The 5.9 360

[WillyBoy17]

Alright guys. This is the group I want to ask because no one knows Rams like you guys do. I have a 360 in my truck and its great but so frustrating because it takes forever to get up and move off the line but eventually hits power. I used to drive a Silverado with a 5.7 350 that had so much get up and go that it was crazy and I didn't realize how much it did till I had the 360. Any suggestions on how to get more power out of my 360 and get it moving more off the line? Thanks guys

[ramthis9501]

One word. Plenum. The magnum engines are known for blown Plenum gaskets. There's a kit you can get to fix it. I did it and its actually pretty easy to do as long as you have some mechanics know how. The Plenum sits between the engine and intake manifold. Dodge made the manifold aluminum and Plenum plate steel. The temps between those two metals is way different and eventually causes the gasket to blow. That more then likely the problem imo. Way you can check is to take the intake off the throttle body, open up the blades and look down the throat of the throttle body with a flashlight. If there's oil of any amount in there, you got a blown Plenum.

[WillyBoy17]

Alright man ill check that out and see if I can see anything. Thanks. One guy I asked just said that its a slow motor and doesn't have much get up and go in it

[ramthis9501]

Not sure about that one... the 360s usually go pretty quick. If it is the Plenum, here is the kit you need
http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/products.php?partid=26190

[WillyBoy17]

Alright well I went and took it off and first off, taking the stock intake off sucks, I need to put a new one on. Any suggestions on a replacement intake? I put an AEM on my Silverado and it was good, but don't know about Dodge. When I took it off, this is what I saw the picture below (I cant figure out how to put pics in my message, only thing I can figure out is just as an attachment)
Not necessarily liquid but looks like liquid was there at one time. Any thoughts?

[(S.M.R) 101]

make a photo bucket account and upload the pictures to there.. Then all you do is copy the IMG code and paste it in your post.. It's the easiest way to do it IMO

[WillyBoy17]

Alright sorry, where do you post the IMG code, cause when I post it, the URL just shows up, no picture, thanks SMR101

[WillyBoy17]

http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb396/BigWillyStyle17/Truck%20Pics/IMG_20111130_150808.jpg

[WillyBoy17]

Hah, got it to work. Thanks S.M.R. 101. Alright ramthis9501, that is the picture I meant to attach to the message I sent you

[ramthis9501]

There's your problem... that's not supposed to be black lol you my friend have a blown Plenum. Time to get that kit ordered and replace the plate and gasket.

And good job on figuring out the img code lol

And just so you know, my name is Colton.

[WillyBoy17]

hah good, i kinda of got tired typing your profile name lol. Colton, nice to meet you and thanks, so that is a blow plenum huh? I haven't done much work on the engine before so that will be a interesting repair. Excited to see what this will do once I repair it. Thanks man

[ramthis9501]

No problem, I just remembered I put my DIY on here for the repair.

Here it is
http://oklarams.com/showthread.php?t=7

The 5.2 and 5.9 are almost identical except the 360 is bored out a little more then the 318. Everything should be the same.

[WillyBoy17]

I listened to your video, that sounds awesome. That is one thing about my truck. It sounds like it has a vacuum leak somewhere. I took it to this mechanic and he put a new gasket on something, cant remember what, it wasn't a valve cover gasket, but it fixed the problem temporarily but now it is back and the engine makes loud hissing noises which sounds like what you ran into, I will definitely look into doing this over Christmas break.

[ramthis9501]

Mine is still there when its really cold but after it warms up it goes away. But that repair should help alot. I've noticed a big difference in mine, it runs alot smoother then before.

And if you have any questions just let me know and I'll see what I can do to help

[Matt]

No problem, I just remembered I put my DIY on here for the repair.

Here it is
http://oklarams.com/showthread.php?t=7

The 5.2 and 5.9 are almost identical except the 360 is bored out a little more then the 318. Everything should be the same.

actualllly .....

The 5.2 (318) has a 3.91 in (99 mm) bore and a stroke of 3.31 in (84 mm) the 5.9 (360) has a 4.00 in bore and a 3.58 in stroke so most of the difference of displacement comes from the stroke

[ramthis9501]

I knew it was pretty close, just wasn't sure

[WillyBoy17]

Well coming from someone who has never been tought howto do anything mechanical besides changing my oil, I have no idea what you guys are talking about haha. I have learned everything by youtube videos and trial and error....excuse my ignorance

[ramthis9501]

No problem dude, that's one thing this forum is for. You have anything you don't know about there's someone on here that knows lol

[Matt]

basically displacement is how big your engine is but not actual physical outside it's the inside combustion chamber that determines your cubic inches (360) or liters (5.9) so the bore is how wide your cylinder is that number x your stroke which is how long the combustion chamber is x how many cylinders you have makes your displacement \

soo... the math breaks down like this bore is 4" volume of a cylinder is pi x radius squared .. radius is half of your diameter or in this case 4" ... so 3.14 (pi) x 2 squared or (4) gives you 12.56 x stroke (3.58) = 44.9648 and that equals your displacement per cylinder x 8 cylinders = 359.7184 cubic inches ...


---- yeah i was bored


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D97dUYDn5BE/SFc7-y9LTZI/AAAAAAAAADU/_ZITlIVpeHI/s400/0608htp_82_z%2Bls1_engine_build%2Bstroker_basics.j pg

[WillyBoy17]

Thanks matt, that helps a lot. Now I can understand a little more about what you guys are talking about!:rockit:

[ramthis9501]

Very technical lol nice dude

[Okiespaniels]

Usually a severly blown plenum will have liquid oil puddled in it. But I have to say yours looks pretty nasty. There is a simple test you can run with a vacum guage that can check for a blown plenum.

http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2000/09-05-00.htm

Other symptoms include oil consumption (about 1/2 qt every 3000 miles) and pinging under load

How many miles are on your motor? When was the last time it had a major tune up? Has the timing chain every been replaced?

It's really hard to compare a Chevy to a Dodge. The Chevy is much lighter and the TBI 350 makes more hp than a Dodge, however the 2nd gen trucks came out when GM was phasing out thier 5.7 for the 5.3.

I guess I'm not sure what kind of performance boost you are looking for, but a plenum repair and air intake won't do a lot. You might consider saving for a tuner like a SCT that can be reprogramed as you add other mods.