Hello all,

I have a 99 Durango 2WD 5.9 (Plenty of go juice and is really fun) with about 137k on the odometer. I just bought this truck and inspected it very well to find that it's mechanically sound and ready for daily use. I started reading online about the many people who have owned these Durango's especially the 1999 have a poor history with the motor locking up and no oil pressure. They are reporting that they have a bad sludge problem.

My question is, do I need to sell mine asap even though I just got it or what is involved to keep the sludge problem from happening to mine. I change the oil in my Ram every 3K and check the oil every 1k to top off if necessary (which it always is) and I will do so in the Durango... but is that going to be enough?

Please let me know if there is anything that you guys can think of if there was a solution to this. Thanks

 

i think you need to stop believing everything you read on the internet,

there is NO SLUDGE PROBLEM on these trucks. PERIOD!!!!!!!!

if you change the oil at the recommended interval, and use a quality oil, you wont have any problems with it.

also keep in mind that sludge is a product of poor maintance, it is dirt getting into the oil and sticking together, if you put clean oil into the truck on a regular basis you wont have any problems with that dirt building up, however if you dont, then it will start to coat the internals and cause problems.

so in summary, as long as maintenance has been done correctly and continues to be done correctly, dont worry about it (id say maintenance was pretty good since it made it so far already)

 

There you go upping the thread count. "Sludge" You'll have to excuse shrps, he gets a little agitated when people mention the "s" word. But what he said is true, proper maintenace will make yoru D last a very long time. We have people here that have 250,000+ miles on their Ds due to proper maintenance. I suggest you switch to mobil1 fully synthetic 10w30. Not a shill for mobil, I switched over myself and it's been great for the motor. JMHO. *RAWRK, what he^ said!!!*

 

If there are no problems now, and you are going to change the oil every 3K, you will be perfectly fine from an oil/sludge perspective.

And +3, no sludge "problem" unless maintenance was an issue.

IndyDurango

 

Hey guys, thanks for chiming in and helping me with this.

Everyday that I drive it, I enjoy it more and more and the thought of having to part with it really sux. I have big plans for it and can't wait to get started.

How can you tell if it has the sure grip in it or not, aside form jacking the rear up and turning the wheels to see if they both spin in the same direction. Is there a code on the sticker in the glove box that states if it is or not? I know that it states that it has 3:55 gears (which will be swapped out for 4:56).

So, it looks like now the only decision I need to make is whether or not I want to stroke it out to a 408 or a 426....

 

426? Boom.

Send the VIN to Dodge Customer Support and they will send you back the build sheet.
You will see everything that came with it originally.

On mine, that makes it about 50% correct now. LOL!

IndyD