Four problems related to manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe have been reported for the 1998 Dodge Ram 1500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I was driving my 1998 Dodge ram 4x4 extended cab 1500slt 318 motor on the freeway doing 70-75 mph when I lost all power. I had no power steering or power brakes and was stuck in the fast lane on the interstate. I was finally able to get to the shoulder by cutting off another vehicle. I had my truck towed to lithia Dodge of roseburg and they said the intake manifold gasket was leaking . They also said this was a common problem with this model. It caused oil to blow down my exhaust and plug my catalytic converter which choked off my motor and caused the engine to die. They would not warranty this because the truck has 46000 miles on it. I don't understand why this wasn't recalled as I was lucky I didn't get in a wreck. I know two other people this same problem has happened to.
While on a busy highway consumer heard a rattling noise coming from engine. Consumer thought noise was coming from fuel that was put in earlier, changed fuel, but the rattling noise was still present. Took vehicle to dealer, and they stated intake manifold was leaking. Please provide any further information.
Engine was burning a quart of oil within 700-900 miles , dealer claimed this was a normal characteristic. Dealer did replaced intake manifold twice which stopped problem for a while, but defect has reoccurred.
Intake manifold gasket leaks which causes a mixture of oil and gas. As a result vehicle loses power and consumes excessive oil. There is a TSB 1001522 on this issue.