so this doesn’t happen again.
Follow the torque sequence for installing the new plenum plate, Refer to the TSB for the torque settings and sequence http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2000/09-05-00.htm and for installing the intake manifold back onto the block. Pay close attention to the torque sequence when mounting the intake back on. The TSB says 2 steps to get to 84 in lbs, I’ve seen a 3 step procedure in the past, either will work. TAKE YOUR TIME on this.
You will need to put a dab of silcon sealant at the ends of the intake manifold gasket where it sits on the front & back of the block. where the block meets the head and intake manifold.
Once the manifold is bolted down, your ready to re-assemble. Re-assemble it in the reverse order of disassembly and you’ll be good to go.
In a nutshell, here’s what your doing…
Re-connect all of the injector plugs from the wiring harness.
Re-connect the IAT and CT sensors.
Re-connect the throttle body (TB) sensors and linkage, if the TB is removed, re-install it with a new gasket.
Re-connect all of the vacuum lines.
Re-connect the fuel line(s).
Fill up the coolant system and check for leaks.
Once your convinced there are no leaks, re-install the fan and fan shroud and finish it up.
Ram2ndGen
Please Read DodgeForum.com's Disclaimer
Performed on a 2000 Dodge Ram.
This DIY can be used as a supplement to the TSB 09-05-00 on the plenum gasket repair {spark knock and oil consumption due to intake manifold pan gasket oil leak}
These steps are my method to removing the intake. On my truck it is much easier to remove the fan and shroud and stand on the inside of the engine compartment and work rather than leaning over it. The amount of time saved by not pulling it off is not that great compared to the potential pains of leaning…
Remove the fuel pump relay and start the motor and wait until it dies. This will relieve the fuel pressure in the fuel rail.
Disconnect battery
Remove the air cleaner or CAI from the engine compartment.
Remove the distributor cap and all of the sparkplug wires.
Drain coolant into a bucket using a hose on the end of the drain plug so you don’t make a mess.
Remove the accessory drive belt, use a 15 mm wrench or socket to move the tensioner so the belt is loose and remove belt off of pulleys. You be able to do this with the fan on and you will not have to move the belt over the fan to put it on and off.
Using a strap wrench to hold the water pump, loosen the fan clutch assembly. Some vehicles may have reverse threads so check your manual. I use a 12” crescent wrench which barely fits onto the fan clutch nut when loosening the fan clutch.
Unbolt the fan shroud and remove the fan assembly and the shroud at the same time. You will have to remove the washer fluid bottle and overflow bottle off of the fan shroud before removing the fan shroud.
Remove the alternator, and the wiring to the alternator, the positive cable on the back uses a 10mm socket to remove the nut. At this point you can do what I do and re-install the bolts into the bracket so there is no confusion when re-assembling it.
Remove the a/c compressor by removing the 4 bolts that fasten it to the main accessory bracket and the bracket that mounts to the intake manifold. Disconnect the electrical to the a/c compressor.
The bolt in the pic requires a wrench to remove, a socket and ratchet will not do it. You’ll also have to remove it with the a/c compressor. I tie-wrapped the a/c out of the way so I could work and not worry about having it drop or put stress on the lines.
Remove the belt pulley to expose another bolt under it.
Remove the remaining bolts that hold the accessory bracket on and remove it from the engine compartment. Remember to store the bolts in the bracket… makes putting it back together a snap.
Remove the upper radiator hose. Now is a good time to cut off the “Front” tab on the thermostat housing so your able to remove it without having to tear apart the front of the motor.
Remove the main heater hose to the left of the t-stat housing.
Remove the bypass hose that goes from the intake manifold to the waterpump. I usually just cut it off and get a new one since its such a PITA to get to.
If your working on a Ram, this is how much room you’ll have once you have the fan and accessory bracket off. You should be able to stand inside the engine compartment now, this will make working on the intake much easier. The power steering pump does not need to be removed.
Unbolt the ground that is in the fuel injector wiring harness on the drivers side of the engine from the power steering pump bracket.
Disconnect the IAT (intake air temperature) and CT (coolant temperature) sensors from the wiring harness on the passenger side of the intake manifold.
Disconnect all of the fuel injector connections on both sides.
Carefully move both wiring harnesses out of the way and secure them so they are not dropping back into your work area.
Disconnect the IAC (intake air control) valve connection from the back of the throttle body, the TPS (throttle position sensor) from the drivers side of the throttle body and the MAP sensor (Manifold Absolute Pressure) from the front of the throttle body.
Remove the cables from the throttle body (throttle, TV for the transmission if an Automatic, and cruise if equipped).
Remove the vacuum lines from the intake and throttle body, depending on your year and motor, the number and locations may vary.
Disconnect the fuel line. You will need a fuel line removal tool that you can get for about $15 bux max at the auto parts store. This tool fits in between the fuel line and the fuel rail and has a spring clip on the inside that needs to be opened to get the line off.
Older Jeeps have a return line that goes back to the fuel tank, remove this line from the fuel pressure regulator.
You can at this point remove the throttle body if you choose but it is not necessary , get a new gasket for it when you put it back on. The pic below shows the 3 electrical connectors and their approximate locations to the throttle body.
If equipped, remove the EGR connections off the back of the intake manifold. You might have to disconnect the pipe coming from the exhaust (mine is doesn’t have this so do what you have to do so you can lift off the manifold).
Loosen all of the intake manifold bolts, then remove them.
The manifold is now ready to come off. It might need a little bit of prying but nothing major. Although my valve covers are off, you do not need to remove them to get the intake manifold off.
Here’s the only picture I have to show that has the intake off.
Once the intake is off, send in your helper and have him clean off ALL of the gasket material that is on the heads and block. I always put an old towel in there to catch as much debris as possible, then shop vacuum the lifter valley to make sure I don’t miss anything. There will be gaskets that your removing from the front and rear of the block that are rubbery, toss these in the trash and make sure to get all of the sealant off of the block and head.
Here he’s cleaning the silicon off the ends of the lifter valley using a scraper that has a razor blade in the tip. Nice and sharp… (note that my heads are gone because of a head swap that I did).
Make sure your helper is out of the way when moving heavy objects… he got wacked with a header…
Here is what the plate looked like with oil seeping in. Note that it was coming from the end of the manifold near the distributor. This is a mild leak. Others have the gasket torn and have oil pools much larger than this.
At this point you can either put on the new gasket and bolt it back together or put on a plenum kit that has an updated pan made of aluminum so this doesn’t happen again.
Follow the torque sequence for installing the new plenum plate, Refer to the TSB for the torque settings and sequence http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2000/09-05-00.htm and for installing the intake manifold back onto the block. Pay close attention to the torque sequence when mounting the intake back on. The TSB says 2 steps to get to 84 in lbs, I’ve seen a 3 step procedure in the past, either will work. TAKE YOUR TIME on this.
You will need to put a dab of silcon sealant at the ends of the intake manifold gasket where it sits on the front & back of the block. where the block meets the head and intake manifold.
Once the manifold is bolted down, your ready to re-assemble. Re-assemble it in the reverse order of disassembly and you’ll be good to go.
In a nutshell, here’s what your doing…
Re-connect all of the injector plugs from the wiring harness.
Re-connect the IAT and CT sensors.
Re-connect the throttle body (TB) sensors and linkage, if the TB is removed, re-install it with a new gasket.
Re-connect all of the vacuum lines.
Re-connect the fuel line(s).
Fill up the coolant system and check for leaks.
Once your convinced there are no leaks, re-install the fan and fan shroud and finish it up.
Ram2ndGen
