Hey guys, ive been lurking your site for a couple weeks now getting some useful info so thank you. Now i need a little help.

My father got a 96 1500 on a trade and im getting it up to snuff for him.
Its a 5.2 with 175k, auto. When it was given to him i first had to drop the fuel tank to get out some old gas as it had been sitting for about a year. Once i got it to the house i started base lining the truck: oil & filter change, Changed the plugs, primary o2 sensor, rear diff oil(looked like factory stuff) cleaned IAC, pcv valve. Now the motor sounds healthy, strong and smooth.....not like when it first got going coughing and missing. BTW, i like the torque this motor makes. Makes my toyota seem weak but thats another time another place.

Now here is where im starting to learn a little. After the oil change we drove it a bit and oil pressure would drop off completely intermittently. SO we parked it and i started looking around here and looks like a new oil pump is in order. Before i delved into it I drove it around again and it didnt happen for 3 or 4 drives. Now today it happened a little differently. With slight throttle it was fine but the more i gave it the lower the oil pressure got then at WOT it would flat line............

Am i looking at a new pump most likely or just a clog from the old oil(when i changed it was greyish, old and not much came out, id say about 2-3 quarts). I was thinking as the engine heat cycled it started to break up som eof the old sludgy oil and clogging it a bit.

Any idea is welcome, thanks!

 

id probably try one more oil change

 

welcome to the forum, hope you enjoy the information here

Now for your truck, i would also try a couple oil changes, try and work that nasty **** out of it, drop your pan maybe and have a look

 

Sounds like you have a blown head gasket. Gray oil is usually an indication of coolant and oil mixing.

is there oil in the rad?

 

welcome to df. you asked for opinions, so you'll get them.
i'd run a qt of Gunk brand engine flush through the motor. follow the directions. its a solvent. you put it in and let it idle for about 15 minutes. don't drive it. in your case, i'd let it idle for 10-15 minutes and shut it off and let it soak overnight. then idle it again the next day and then drain it out and change the oil. its only about $4 plus your oil change.

 

1st off, thanks for all the replies. I appreciate all the input!

Now i was thinking its the old slughe gumming up the oil pump and if i ran the motor a few times it would break it down. It seemed to get worse the more i ran the motor. I was going to wait and run some engine clean but maybe nows the time. BTW what ive used with high reccommendations is autorx found at bobistheoilguy.com . .....
As for the head gasket issue I thought the same thing the first time i looked in the oil cap. It had condensation on it and the gray, ah ****... but after oil change and running it a bit, the cap looked better with no condesation. Also there is no oil in rad and no froth on the dipstick.

 

well after running Gunk and another oil change i still had a oil pressure problem. It happened when the truck was warm and under accel, idle was fine. So now ive pulled the pan.

Lots of sludge, bits of metal swimming in the oil. I dont know if this is normal for 180k miles but im assuming so. The pickup tube screen is definitely partially clogged, is it better to buy new or is cleaning it fine? And since the pickup tube isn't held on with any retaining pins or such, how do i secure it.....threadlocker?

 

i've had white-ish and brown-ish slime on the oil filler cap before. if its only on the cap, then its probably just harmless condensation. when you've got a blown head gasket it will push a substantial amount of coolant into the oil and it'll be all obvious on the dip stick.

bits of metal are not good. but hope for the best for now.

you're replacing the oil pump, right ?

the pickup tube is tapered pipe thread. so you trick is to get it tight, and in the right position. i'd start with about 2 rounds of teflon tape. add more if necessary. it's just a pipe and a screen, so if you can clean it out without damage, its fine to re-use.

 

metal in the oil pan could be a sign of a main bearing breaking up. That would also explain the poor oil pressure as the oil just gushes past the broken bearing.

 

whats the proper way to prime the pump on these?
My replacement pump from napa (fed-mogul) came with a paper gasket but original take off did not have one...should i use it?

i dont think there is major wear, the metal was fine powder form. Nothing like large shavings or chunks.