Questions and Answers

Dodge Dakota Intake Manifold Gasket
Q. Hi Vincent. I have a 1999 Dodge Dakota with the 318. It has 123,000 miles on it and I bought it brand new. I had to replace a locked engine in it a few years back and it's never been the same.

It has a considerably small amount of power now and it goes through a lot of oil. Every few weeks the Check Engine Light comes on and goes off after a day or two. It has a slight ping in the engine.

It's also sometimes hard to get it to idle on a cold morning; I have to keep the foot on the gas to keep it running until it warms up. I had it at a mechanic last week getting the wheels aligned and I was told that my intake gasket was blown and that was causing all of the above problems and was estimated at $400.00 to $500.00 to fix.

Is this what's wrong with it and if so can I replace the gasket myself? I replaced the engine myself and have a decent knowledge of it but I want to make sure there is no tuning that I will have to do on it after its replaced or if its better just to spend the money and have a mechanic do it. Any info you can get me will be great.

Thanks...

A. Based on the symptoms you describe, the diagnosis of the mechanic who looked at it and the TSB, see below, issued by Chrysler, I would have to agree that you do, indeed, have a leaking intake manifold gasket.

NUMBER: 09-05-00
GROUP: Engine
DATE: Feb.25, 2000

MODELS:
1994 - 1999 Ram Van
1994 - 1999 Dakota
1994 - 1999 Ram Truck
1998 - 1999 Durango
1994 - 1998 Grand Cherokee
1996 - 1998 Grand Cherokee

This bulletin supersedes technical service bulletin 09-06-99, dated September 10, 1999 which should be removed from your files. This is a complete revision and no asterisks have been used to highlight revisions.

SUBJECT:
Spark Knock And Engine Oil Consumption Due To Intake Manifold Pan Gasket Oil Leak

OVER VIEW:
This bulletin involves the replacement of the engine intake manifold plenum pan gasket.

NOTE: This bulletin applies to vehicle equipped with a 3.9 liter, 5.2 liter or 5.9 liter gasoline engine.

SYMPTOM/CONDITION:
An engine intake manifold plenum pan gasket oil leak may occur on some V-6 and V-8 style engines. The oil leak is internal to the engine so no external oil leakage will be present. Two symptoms of this oil leak condition may be present. The vehicle operator may experience an engine spark knock during acceleration and/or an increase in the amount of engine oil consumed by the engine.

DIAGNOSIS:
Make sure Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 18-48-98 has been performed.

NOTE: It is important that the coil and spark plug wires are routed exactly as specified in TSB 18-48-98 to achieve the most benefit.

Is this something you can do yourself? If you did the engine replacement yourself, then I think you can do this job as well. There are no special tricks, procedures or tools need to replace the intake manifold gaskets. You can pick up a Chiltons service manual at any of the larger book stores.

If you can't find the manual for your vehicle you can go to your public library and in the reference section there are several manuals you can get the procedure from. If your library won't let you check out the manual you need, they will be more than happy to make copies of the pages you need.

The referenced TSB, 18-48-98 can be found in Dodge Ram 1500 Running Rough and it is VERY important that you follow it EXACTLY.