Hi all,

New to the dodge world, and need some help fast. I've done a lot of work on Fords and Chevys. Rebuilt motors, front ends, brakes, a/c. I just bought a 97 dodge ram 2500 with a v10. I knew it had a bad master cylinder and brakes. Fixed those. The guy said it had a bad engine relay (I tried to make him explain, but he didn't know what he was talking about) and not any other oil pressure problem.

When I turn the truck on cold the gauge says 0 and the oil pressure light comes on. I replaced the oil pressure switch (I think that's what he was talking about), and now my gauge works. As soon as I start accelerating the oil pressure jumps up and the gauge indicates roughly 40. If I warm the engine up thats where the problem stops. If the engine is cold, every time I stop or let the truck idle, the oil pressure drops to 0 and the light comes on. The guy said that the truck had become an extra and sat for about 1.5 years. He said he changed the oil but I didn't believe him so I changed the oil as soon as I got it. No problems with the oil and it looked healthy. After researching relentlessly, I think its the oil pump. Problem is I can not find an oil pump for that year and engine. Scoured NAPA, Autozone, Rock Auto etc. to find it. Bought the original service manual and found out its nothing like a usual Ford oil pump. The thing is two gears with a cover. How on earth does that break down? So....

If the oil pump rotors are the problem, where on earth do I find them? And do I actually need to replace them or is there something funky that happens with the 97 v10? I need the truck road worthy within the next week.

 

Hi all,

New to the dodge world, and need some help fast. I've done a lot of work on Fords and Chevys. Rebuilt motors, front ends, brakes, a/c. I just bought a 97 dodge ram 2500 with a v10. I knew it had a bad master cylinder and brakes. Fixed those. The guy said it had a bad engine relay (I tried to make him explain, but he didn't know what he was talking about) and not any other oil pressure problem.

When I turn the truck on cold the gauge says 0 and the oil pressure light comes on. I replaced the oil pressure switch (I think that's what he was talking about), and now my gauge works. As soon as I start accelerating the oil pressure jumps up and the gauge indicates roughly 40. If I warm the engine up thats where the problem stops. If the engine is cold, every time I stop or let the truck idle, the oil pressure drops to 0 and the light comes on. The guy said that the truck had become an extra and sat for about 1.5 years. He said he changed the oil but I didn't believe him so I changed the oil as soon as I got it. No problems with the oil and it looked healthy. After researching relentlessly, I think its the oil pump. Problem is I can not find an oil pump for that year and engine. Scoured NAPA, Autozone, Rock Auto etc. to find it. Bought the original service manual and found out its nothing like a usual Ford oil pump. The thing is two gears with a cover. How on earth does that break down? So....

If the oil pump rotors are the problem, where on earth do I find them? And do I actually need to replace them or is there something funky that happens with the 97 v10? I need the truck road worthy within the next week.

(I apologize if I'm placing this in the wrong forum)

 

The could confirm your oil pressure by adapting a mechanical oil pressure gauge to that oil pressure switch location.

 

I’ll do that tomorrow. With so many people having the same issue I just figured I’d change it out. Does anyone know how that system fails and where to get the replacement parts?

 

Welcome to DF.

The oil pump in the 8 liter engines is part of the timing cover. It is driven directly by the crank snout. It is indeed just two pieces, and a cover. Need to pull the timing cover to get to it. You may or may not need to replace the rotors, but, you do need to tear down the front of the motor to inspect. Then you can go after it with a feeler gauge, and see if the rotors are still within spec. Some engines had a problem with the cover bolts working loose, and a subsequent loss of oil pressure. They also had a problem with the oil pressure relief spring would break, also leading to low oil pressure.

So, verify what your oil pressure is actually doing with a mechanical gauge. If it really is low, pull the timing cover and have a look at the various related parts. If there is a problem, fix it NOW, before it gets REALLY expensive......

Moving this to second gen ram tech for ya. Welcome to DF!

 

So I pull the oil pressure with a gauge and it was at 10-12 at idle. When you punch the accelerator it rises to 40-60. I'm guessing I have the screw walking out problem based on my symptoms being the same as other people. I have the timing chain cover gasket, the new rotors, and the relief valve en route. As seasoned dodge guys would you guys suggest changing anything else out at the time I have the timing chain cover off? I still have some wiggle room left with the purchase price and what I sold the my bronco for. I don't want anything fancy, this will be more like a ranch truck than anything else.

Thanks guys,
Matt

Excited to become a dodge owner

 

Water pump? Timing chain and gears? You are gonna be RIGHT there......

 

Timing chain and gears and water pump ordered. Thanks for getting back on all this so quickly. I feel really good about this work. The only other question is, the shop manual calls for a specialty tool they call a crankshaft pulley/damper installer. Again, I'm looking everywhere and can not find the correct tool. In another thread it says that you remove the bolt using a 3-jaw puller. Do I need this specialty tool or can I remove the harmonic balancer without it? If I need it where do I find it? I'm learning that parts for this truck are no where near as plenteous as my Bronco

 

Yeah, the 8.0's just don't get much love from the aftermarket any more...... even when they were new....

For the balancer, if the pulley bolts to it, take the pulley off, and use a puller that has bolts thru the arms to pull it. If not, a jaw puller into the spokes of the balancer will work. DO NOT use a jaw puller on the outside radius of the balancer, you will destroy it. To reinstall, I just line things up, push it on as far as I can by hand, maybe tap it with a rubber mallet to make sure it is aligned correctly, and I can get a good bit of the threads on the balancer bolt started, then just use the bolt to draw it into place.

 

So I've gotten to the point of taking installing the new parts, but the chitin's manual says that if I install a new timing chain and gears, I need to install a new camshaft and sprocket. Is this true? Or am I ok to copy the positions of the gears and throw the new chain on. I don't want to screw anything up. The hardest part so far was the stupid fan clutch nut. Tear down has taken less than 3 hours, minus that 3 hour frustration. Thanks guys.