We bought a 99, Dodge Dakota 5.2, with under 25,000 miles on it,

Situation:
on the way home, the Oil pressure randomly started to drop to 0 psi, and then after 1-3 seconds would pop back up.. after watching closely it seamed to do it more after driving for a while and then coming to a stop/ changing gears at slower speeds(5-30 mph)... it still did it at highway speed however... after running in the heat for a while we could stop the truck and it would loose all pressure while idling... which after my grandpa hit the gas and increased the RPM the pressure would return, then drop after about 30 seconds.. repeat.. no improvement.

Solution,

after much research we tried a few things that fixed the problem! i hope this helps if any of you guys are still having this issue!

we changed the oil and the filter, and flushed the engine with the shelf flush you buy at the store. still had the problem... so we changed the pcv valve, still had the problem;

Then we changed the oil and filter again, this time we put 4 Qts of Mobil 15w-50 synthetic and one bottle of Lucas oil stabilizer, bingo! problem solved! have been running the truck a lot in high heat (near 100) over the past week. oil pressure when you start the truck is past the mid way mark, and will occasionally drop just past the mid way point, but no more 0 psi!

If the problem returns ill let you know, but so far it works! hope this can help!

 

 

:facepalm:

 

So let me get this straight, you put in incorrect oil weight in your truck including an additive, to fix a problem that you don't know what it is, and you don't know what to do to fix it?

Well there is a few problems with your analogy!

1. You used the incorrect oil weight. This in it's self is a complete NO NO! That oil doesn't give your engine the protection it needs as the additives in the oil are incorrect for the engine! The ports aren't made to flush with that weight of oil either!

2. You used Lucas oil stabilizer. Well if you look in your owners manual it states "Do not use any additives". The reason for this is because they are not regulated by the Fed's. They can put anything in that stuff and sell it to people. There are oil companies that have spent billions in manufacturing oils to meet the specifications of auto manufactures and others. The there is a little company that comes along and tells you they can make it better.....

Either way, thanks for the information, however I think you should get the engine looked at and the oil pump replaced.

 

you are feeding...

 

well i think the truck we bought might be turning into a lemon... haha thanks for the feed back i do appreciate it! the check engine light just came on this morning (advance says its just an O2 sensor, hope so), going to have it checked

as to the Lucas, im not sure if you guys (since you have more experience than i do) have had bad results with it but i know a few mechanics that swear by it, and have seen it work myself in a couple if situations with great success... either way its my gramp's truck and ill talk to him about changing the oil back, but it would probably be like talking to a wall :-)

if i figure (or think i figured) anything else out ill let you guys know, good luck!

 

This issue had me troubled as well in a 99 5.2 durango 100k + mi. . regular oil changes at 3k mi. . What I found . After dropping the oil pan I discovered about a pint of un drained oil. The problem lies in the oil pan design. Where the drain plug screws into the pan there is a hex nut welded on the inside of the pan that sticks up inside the pan and blocks the last pint or so from draining. also any crud carbon sludge anything that settles to the bottom doesnt get drained out. this is where the pickup tube gets its oil from the very bottom of the pan. my pan and screen in that area was cruded up with debris that would shift around during driving . driving with good pressure then turn and warning light and chime and gauge at zero. I took a 7/8 socket that fit the nut at the drain plug area inside the pan. used a swivel a extension and a 1/2 " air impact wrench after a few good impacts the nut twisted off clean. I then moved the nut to the ouside of the drain hole and welded in place. chase the threads with a 1/2 fine tap. screw in drain plug and tighten. your drain pan will now drain 99% of whats on the bottom. I opted for a meling high volume oil pump puts out 20% more volume and was going to replace the screen as well until I noticed the replacement screen was smaller than stock . smaller suction screen = clogs up easier. cleaned stock and put back together . Alls fine now and am pretty sure this will correct any future oiling problem. I hope this helps others as I see in many locations and other forums this is a ongoing problem.

 

Thanks for the idea!


However I always dump my oil on an incline. This would remind me to tell everyone this if you aren't doing it already.

 

Draining on a incline doesnt change the much . Thats how I drain my oil. The nut I described still blocks the drain area and traps dirt,sludge, debris. I started the job of repairing the oil pressure problem draining on jack stands . still had roughly a pint in the bottom of the pan when removed.

 

I wonder if they make a better pan?


So did your lift the motor when you dropped your pan or remove the front suspension?