Dodge Ram Vans (94-03) common problems and fixes.

[booster]

Originally Posted by RT-NY

Now all this has got me wondering why there is a rubber hose there at all -- as you can see in the picture above, it is metal line from the transmission and metal line with a quick connect to the cooler with a rubber length of 6" or so in the middle. Is that there for any reason other than to have something to attach the check valve to? If we are deleting the check valve anyway, wouldn't it be better to replace the rubber hose with a section of metal line with double flares at each end?

I think that if it is factory installed, it would be to allow engine/transmission movement without cracking the tubing or loosening the fittings.

I my 96 Buick Roadmaster 350 with 4l60E transmission it had rubber lines as the final connection, with crimped on hose ends. When I got the car it was 17 years old and 120K miles and they did leak some, though. The 07 van also shows lines with rubber in them, but they are long gone on ours.

In general, I like some flexibility in the lines as cracked cooler lines have always been an issue on some vehicles.

AFAIK, the only reason for a check valve is to keep the cooler(s) from draining back into the trans and needing to be pumped up before the trans is used. I put on on the van when I did the two cooler setup as it is a lot of volume in those coolers. I did not put one in the Buick when I did that one and it is also fine.

If you are worried about the pump up time without a checkvalve, you might want to put in a bypass thermostat as it will bypass most of the cooler oil and send it right back to the transmission, especially in cold weather when thick oil makes them pump up slower.

[RT-NY]

Originally Posted by booster

I have gotten to the point where I always use AN fittings now, and put in a bypass thermostat so the fluid warms up when it is cold.

I have never used AN fittings -- can they be used with this kind of rubber trans fluid hose? Do you think that would be less prone to leaking or blowing off under pressure (without a bypass thermostat) than what I have now (rubber hose double clamped over a bubble flare)?

[booster]

Originally Posted by RT-NY

I have never used AN fittings -- can they be used with this kind of rubber trans fluid hose? Do you think that would be less prone to leaking or blowing off under pressure (without a bypass thermostat) than what I have now (rubber hose double clamped over a bubble flare)?

AN fittings require AN hose only that comes is a couple of different ratings. It is the system used on aircraft for a long time. Failure rates are near zero even at my higher hydraulic pressures

The hose pushes into a fitting cap that has grippers for the hose that screws ontond a flare section for the connection to the mating fitting. If assembled correctly they essentially never blow off and the hoses are quite flexible. Lots of how to videos online.

The downside of AN setup is cost, as they are not inexpensive. Only cheap when compared to wrecking a transmission from a blown line or hose. At least there are now sellers that discount off of retail, which in the past didn't happen.

I have used the stainless braid cover hose the most over the year, and recently used some of the power steering rated hose on my old Roadmaster wagon. Both work perfectly.

You can get coolers that come with AN connections even for simplicity

[RT-NY]

Originally Posted by The Eyesore

About to do the plenum gasket (and a few peripheral parts while in there) ��
Do you think I forgot anything?

So, I watched a very good multi-part youtube video on this replacement. It's not a small job, and I'm not sure I would want to do it myself, but I wish you great success!! The video I saw was for a dodge ram truck, but I imagine for the van you will have to work inside the van with the doghouse off to get the manifold out?

[The Eyesore]

It was a success, thank you! No part of it was difficult, but it was extremely time consuming. Especially the cleaning and removal of gaskets. I worked my myself and it took me three and a half days to do the timing chain, water pump and plenum gasket. I had to buy a tap and die for the crank threads because I messed them up with pulling the harmonic balancer with the bolt removed and I had the radiator cleaned while it was out which those two things cost me a half a day. Dirt falls into the oily lifter valley when you remove the manifold even though I used compressed air to try to clean everything before taking it apart. Cleaning out the lifter valley entailed a shop vac and a can of WD40, spraying and vacuuming at the same time. The work was split between inside and outside the van. Again, not hard but tedious. She runs great now though. I’m typing this from Sedona the first stop on a trip to Vermont.

[booster]

Originally Posted by The Eyesore

It was a success, thank you! No part of it was difficult, but it was extremely time consuming. Especially the cleaning and removal of gaskets. I worked my myself and it took me three and a half days to do the timing chain, water pump and plenum gasket. I had to buy a tap and die for the crank threads because I messed them up with pulling the harmonic balancer with the bolt removed and I had the radiator cleaned while it was out which those two things cost me a half a day. Dirt falls into the oily lifter valley when you remove the manifold even though I used compressed air to try to clean everything before taking it apart. Cleaning out the lifter valley entailed a shop vac and a can of WD40, spraying and vacuuming at the same time. The work was split between inside and outside the van. Again, not hard but tedious. She runs great now though. I’m typing this from Sedona the first stop on a trip to Vermont.

The biggest issues with the tapered side intake installs are making sure the gaskets to head don't slide around, making sure the intake isn't cocked in the taper (very easy to have happen in awkward place), and worst of all is the bottom sealing.


Depending on the gap, most people and shops I know don't use the gaskets for the bottom end seals as they tend to leak too easily, especially in the corners, just silicone sealant. The gap from the bottom of manifold to block should be over 3/32" or so and up to 1/4"+ with head side gaskets in place for a dry fit. The preferred sealant for me and many shops is the Permatex Right Stuff for aluminum on the manifold ends with no gaskets. There is just too much differential heat expansion with cast iron heads and block and with the wedged in aluminum manifold. If it is plastic it can be even worse expansion wise. If I have the time I tighten the intake down snug enough seat the sides, but not full torque. Let it sit overnight and do the final tightening. That lets me get a bit of compression the cured seal on the bottom seal.


A few years ago when I built a new 350 engine for my 96 Buick Roadmaster it was a bugger to get the intake to sit square and lined up with ports so all was right including the bottom gap even when on the engine stand. The heads had been cut to get zero deck so intake tried not drop in. I had to mill off some of the manifold bottom to get good gap. Common problem on rebuild engines and heads if the intake faces haven't been cut to match the head bottom cutting. No leaks of any kind except for trying seal up their crappy plastic valve covers.



I don't envy anyone doing an intake in the van, it most not be particularly easy to get it all straight, clean, checked, and leak free over time. The rear bottom sealing on most older V8s have always been a problem.

[RT-NY]

Originally Posted by The Eyesore

It was a success, thank you! No part of it was difficult, but it was extremely time consuming. Especially the cleaning and removal of gaskets

Congrats! That was one of the parts of the job that looked most difficult to me: cleaning the old gaskets from the engine with the manifold off and engine exposed -- I think it would very annoying and hard to keep everything clean and not damage the mating surface. Also, as booster mentioned, getting the manifold back on with the new engine gaskets just right.

And, my other question? How much is done from the front of the van under the hood and how much from inside the van with the doghouse removed?

Originally Posted by booster

Depending on the gap, most people and shops I know don't use the gaskets for the bottom end seals as they tend to leak too easily, especially in the corners, just silicone sealant.

In the videos I watched, they used the gaskets but used silicone sealants in all four corners.

[booster]

Originally Posted by RT-NY

Congrats! That was one of the parts of the job that looked most difficult to me: cleaning the old gaskets from the engine with the manifold off and engine exposed -- I think it would very annoying and hard to keep everything clean and not damage the mating surface. Also, as booster mentioned, getting the manifold back on with the new engine gaskets just right.

And, my other question? How much is done from the front of the van under the hood and how much from inside the van with the doghouse removed?

In the videos I watched, they used the gaskets but used silicone sealants in all four corners.

The gaskets with silicone in the corners is what the instructions always seem to say, but even the race engine shop that did my engine machining says they never use them and haven't for years, so very interesting. I don't know is all the ones for the ends are still cork or not, but them squeeze down very hard and flat so any movement can cause a leak.


I did find a couple of places online that said to only use the gaskets if you had at least 1/8" of clearance above at dry fit so you can get compliance of the silicone and that made sense.

[joeroepro]

Kept shutting down every few days. After 2 years and over $800 of replacing parts and sensors the problem was the coolant sensor