Hello i am new to this forum it looks like it is a good place to talk with other dodge owners. I have a 97 ram 2500 4x4 with a v10 with 158,000 miles that i am having a issue with oil pressure the problem is on cold starts for the first 30 to 60 seconds my oil pressure gauge stays at 0 and my oil light is on and engine starts to make noise, then gauge jumps to about 38 to 40 and light goes out and no more engine noise everything is fine until truck sets for about a hour then does same thing on start up.When driving everything is fine oil pressure is around 45 to 50 at 2000 rpms. Am i on the right track by thinking my pickup screen is clogged or oil pump needs rebuilt or is there something else i should be looking for. Where should i start looking first ? Any suggestions or help would be appreciated thank you.

 

What kind of noise ? Is it like a clanking noise ? If your pressure is reading zero and your hearing noises im going to assume your sending unit is ok and the oil pump might be messed up. If this were the case you need to get that fixed asap before it causes damage to your engine.

 

What is the temperature outside when this happens?

 

The noise sounds like top end lifter noise. The sending unit is new,oil level is fine. What i don't understand is if the oil pump is going bad wouldn't my pressure be jumping around while driving also? Thank you

 

The temperature has been varying but today it was around 50

 

What oil does the engine call for, and what oil are you putting in it? How many miles on the truck?

Taking a few to build pressure at startup isn't really unusual... but, yours seems to be taking longer than it should.

There have been issues with oil pumps on the older V-10 motors..... some bolts in the backing plate for the oil pump like to loosen up, and fall out..... eventually leading to engine failure...... and the oil pumps on them aren't that easy to get to either....... I don't know if that is your problem...... but, depending on mileage, something to think about.