Alright, i got a 2002 dodge ram 1500 with the 4.7L V8. Let me begin by saying this particular truck must have a demon or it does not like sitting in a driveway full of GM trucks. i bought this truck for bout 5500 bucks from a "buddy" of mine and this truck has been nothing but a complete bank account drain.

I recently started having smoking issues just a week after i bought it, figured the valve seals were worn out. (no big deal). A few weeks later it starts to drop oil pressure and regain it almost instantly, figured sending unit! fixed the problem for a week. Now its knocking and ive read about the sludge so i ran some Napa oil treatment through and i pulled the oil pan..found pieces of timing tensioner guide in oil pan..and sludge. The truck has 175,000 miles on it and from what from what ive been told, i should just stick a new engine in it. What is the best route at this point? New engine? or should i just keep putting parts on this thing? Is the timing chain the knocking sounds i been hearing from slack? or has the engine starved the top end of oil and now its got issues?

Thanks for the feedback..sorry for the length