i thought blue was to rich. i too have heard of a little tranny fliud in the oil helps. ive also heard a 20 oz bottle of half water, half diesel, take the air intake off and open up the throttle and dump it in somewhat slowly. cleans it up like techron, not good for the cat tho

 

Blue is oil.

 

ya, blue is oil, black is rich, white is coolant.


I would change your O2 sensor, mine was doing that before I changed it.

 

I believe I have something of a sludge problem, and I would like to flush the engine before changing the oil and filter. But I want to be really clear that by "tranny fluid", you are talking about ATF and not gear lube. Pretty sure it's ATF, but I don't want to make a large mistake.

 

4.7L sludge issues are usually not sludge at all. Snot is more like it and it is at the valve cover/PCV valve only. Snot is fixed via the TSB for the 4.7s. Afterwards, no problems.

5.2L and 5.9Ls rarely have any sludge at all.

If you guys all think you have sludge... then the oil changes you have done (or not done) have been W-A-Y too far apart AND you mix and match whatever oils you can find on sale. Bad news. Regular changes and the SAME quality oil used each time and you will NEVER have a sludge issue.

The only way I'll believe any of you have sludge issues is if you pull off a valve cover and post a picture. In the effort to pull off the cover, you will most likely find out that indeed, you do not have a sludge issue. How? If you do, you will definatly see it all over with the cover off and when you don't see it, you'll know you don't have the problem.

Most (99%) of the sludge claims on Dodge motors are completly inaccurate. Sludge was a 70's thing, or an import 80s early 90s thing... not in modern 90s/00s DCX truck motors on modern detergent filled fuels and oils.

IndyDurango

 

IndyDurango, I'm sure you are right about sludge, or at least I hope you are. But have a look at this consumer web site: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/autom...e_dur_oil.html, in which lots of folks seem to think their engine failure is sludge related.

Whatever it is, I am having problems getting oil to return to the crankcase.

 

jmartin,

That same link makes the rounds every couple of months. In all the forums I visit, never have I read of such occurances from "real" users. I say real because while I can't find the link right now, I can tell you there was a study in which someone went looking for (example) Tom Smith in Lancaster Oklahoma (saying he was 'quoted' in the article) and no Tom Smith in Lancaster existed that owned a Durango or could have made the claim. Like most media outlets, horror stories run in the front page. Recalls of incorrectly reported information on such horors get buried in the back section somewhere days later.

Also, they start the article quoting an auto expert named "Automan"?! Come on, again everyday forum readers, anyone ever heard of an expert named/callig himself "Automan"?

I think all cars can have an issue here or there. I also think some people confuse 100,000 mile spark plugs with 100,000 oil change intervals. YES, such an interval will create issues I'm sure. So what do they do? Accept responsibility? Nope. Blame someone else. Typical American response (yes I'm a US Vetern and an American.) If these were real people, they have axes to grind and think they are at no fault. My guess is their entire lives are spent in such blame-someone-else-for-all-my-woes encounters.

So yes... I call foul on that article and remind everyone to not believe everything they read on the Internet.

jmartin, on your specific issue, explain it to me clearer and let's see if we can figure it out. Also, take off a valve cover and take a look at it underneath. If you have a 4.7L, take the one off WITHOUT the PCV valve. Why? That one may have snot from the crankcase vent issue there is already a TSB published for (do a search). If you truely have sludge, it will be all around the valves, etc on both sides, so let's see a picture of this one.

If there is sludge there, then yes that could be leading towards your blockage if that is what you have. If you tell me your oil pressure gauge is jumpy, I'll tell you that the gauges are not so good and not really reliable, but that is for another post. If you find sludge,its on to the next steps but based on historical information, I doubt you will find it. What is the service history on your D? Oil change brands, intervals, etc? If you stick with and can provide receipts of the same oil and you DO have an oil related failure, most brands stand behind the product and will PAY YOU for the repair. I have nearly every receipt ever needed on my D for the past 8 years, from wax to oil to air freshener (for tax purposes.)

Best of luck, I'll look for your response(s).

IndyDurango

 

OK, I just cleaned with ATF. Let it idle for a while. Pressure was zero for a moment then went up. I drained the ATF added oil and started the DOdge wit hzero pressure again. THis time it stayed at 0, I started several times still at 0......with some ticking...very frustrating. Could it be the pumped? Where is the sending unit so I can test myself? Also, how hard is it to change the pump? PLease Help I need my Car! [align=right]
[/align]

 

in reguards to this:

"4.7L sludge issues are usually not sludge at all. Snot is more like it and it is at the valve cover/PCV valve only. Snot is fixed via the TSB for the 4.7s. Afterwards, no problems. "

Which TSB is it I cannot seem to find it, also don't TSB's usually have the recommended solutions to the issues attached or am I dreaming?

Thanks!

 

You're new so I'll give you a break on not doing a very good search LOL

Here ya go: http://www.DodgeForum.com/m_164273/mpage_2/key_/tm.htm
The TSB, et al is listed therein.

HTH,

IndyDurango