I became the not so proud owner of my husbands 2003 dodge 4X4 with hemi when I rolled it this winter and had to give him my truck. It has had a hard, poorly maintained life. The engine has 150K miles. Last summer the oil pick up tube became plugged. He "fixed" it by draining the oil and running diesel fuel (instead of oil) in the it for 5 or so minutes. After that he was good with scheduled oil changes and it never gave him any more problems.
This winter I hit a patch of ice, rolled it a few times, and ended up upside down in a creek, down in a gully. The next day we fished it out with the tractor and did some on the spot red-neck body work so that the tires would no longer rub on the body. mounted the 2 tires that came off the rims. Checked the fluids (they were fine) pulled the fan shroud off so the fan would not rub, and.... drove it home. It drove great! The only funny sounds it made was from the 6 inches of ice on the headliner melting and falling on me. (from being upside down in the creek)
After driving it a few times (100 mile) Its doing that same old dropping oil pressure again just like it did when the oil pick-up tube was clogged. I drained the oil. It didn't have any water in it as I suspected, but there was a lot of sludge again.
I know I should just park it out back and let it rust away, but after my son and I walked away from the crash with out a scratch, and it starting up and driving home, I just can't.
Should I drain the oil and put diesel fuel (instead of oil) in it again? Or should I use an engine flush? It's really not worth the money to take it to a shop but its still a great truck to use around the farm.

 

Oh man.....give it a chance and do a flush.
I'd be like you......I couldn't get rid of it, after looking after me like it did.
Al.

 

Do another flush!!!! How crazy of a turn out would that have been in an eco friendly prius or smart car?????? Hmmmm....

 

X3, I'd give her the benifit of the doubt, that truck has heart.

 

Pour an entire can of Seafoam into the oil and idle the engine for 5-10minutes.
Do a full oil change afterwards and be sure to change the oil filter.
If the problem persists, you'll need to physically touch the problem rather than using a "remedied" solution.

If you can't get Seafoam, Marvel Mystery oil works well(100-200miles), but Seafoam is going to be the toughest quickest acting stuff to get you suited back up.
I'd much rather see you use Seafoam than Kerosene or Diesel fuel that will score the heck out of the main bearings.

 

I found Seafoam today and picked up a couple cans, oil, and filters. Should I add more seafoam to the oil after I add seafaom, run the engine, and change oil and filter?

 

We would be dead!The cab roof only came down 6-8 inches. Not bad for rolling over 3 times on the road, then falling 30 foot strait onto its top.