Hi,
I'm not sure if I'm putting this in the right part of the forum or not. However, I wanted to share my story with anyone who has a problem leaking oil. I have a 2001 Dodge Ram Sport (5.9L 360). It has been burning oil since I got it a little over a year ago, and it seemed to be getting worse as time went by. I was using 10W-30. I was burning through about 1 quart every 100 miles.

I tried several different additives that were supposed to help seal leaks. Long story short, nothing worked, and a mechanic friend of mine looked at it and recommended a strategy that so far, has been completely successful in sealing the leak.

We changed the oil, switched to 20W-50 weight (Pennzoil), and initially added 1 quart of Lucas Oil stabilizer. I checked the oil roughly 100 miles later, and once again I had burned through 1 quart of oil. At that time I added 1 quart of Lucas Engine Oil Stop Leak. That was around 350 miles ago, and it has not leaked at all since. I don't know if the Stabilizer helped at all in this process since it did leak as usual even with the heavier oil and the stabilizer, but once I added the Lucas Stop Leak...the leak stopped.

I am excited about this, as I thought I was looking at a new motor, and spending a couple thousand dollars for a new motor was not something I was looking forward to. If you are leaking/burning oil, I highly recommend you try this strategy. Obviously I will continue to check it frequently, but so far, it seems to be working for me.

Best regards,

Anthony

 

Its probably not your motor but your intake plenum.

 

Agreed.


Sorry Anthony, it's tough to believe that Stop Leak is the solution. By any chance did you check out the thread (A Sticky) at the top of this forum that talks about the Intake Manifold Plenum Gasket? Here is the link just in case.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...um-thread.html

It's a far more likely cause to the oil consumption. The Stop Leak has maybe delayed the leak at the plenum gasket.

Credit to you for coming here and posting your experience anyways. You are probably not the first person to have done this attempt. Unfortunately, there is a bit more to it. Lastly, fire the mechanic.

 

Agreed. Stop leak is a bandaid, not a fix though. Find out where the oil is leaking from.

 

Hey guys thanks for the advice. I am not mechanically inclined at all, and I would love to know where the leak is coming from and get it fixed right.

I am thinking maybe this diagnosis of a bad intake plenum is accurate. Thanks Wh1t3Nukle for the thread on this. I will research all the info on that thread and try to get a better understanding of this. I noticed it mentions a fouled oxygen sensor and horrible gas mileage being a symptom, and I am getting horrible gas mileage - 11.5 mpg on average - about 12 mpg on the interstate. I baby the truck...no heavy foot on the gas at all.

Does anybody have a rough idea...just a rough estimate, on how expensive of a fix this is from a mechanic that won't take advantage of you? Like how much time/parts etc goes into fixing this if that is my problem?

A little more info on the "leak". There is never any oil on the ground where I park my truck. No oil anywhere around the engine, no oil underneath the truck. My driveway has an incline. If I am parked with the front facing uphill, there is no smoke when I start the engine after it sits overnight. If I am parked downhill, there is a puff of bluish/white smoke when I start it.

Thanks again for your advice. As I mentioned, I am pretty clueless when it comes to being mechanically inclined.

 

Good of you to provide more info on your tracking and leak characteristics!

Yes, it's good for you to really find out if the oil leak is typical or atypical. In the amount you reported initially, that consumption is typically a characteristic of the plenum gasket. BUT, and a big BUT, normal usage consumes oil from evaporation and other places....that can add up to that amount. However, I'd say on an extreme basis and especially poor maintenance. Check your PCV (typically on driver side valve cover. Check all your hoses to/and from the intake manifold.

That mpg actually is not that bad. Hard to gauge not knowing your general location. Btw -- please add more info to your User Profile Signature. Top of the forum, left side, find link to USER CP. Follow on left side some links to EDIT Profile and Signature, etc.


A rough cost for a mechanic to do the gasket replacement (assuming using OEM replacement gasket only) is about $800. It's just a labor intensive job. Doing it yourself would be roughly half that and sometimes lesser depending on parts.

Usual things done:

1 plenum gasket replacement (can either do plate replacement also): $10 to $200
2 new intake manifold bolts (i recommend): $15
3 new pcv: $8
4 New intake manifold gaskets (to the block side): $60
5 New distributor cap, rotor, spark plugs, wires: $50 variable
6 new water pump: $40


I'll stop there and the reason is b/c everyone has different budgets, skills, time, etc. Also different purposes for their rig.


Check this thread too as it's hard to find a link in the Sticky thread to it:

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...s-post-up.html

 

As posted you have a leaking plenum gasket, approx 3-4 hrs labour, parts about $175. But before you go and tear into this job get a comp test done, this will ensure you are working on a good motor. It kinda goes like this Leaking plenum gasket, then clogged cat converter, then 02 sensor goes, then heads crack due to the clogged cat.

 

I just want to say thank you to each of you who took the time to reply to this thread. After reading your posts and through the sticky threads posted by Wh1t3Nukle (thank you Sir!), I would just about bet that is what it is. Based on that info, it appears to me that it's just a matter of time before anyone who has one of these generation models will have to address this issue. My truck has 114,000 miles on it.

I love Dodge Ram's, but when they have a factory flaw, it is definitely across the board. I put 3 transmissions in my 95 Dodge Ram (over the course of many years). As I mentioned, I am not mechanically inclined. I truly wish I had taken mechanics classes in high school, but computers seemed to be my forte. So this is definitely not something I would attempt myself. I will be printing all this information and taking it to my mechanic friend to see if he understands how to do this repair and all the associated part replacements that go with it. He's an old school older mechanic who doesn't even have a computer.

I love this truck, but I have had to have some work done to it. I had to put a transmission in it as soon as I got it. I just got finished having the following items replaced on it last week:

Axle (Universal) joints
Tie Rod End
Upper and Lower ball joints
Track Bar
Wheel Bearing Hub Assembly
Plugs-Wires-Distributor Cap
Oil Change
Lucas Band-Aid

If I'm not mistaken, I ask my mechanic friend to check the PCV and he said it seemed to be ok. Between all that and some other unexpected expenses..it kind of put a dent in the budget. I'm going to have to save some money for this one (after I have a comp test done to make sure it's worth doing).

So I have one final question if you guys don't mind. Since my Lucas Stop leak is just a band-aid, I'm wondering how much time it may buy me in addressing this issue. As I mentioned as of right now it is not leaking oil. So is it one of those things like, as long as it's not leaking oil, it won't cause any further damage until it starts leaking again? As in perhaps I could drive it for months as long as it’s not leaking oil without any problems?

Thanks again for your time and sorry for the long post.

Anthony

 

If I'm not mistaken, the Lucas stop leak has gasket-swelling agents in it (thus slowing or stopping the leaks), so I would assume that as the compounds in it break down or stop doing their job, you'll see consumption again, perhaps sooner if the plenum gasket decides to "blow" in other locations. I'd save up the money quickly and get it done if I were you, really is a worth-while investment.

 

Thanks again everyone. I have a compression test scheduled for Thursday. If all is well, I'm going to start ordering all the parts. This issue and repair should have been a recall, paid for by the company.