I dunno, I used to think that way too.

If you know what part you want, then you are fine IMO. I have had problems with sensors in the past but it's been a brand thing - not a where I bought it thing. My Hemi truck HATES Bosch sensors no matter where they come from. Got NTKs (NGK sensor division) from an ebay vendor for half what the auto parts store wanted and they were perfect.

My recent 4.7 HO blow-up would have cost about $2400 in Mopar parts, and I'm talking cutting corners and only replacing the parts that were damaged (which would have meant I would have just parted out the Jeep). But I was able to find a FULL overhaul/rebuild kit and by full I mean ALL 8 pistons, etc. for under $700 to my door from an ebay vendor.
When the boxes arrived, I was elated to see they were drop shipped from Rock Auto (yet if I bought directly from Rock Auto these parts would have cost me $1180). Almost all parts are DJN & PCI which are good quality and about the only asian parts are the gaskets.

Because I'm old and set in my ways it's taken me years to start dealing on ebay, but I'm finding if you do your homework, deal with vendors with a good reputation and spec your parts well, then you can save a bundle on ebay...

 

all dodge trucks seem to hate bosch sensors and plugs until very very recently (and i mean 08+ recently)

 

yeah so far the sensor that i bought from ebay seems to be doing its job. so on to the bigger issues for me.

Question?? Are there any gotchas that i need to look out for on the oil pump and timing chain install??... Im working off of he service manual presently and it looks pretty straight forward. I like to hear hands-on experience tho...for example the special tool to install the crank pulley("bearing and washer") can an impact gun eliminate the need for that??

Update: A hammer and a socket helped getting the pulley started. then the bolt with a vw strut bearing took it the rest of the way.

 

i noticed a lot of slack in the left side secondary chain once i pulled the cover. I shouldnt have any slack in the chains with tension set correct??

 

well as i stated in the outset. "im not a big dodge guy" but i dont think you need to have much hands-ons with one to know that this isnt suppose to be like this.



from the looks of it a hack job was done to it. All but one of the upper rails were changed previously and the chains and tensioners i assume were never touched. looks like they didnt touch anything behind the front cover that was inaccessible from the heads.

 

ok soo im in a little better shape now...right...

 

well i finally got it all back together this evening. New oil pump new chains and guides. It seems i have the same issue with the low oil pressure... any suggestions on what else to look for??
what is the correct idle level for the 4.7?

Recap: on cold starts the oil pressure now stays around the 40 psi area. after it warms up it drops to the 8 psi level and the dash gauge goes to the red.

 

dodge claims 4 psi at curb idle is acceptable, IMO that is too low, i have 25-30 psi idling at 500 rpm with the engine at full operating temperature, when i first start it the oil pressusure is closer to 70 at idle

 

it seems to actually lower the oil pressure simultaneously as the engine temp increases.
what else in the oil system can change with temp?? Is there another check valve somewhere other than the oil pump??

Seems to me if this was a sludge issue then it would always have low pressure and not change with temp. I mean sludge wouldnt get harder as it increases temp right...

I tell ya this truck was a great intro into the dodge world...

 

as the engine temp increase oil pressure will (should) drop, this is because the oil viscosity goes down, this causes a drop in oil pressure, however it should not be a complete drop off like you are seeing, sludge is definitely not the cause