1999 Dodge Durango review from North America

I had a severe knock (ping), regardless of the grade of gasoline. This first started around 30,000 miles, and appeared at first to be caused by poor gasoline quality. I used premium gasoline, and the ping was minimal and performance increased. After the warranty period (36,000 miles), premium gasoline no longer prevented the ping. Oil consumption increased to about one quart every 1,500 miles. Articles on this website convinced me these symptoms were caused by an inferior intake manifold plenum gasket. I purchased a new intake manifold and plenum gasket set and bolts from my dealer. I was told the plenum gasket was revised four times since the original. It was paper (cardboard), originally. Now it is made of metal. This was encouraging. I disassembled my intake manifold and found the original cardboard gasket had torn away from two bolts and left an eight inch section of the plenum plate open for crankcase oil to enter the intake manifold. I installed the new metallic plenum gasket, using high-temperature RTV and new bolts. The Durango 5.9L engine runs like new. The cost me about $75 in dealer parts and about two evenings.