1998 ram1500 engine noise

I have a 98 ram 1500 5.9L with a horrible engine knock, and it burns oil. It has 65000 miles, and I bought it a year and half ago used with 48,000. I've been told that 98 dodge truck have a plenium gasket problem (what ever that is), and that's why it's burning oil. It's not leaking I've checked on regular basis. And i have know idea about the engine knock. It's fine until I give it hell then it sounds like a valve is going to go thru the hood. I still get good gas milage so i have know idea. I don't mind working on my vehicles, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'd rather do it myself then get reemed by a dealership.

Thanks:confused:

Don't know if you have fixed the problem or not but I have a '99 5.9L that does the same thing. I was told by a dealer service tech that it is caused by the intake manifold gasket leaking, also check this link (http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2000/09-05-00.htm). I have yet to fix mine because of the day (roughly 6-8 hours) needed to fix it. I have found a way to reduce the knocking in the mean time (until proper repair is made), use premium gas and try to keep the RPMs under 2500. Since oil is being sucked in to the combustion chamber and taking up a bit of space in the chamber, the combustion ratio is increased and the premium gas helps reduce the knocking. When I get around to fixing my intake leak I let you know if I still have this problem.

:smile: I am wondering if anyone has tried the above fix. I too have the same problem as listed. I have a 1998 5.9L Dodge Ram 1500 that uses about two quarts of oil a week and there are no oil leaks. I can't verify if I am burning, but again, there aren't any leaks. I reviewed the suggestion to TSB 09-05-00. I am wondering if this fixed the problem. I also get the knocking when ecellerating. I was told by one dealer that it was my cadolitic converter comming apart (?). Is that true?

Thanks.

I had a similar problem on my 99' 5.9L 2500. I didn't have as much of a burning oil problem, but I did have a knock/valve noise. I caught it early on, and brought it to the dealer. Fortunately they were able to detect the problem, and they immediately dropped the pan and checked the main bearings...hmmmm, interesting. The bearings were pretty bad, but i did catch the problem early. They did a terrible job replacing the bearings, and I ended up with a new long block(under extended warrany). I friend at work with a '96 5.9L had the same problem out of warranty....ended up needing a rebuild.

Without hearing the noise personally, I can't tell if you have the same problem. I thought i would share this info just in case. The noise occurred initially at a specific rpm...if your problem is similiar, you might want to check the main bearings.

i have a 98 with the 5.9 and had the same problems. the intake plentum gskts are most likely your oil problem. as for the spark knock there is a tsb your dealer san perform to reduce or eliminate the noise. i did both and have not herd the noise since even though my gskts are bad again and burning oil. hope this helps some.

I have a 2000 Ram with a 5.2 liter with 28K miles with the same problems. It pings like mad once it shifts into overdrive, and it uses about 2 quarts of oil every oil change. Thanks Rumchaser for the TSB. I'll run the test this week and see if its the same problem.

I have a 98 ram 1500 5.9L with a horrible engine knock, and it burns oil. It has 65000 miles, and I bought it a year and half ago used with 48,000. I've been told that 98 dodge truck have a plenium gasket problem (what ever that is), and that's why it's burning oil. It's not leaking I've checked on regular basis. And i have know idea about the engine knock. It's fine until I give it hell then it sounds like a valve is going to go thru the hood. I still get good gas milage so i have know idea. I don't mind working on my vehicles, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'd rather do it myself then get reemed by a dealership.

Thanks:confused:

I had thesame problem and i did get that gasket fixed but it did not work and the problem was still ther (but not as bad) I just got my truck back from the shop yesterday and I had told them about the knock agian and they flashed the pcm or a ping and knock and it worked no knock.

Is the noise you guys have been hearing a hard knock or more of a rattle? I have noticed what I call a loud rattle in what sounds like the lower engine when I pull my camper. It sounds very bad upon first acceleration with the camper, then once you are up to speed for a while it disappears completely. I have never noticed it until I started pulling the camper. It also has been accompanied by increased oil consumption, never used any before. Does this sound like the same thing you guys are experiencing? I have a 2001 5.2 liter with a 5 speed and 27,000 miles.

Is the noise you guys have been hearing a hard knock or more of a rattle? I have noticed what I call a loud rattle in what sounds like the lower engine when I pull my camper. It sounds very bad upon first acceleration with the camper, then once you are up to speed for a while it disappears completely. I have never noticed it until I started pulling the camper. It also has been accompanied by increased oil consumption, never used any before. Does this sound like the same thing you guys are experiencing? I have a 2001 5.2 liter with a 5 speed and 27,000 miles.


No mine was more of a knock but just under a load any kind of load but no added oil use or anything.

It is the intake gasket, because flashing the pcm will not make the vehicle quit burning oil. The flash for the pcm may help with detonation under a load.

i also have a dodge ram 1500 5.2 2 wheel drive, if i run 87 or even some 89 octane my truck runs like crap and makes the pining noise. thought it was the caty. but took to a friend at a dealer ship and they said too run 92 or 93. that fixed the problem,. as far as oil burning i only loose oil if i am towing long distance and on the gas hard. maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a court from NY - FL 1200 miles. other than that no leaks. truck has 99725 miles.

If you want to check for a blown intake in a 5.2 or a 5.9 just climb up on the motor and open the throttle blades and look inside with a flashlight. If there is pooling oil on the bottom, then the lower intake pan gasket is blown. Do this with the engine off please. :)

here goes it! i just talked to a guy who has a 98 with a 5.9 and there is a sensor in the middle of the engine block that goes bad maybe you guys should put your trucks on a computer diagnostics

ok to start with the plenium is on the bottom if the intake. they cover what I would call the runners. mine made the same noise but the upper intake was leaking and it was using alot of oil. changed the gasket and dodge recomends that you change the bolts in the plenium also if you get the gaskets from a dealer like I had to they arn't cheap but it will preobly fix the problem in my case it did. I also changed the brand of oil that I was useing to a synthic blend and that also help and runs smother too hope this helps

Hi, the dealer just told me I have the blown intake plenum gasket on my '99 Dodge Durango 5.9L, he wants $670 to fix it ! Can't believe there's no recall for this obvious screw-up (I'm at 70,000 miles). Anyway, how difficult is fixing this ? Looks like you have to move a bunch of stuff out of the way to get to the fix. Thanks.

J

I had the plenum gasket done by the dealer, it was a warrenty job. At first they tried to get out of it because it was a gasket. At any rate, they took care of it. If you are mechanically inclined at its not that bad of a job. Go buy a Haynes repair manual (less than $20.00) it will walk you through it.

Can't believe there's no recall for this obvious screw-up (I'm at 70,000 miles).

Most manufacturers will not issue a recall if the problem is not a safety issue. I work in the service dept of an import dealer and I'm constantly hearing the same thing about window regulators and other stuff. Just because something screws up and it's happening to everyone else doesn't mean they'll issue a recall. If the problem may lead to the engine locking up and causing a wreck, different story. :2cents:

I fixed the plenum pan gasket over the weekend. Took 2 days since you have to remove a ton of parts to get to the blasted thing (and drain some antifreeze). Sure enough there was oil inside the intake manifold, and I saw the blown gasket on the bottom of the pan. It had stretched out of the pan between 2 pan bolts (not sure why it stretched outward instead of inward since the vacuum suction pulls the oil in). I could also see the other side of the gasket was starting to do the same thing. Looks like the oem gasket was either made too long..or torqued wrong at factory..not sure. Anyway, I cleaned the whole inside of the intake manifold and put a new billet alluminum pan on (from www.hughesengines.com). I threw the oem one away...it was a thin piece of crap (same with oil soaked oem bolts). Also, before putting manifold back onto the block, I put new Fel-Pro manifold gaskets on the block and used new manifold bolts (the old gaskets just peeled right off). Finally, I sprayed 1.5 cans of combustion chamber cleaner into the throttle while the engine was idling (some white smoke came out the exhaust). After driving the Durango last night it seems to accelarate better (like the old days). I'm now watching the fuel consumption and oil consumption. Btw, make sure you have a good torque wrench for this job, and allow at least 2 days for the work, since you may have to go buy some other parts (eg. a thermostat gasket.. new water pump bypass pipe (I decided to change it while I was in there) etc.). Later.

I have a 98 ram 1500 5.2. I have a rattle, like exhaust is falling apart, but just installed a new muffler all other parts are fine. Noise sounds like it is coming from the bell housing/torque convertor. Only makes noise when it is cold. Goes away when engine gets up to operating temperature. Oil pressure runs way over 40 cold then drops to 40+ when engine warms ups. Transmission has never been abused. Truck has 89,000 miles on it. Any information would be greatly appreciated before I take it to the local dealer to get it checked out. Thanks
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