Hey, I have a 2001 dodge ram 1500 with the 5.2L.

Was under my truck when I seen that it was SUPER wet near my transmission and this little plate or something was bent up and I could see inside. I’m newer and don’t know what this is or if it’s not bad

 

Just a dust cover there. WHY it is bent up would have me pretty curious though.....

Clean things off really well, drive it a bit, then re-inspect, see if you can see where the fluid is coming from.

Do you know what type of fluid it is??

 

Honestly I’m not sure lol. Didn’t have a distinct smell really. I assumed oil. My oil pressure was dropping to 0 at idle for a while and everywhere I looked pointed at my oil pressure switch. It’s all gunked up, maybe leaking? I have no idea. I’ll clean it up and give it a look after a little.

so far tho, I’ve seen a few people things related to a “rear main” but it’s not a dripping leak (I think that’s how it works).

I’ve seen someone say if the oil pressure sensor leaks, it actually runs down the back and can seem like a rear main leak.

Firstly, how should my oil pressure gauge act? Before my recent oil change. (5Q of synthetic 10W30. Random brand from advanced auto, don’t remember) my dad realized the oil was low and topped it up with conventional, different brand too. My oil pressure gauge stayed right below 40, no matter what. Never moved. Even at WOT and idle. After that, my oil pressure was 0 at red lights after driving it. When changing it out , my oil was super dirty and had little silver type chunks in it. It wasn’t effected by a magnet so I assumed it wasn’t metal. Now, with the new oil, my oil pressure is high. Until it warms up. Idk if it’s “too” high. It’s somewhat behind the 80, maybe 60-70. I’ll have to take a pic soon. It warms up and goes back behind 40, and reacts normally to throttle now.

*edit- should’ve made a diff thread for the oil stuff, sorry.

 

It's not uncommon for an oil pressure switch to leak when its starting to go bad. Please change it soon, as leaks at the oil pressure switch have the potential to cause you to loose a motor if it leaks bad enough, especially since oil going to the switch is under full pressure.

As for the underside leak on your truck near the transmission, try putting your finger into it to try to determine what the liquid is - if its reddish in color, its transmission fluid - if it's green, its anti-freeze and if its just greasy and oily/perhaps black, it's likely motor oil. You can also try smelling it, too.

 

Smear some of whatever is leaking on your fingers, see what color it is. (if you can even tell..... )

Sounds like your oil pressure gauge is now working properly. Pressure should be lower at idle, that is normal. Pressure will also fall off as engine temp increases. So long as you are above 10PSI at idle, and 10 PSI per 1000 RPM, it's all good. (though it shouldn't go over 80.... there's a relief valve for that though.)

 

I’ll have to get that changed asap then, I can’t get that red safely tab off to see if it’s wet underneath 😅.

the fluid was dark and black and it smeared across my hand.


Edit (forgot) I’ll take a better look tmr morning. However, the front of my engine is the same way. I’ll find the picture here ina second but when I got my exhaust all welded on by a shop. He allowed me to look up under my truck while it was on the lift. Oil everywhere. Or super dirty. It was super wet. Also, a large piece of my front end… not sure the name, seems like it attaches to the frame? Is SUPER wet and even falling apart. A very gently touch and it was soft and started crumbling. Tomorrow I will 100% get pictures. For some reason I rarely inspect underneath very thoroughly, and back when I did, I kinda just forgot about it at the time. Guess I was so excited about my new exhaust I got a little ahead of myself.


here’s one of them I found. Right under my balancer

 

Probably gaskets in various places. Front main, etc.

 

unfortunate

 

It's quite possible you have multiple leaks. Get a UV test kit and put some UV dye in the oil. There is a specific dye for oil based fluids. Drive for a bit then use your test kit. It will have a little UV black light pen light and yellow safety glasses. Make sure you use the glasses or eye injury can occur. The leak will show up as green streaks.

My gut feeling (it's a big feeling) is you have valve cover, oil pan or both, gaskets leaking. Possibly the oil sending unit too. I've had a couple of leaks nobody could find, that I found with the UV light.

 

I never knew this was a thing, thank you so much! Everywhere I read and the video I watched all suggest those things as well. Bunch of gaskets