No replies since august,2010...Is this solved Hydro? I haven't read much,well not as much with the 4.7 as the larger engine's but it's a very interesting topic. I'm with you on using an OEM Mopar filter over fram,any time that it can be done.With the marine engines I work on it's a very strong topic to stay with oem filters,even though they themselves seem to change vendors quite often. The intake plenum leak is disturbing,I'm interested to hear if the general service procedure is a permanent cure or not.......Lucas oil products......good quality products for their intended purpose,NOT recommended for use by manufacturers.You are correct sir,major oil companies spent a lot to comply and even modify oil formula's for oem specs,there is a reason for that,your suggestion for mobile 1 is great advise,best out there.I read the Royal Purple rant,Speed tweaks if I'm correct,but I used it in my 98 Virago 1100 and it broke down just as fast as conventional oil,just costed $13 a qt...on the motor flushing.I myself hate it over a slower process,if that can be done, just scares me to run a solvent through.I use Schaler Rislone for 1000 miles or so and change to Mobile 1.No other additives from there(in the oil,I will however use Lucas in my fuel every 2 or 3 fill ups,no more) pcv valve change @ EVERY oil change,was it Indy that had it at 6cts a week? Cheap cya...if people hadn't mentioned engine noise as you did I'de diagnose a gauge/sending unit issue,pull a manual read anyway. I beleive I've read a tsb or forum suggestion on separation of the oil pump feed tube....What was your final diagnosis.You seem to have covered all the bases,I'm interested in hearing the final if it's been found.Oh,Indy(if I may address you as such) I was sitting at The Rhumbline in Gloucester Mass(excellent little bar) with my buddy Kevin,good friend,we were kind of sauced from Grand Marnier and Rolling Rock,he leaned over n pulled a nose goblin outa my schnoz...you can indeed pick your friends nose(no I didn't let him,my reaction times were long from being drunk) If you gentlemen have found the answer to the oil pressure drop please let me know,I may have just missed it in another section...Thanks guys

 

My uncle had a situation happen almost exactly how you guys described it, the kicker is he has a 2006 ram mega cab HEMI. After shutting of his truck for 2 mins he had his oil pressure back, this has only ever happened once. The dealer was perplexed. But here was our theory (I use theory because it has not been proven or disproven) that the drive going from the intermediate shaft where it contacts the oil pump drive started to jump. Now when I say jump I mean skipping like a manual transmission when you hit a hard enough bump pop out of gear. And by stopping the engine allowed the shaft and drive to re-align and get in sync. Has anybody torn down a 318/360 after this has happened to see if there are some marks on the oil pump drive where it contacts the camshaft? Tell me what you think.

 

The particular issue is caused by too much blow by from the cylinders creating a positive charge of air in the crank case. Under hot operation and low RPM cavitation starts because the inside of the oil pan is pressurized, therefore air makes it's way into the oil pump housing and the pump cavitates.

Couple this with a light weight oil and you see what is going on. Now most of the time this "phenomenon" is noticed mainly noticed when you are coming to a stop from a fast speed where the engine has built up pressure like a highway off ramp. When the engine slows down to normal idle like around 5 mph or stop it happens. Gauge bottoms out, light comes on, it dings at you, and you hear the valve train start smackin! You simply hit the throttle and it bounces back up, but then you come back to idle and it drops off again!

So, to counter this you need to vent the air pressure out, or help it from starting in the first place. So each oil change you replace the PCV valve, use a good Fully Synthetic oil like Mobil One Fully Synthetic High Mileage 10W-30 which has a higher viscosity improver for this type application. It doesn't vaporize as easy with the added blow by so it holds up better.

The last thing, you need to make sure your vacuum lines are in good shape, breather/PCV valve grommet are not hard and replacement can be found at the dealer. Ensure the pre-bent breather hose is in good condition as the PCV hose. There is also a check valve at the brake booster (where the line plugs into it) that one can replace. Lastly low oil can do this as you hit the brake the oil sloshes to the front and the pick up screen is in the rear of the motor. And lets not forget there is always a plugged oil pump pick up screen.

So, this entire article has all this informative information spread through but yes there is a lot of reading in this thread. But that's it in a nut shell.



adukart<----Most likely not, the oil pump drive shaft is a cut that slips over a pin and can't pop out? There is no gears like a Ford.

 

Ok, I've never tore into a chrysler engine before so that throws my theory out. Even with a synthetic like mobile 1 or amsoil it can still happen though is the message I got after reading all six pages. Interesting topic though, makes someone think for once

 

Hydrashocker , you asked if I lifted the engine or removed the suspension. As I remember both kind of . I belive I removed a couple of suspension peices and the left engine mount and jacked up the engine very slightly with a bottle jack. and was able to snake the pan out. The whole thing was done in about 5-6 hrs. Be advised I am a bit expirenced though, 27 yrs as diesel truck mechanic.

 

Ty Hydrashocker,I hope this NEVER happens with my 4.7,I haven't read much about that engine having the issue though.Very interesting topic,and yes adukart,it does flip the switch on eh? Long read on this one but a good one none the less...

 

I have a 96 5.2 van that this oil problem has been going on. started at magor wire melt down and first break down of van. at 115000 miles, after getting screwed at 76 napa repair station valleyview repair just after leaving ca in to Oregon. I have change oil pump to high volume done all I can think of and still have problem will try syn oil and different filter from fram next. I do not have engine warming up or knocking sounds or lifter sounds and it can run at 0 for long enough to happen tried it. engine blow by? okay will go for that I will update when I do this next month. I believe it is pressure related happens most of time at low idle but with heaver oil it does not happen straight 30 and it drops but not much. I know that just a tap of accelerator brings it back up and was going to change motor but had two different people tell me it did not need rebuild and refused to sell me motor or do rebuild in shop. offered to change main bearings. I have no oil usage after fixing plenum pan. and still have various issues with electric or emission codes that I have not figured out yet. I believe it is dodge wiring related voltage or ground weakness in wires do to shorting of electrical in my van. I also know that sensor sending unit shuts off at 8psi so I have not used mechanical but will be doing soon. still love dodge and will keep my van and fix for another 10 years at least.

 

I see nobody has added to this in a while. Ive had this problem before on a 98 ram 1500 5.9 4x4. The problem was actually the rear cam bearing. Started out only after hi RPM but got worse after a about 2 weeks. Changed the oil pump with a high volume and new pick-up tube. Eventually it started making noise. I pulled the motor to do full tear down and rebuild. Found the bad cam bearing. Never had another problem with it.

 

i have a 95 dodge dakota SLT 5.2L magnum. i just got the truck yesterday and ive had a few problems with it so far, but one problem is the oil pressure sensor. it says ive got a little less then half right now and occasionally it will just drop to low and the oil light will turn on. could it be the oil pump or what? An ive also got a whinning noise and i think its coming from the rear end or a wheel bearing.

 

I would go to the 1st gen dakota section if you want answers on this. Have you checked the oil level?