hello all i have a few questions, i bought a 1996 dodge ram 1500 2wd, with the v6 of course it is used,

when i bought it i did all the basic preventive maint, and of course i have fixed things and replaced components, as well i have changed the oil and coolant every 3000 miles.

heres what i recently noticed comeing from the left engine valve cover is a loud ticking noise, the noise does not increase with rpms and seems to lessen the longer it is driven. So i pulled the valve cover off and inside is a mess, there is about 3/16th of burnt oil inside the valve cover itself and there are large burnt oil flakes inside the head gasket, also the rocker arms and springs and everything surrounding these are all black and cover with burnt oil i am aware this is do to the oil not being changed. how severe is this to my engine i am not an idiot i know it isnt good, so i am asking for input, every since i bought it i have changed the oil and used valvoline synthetic, should that have clean it out any,


also i noticed the milky look on the dipstick, but when i changed the oil, i drain it into a clear container so i could inspect the oil and it was pure black nothing mixed in, what could this mean


and finally, i am debateing whether or not i am going to rebuild the motor it is fairly inexpensive so i am wonder with this issue of gunk in the block should i go ahead with a rebuild and if so please recommend to me some good websites to buy my parts i am going to start searching thru the forums as well



thanks for your help

 

How much do you like the truck? Do you really want a 4x4? Or a V-8? What do you use your truck for?

 

Changing coolant every 3000 miles is just wasting money. Once a year, tops, is all that's required.

How many miles on the odometer? Which oil are you using (viscosity, name, etc.)? Are you sure the noise is coming from the valve train, or might it be a rod knocking? Maybe a talkative fuel injector? You'll want to narrow it down before throwing parts at it. (I'm guessing it's a lifter because they tend to fail when oil changes are neglected -- they're the trash cans of the engine and collect whatever crap is circulating around in the oil.)

If the bottom end is sound/making no noise and compression tests good, then you're not in need of a rebuild and can safely enough ignore the baked on crap under the valve covers. It's ugly, but as long as you stay on top of your oil changes it won't hurt anything. If it is in fact just one or two lifters you can just replace the noisy ones and call it good if the engine's in otherwise good condition.

 

dont waste your money on that v6. i have that motor and i hate it. i am currently getting 12.2 mpg, now i do need a new water pump and prolly new plugs and wires (with only 87k miles). before i was only gettin about 13.9 on a good day. thats with a motor that has no power, poor gas mileage, and doesnt sound very good when its wound up. (although for a v6 mine sounds good at about 1600 rpm with my glasspack). i think you should save up and put a 318 in it. i am thinking of doing that now. i was gonna get a new truck but im fixin to start college so i dont want a note.

 

is the 318 the 5.2 motor?

if i change to the 318 will i have to change the tranny as well, from what i have been told the only other engine for the dodge ram 1500 is the 5.2 or 5.8 and if i changed it i would need the tranny wires computer etc. is there any truth to this

 

Rather than deal with the expense of an engine/trans/PCM swap, if you want a bigger engine or 4WD or whatever, just clean up the truck you've got, sell it, add a bit more to the stack of Benjamins, and buy a truck that's outfitted as you like it.

 

thanks for the advice but as we all know its always easier to tell the other guy to sell it and buy another, i cant do that the money i have invested in the truck, it is not cost effective to sell it

 

It'll be even less cost effective to keep it if you want a different engine. But live like you want to live, man, it's your truck and your money.

 

Here is what I would do...you have allot of sludge build up. Get off the synthetic and go with a high detergent conventional oil, like Valvoline or Pennzoil...do oil changes every 2000 or 2500, rather than 3000 miles. With every oil change add some Marvel Mystery Oil to your crankcase. After 2 or 3 oil changes, remove the valve covers and see if it has gotten any better. If it has, then keep on the regimen until you are comfy with the results. If not, run it til she goes and replace it how you want to. Dirty oil isn't a bad thing, it simply means the oil is doing it's job by holding particles of dirt etc is suspension. It almost sounds to me that the previous owner of the truck used a non detergent oil which would account for the amount of sludge in the engine. Using an ND oil is like cancer over time to any modern engine as it fails to hold dirt and soot in suspension leaving it to build up on the engine internals.

 

Sounds like your looking for excuses. I had a 99 1500 V6 than ran like a dream. Not quite v8 power,but did just fine. I sold it with 225k miles on it. The money you'll spend doing a swap will be twice as much as what you would spend addressing the issues with your V6. Believe it or not, they are similar to the V8's.(plenum,restrictive exhaust,02 sensor problems). Like others have said,its your truck, your money. I think you would be surprised with what a little time and money will do to the way the truck runs.

Note- I bought the 99 V6 with 34k on the clock in 2000. It already had a blown plenum,and the precat O2 sensor was tar black when I pulled it to check it. Moral of the story, it doesn't need alot of miles to be a problem.