Hey guys! I have a 2005 ram 2500 5.7 hemi with less than 130k miles. Going down the highway, humming along smoothly, suddenly the oil pressure drops to 0, no warning bells or lights, no CEL. Now I can’t get it to start, it tries to turn then kills a brand new battery. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

Sorry to sound simplistic, but did you check the oil? Need to get that outa the way first.

 

Hey, thanks for the reply. Yes I did, all fluids are full and fresh. I like to keep a good maintenance schedule on my truck. I’m about 3k into an oil change wit 5w20 full synthetic

 

Does the engine crank really slow? Is the starter struggling to turn it?

 

Hey you! Yes, I pulled the starter and bench tested it, throws perfectly. Not bad for original. Sometimes it turns sluggishly, sometimes not at all

 

Take off the serpentine belt, see if the starter will crank the engine then. If not, then try and turn the engine by hand...... Can you? It's possible your oil pump failed, or something similar, and the engine is just locked up.... If the starter "thumps" nice when you turn the key, but won't roll the engine over, that is NOT a good sign.

 

That’s what I was afraid to hear. I’ll take the belt off and try it tomorrow, Unfortunately, it’s not at my house. It will roll over…sometimes. Just not enough to start.Do you think I might be looking at a new motor or something that can be fixed?
Thanks for your input!

 

Almost anything 'can' be fixed.... it just might be more expensive than a new motor.

If the pump did fail, and the engine is indeed seized, I would be much more tempted to pick up a replacement long block, than rebuilding it... Unless you can do the work yourself, replacement will likely be cheaper, and most certainly faster.

 

Thanks for your input! Rebuilding or replacing is well above my pay grade, looks like I’ll be doing some shopping

 

I just did a hemi engine in a jeep, one with 91k, with a 1 year unlimited mile warranty was $5000 at my shops discount….a new long block probably would have been more practical