08 Ram 1500 Ticking
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08 Ram 1500 Ticking
We have a 2008 Dodge 1500 4x4 4.7L V8.
Facts:
3rd owner
260k miles
Has rear main seal leak waiting to address when funds are available.
When decreasing acceleration suddenly, oil pressure drops significantly.
We have dumped a LOT of money into this truck. Supposedly when we purchased (200k on odometer) it had 20k miles on a new motor, 6 months into ownership a mechanic informed us it was the original motor. We have not been able to verify this info, and have assumed it's all original.
Diagnosed rear main seal leak, but havent had funds to fix it yet. Given that, it leaks oil. We have been topping it off as needed, fairly regular oil changes, and not taking it out of town in the event it blew.
Two days ago, we discovered all of the oil had drained out over the past week while it sat (we forgot to top it off before parking it). Filled it back up with oil, have used it yesterday and today for transport to work at new job.
Checked it tonight, and oil is full but coolant is now empty. We've noticed the heat hasn't been working the last few days, thought the heater core was going out. We are now thinking it may be a head or head gasket, and that the coolant may have leaked into the motor hence the full oil reading.
Are we correct to assume this? Is there an alternative we can check easily first? In order to fix the heads, we will have to drain the 401k account and would like to avoid it if there may be a simpler issue.
Thank you in advance for any advice you may have to a diagnosis, or even reasonably priced parts.
Facts:
3rd owner
260k miles
Has rear main seal leak waiting to address when funds are available.
When decreasing acceleration suddenly, oil pressure drops significantly.
We have dumped a LOT of money into this truck. Supposedly when we purchased (200k on odometer) it had 20k miles on a new motor, 6 months into ownership a mechanic informed us it was the original motor. We have not been able to verify this info, and have assumed it's all original.
Diagnosed rear main seal leak, but havent had funds to fix it yet. Given that, it leaks oil. We have been topping it off as needed, fairly regular oil changes, and not taking it out of town in the event it blew.
Two days ago, we discovered all of the oil had drained out over the past week while it sat (we forgot to top it off before parking it). Filled it back up with oil, have used it yesterday and today for transport to work at new job.
Checked it tonight, and oil is full but coolant is now empty. We've noticed the heat hasn't been working the last few days, thought the heater core was going out. We are now thinking it may be a head or head gasket, and that the coolant may have leaked into the motor hence the full oil reading.
Are we correct to assume this? Is there an alternative we can check easily first? In order to fix the heads, we will have to drain the 401k account and would like to avoid it if there may be a simpler issue.
Thank you in advance for any advice you may have to a diagnosis, or even reasonably priced parts.
Champion
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 3,772
Likes: 449
From: Atlanta
We have a 2008 Dodge 1500 4x4 4.7L V8.
Facts:
3rd owner
260k miles
Has rear main seal leak waiting to address when funds are available.
When decreasing acceleration suddenly, oil pressure drops significantly.
We have dumped a LOT of money into this truck. Supposedly when we purchased (200k on odometer) it had 20k miles on a new motor, 6 months into ownership a mechanic informed us it was the original motor. We have not been able to verify this info, and have assumed it's all original.
Diagnosed rear main seal leak, but havent had funds to fix it yet. Given that, it leaks oil. We have been topping it off as needed, fairly regular oil changes, and not taking it out of town in the event it blew.
Two days ago, we discovered all of the oil had drained out over the past week while it sat (we forgot to top it off before parking it). Filled it back up with oil, have used it yesterday and today for transport to work at new job.
Checked it tonight, and oil is full but coolant is now empty. We've noticed the heat hasn't been working the last few days, thought the heater core was going out. We are now thinking it may be a head or head gasket, and that the coolant may have leaked into the motor hence the full oil reading.
Are we correct to assume this? Is there an alternative we can check easily first? In order to fix the heads, we will have to drain the 401k account and would like to avoid it if there may be a simpler issue.
Thank you in advance for any advice you may have to a diagnosis, or even reasonably priced parts.
Facts:
3rd owner
260k miles
Has rear main seal leak waiting to address when funds are available.
When decreasing acceleration suddenly, oil pressure drops significantly.
We have dumped a LOT of money into this truck. Supposedly when we purchased (200k on odometer) it had 20k miles on a new motor, 6 months into ownership a mechanic informed us it was the original motor. We have not been able to verify this info, and have assumed it's all original.
Diagnosed rear main seal leak, but havent had funds to fix it yet. Given that, it leaks oil. We have been topping it off as needed, fairly regular oil changes, and not taking it out of town in the event it blew.
Two days ago, we discovered all of the oil had drained out over the past week while it sat (we forgot to top it off before parking it). Filled it back up with oil, have used it yesterday and today for transport to work at new job.
Checked it tonight, and oil is full but coolant is now empty. We've noticed the heat hasn't been working the last few days, thought the heater core was going out. We are now thinking it may be a head or head gasket, and that the coolant may have leaked into the motor hence the full oil reading.
Are we correct to assume this? Is there an alternative we can check easily first? In order to fix the heads, we will have to drain the 401k account and would like to avoid it if there may be a simpler issue.
Thank you in advance for any advice you may have to a diagnosis, or even reasonably priced parts.
The coolant might just be a leak, such as a hose or bad water pump. You can rent (for free when you take it back) a cooling system pressure tester. It's basically a pump that you connect where you put the rad cap and allows you to test without the distraction of heat or moving parts. You pump it up to the pressure noted on the cap (21 psi), get underneath and and wait for the drips.
You can also rent (again, for free) a combustion leak tester. This basically sniffs the cooling system for exhaust gases and that tells you if you have a bad head gasket. It's a blue solution that turns green or yellow when such is present.
I do have some good news for you though. Read through this thread. https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...options-3.html ....I had a leaking HG and fixed it *chemically* many years ago. Folks turned up their noses and told me to pull the heads, etc and do it properly but it wasn't worth the trouble and expense to me. Used properly (not as described on bottle, but driven with for 500 mi), the stuff works great. It's been 7 years and 73K with still no further HG issues so I've got my moneys worth to say the least out of a $20 investment. It's still running like a bat out of hell with 340K on it.
Last edited by Dodgevity; Oct 11, 2023 at 10:46 AM.
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Thank you for your response. We will try testing the two methods you've suggested this weekend, hopefully it will lead to a less expensive fix. I'll also read through the thread you left and see what we can do.
I would love to let this truck go, but unfortunately I owe around 6k to the bank still. I stupidly borrowed against it to pay off an old loan a couple years back, and have paid more than half off but still owe. I've attempted selling it with no bites, it looks like we'll have to fix it and drive it till it's paid off and it completely falls apart. It's been a fairly decent truck despite the many many fixes, and has been very reliable, so I'm counting my blessings that it's lasted the years it has. If it fails us before payoff, it will be a very ugly lawn ornament while the loan is repaid until we can salvage junk it. I refuse to put a new motor in it, they're too costly in my area even rebuilt and I can't see dropping an additional 5k when we only owe 6k.
I appreciate your help!
I would love to let this truck go, but unfortunately I owe around 6k to the bank still. I stupidly borrowed against it to pay off an old loan a couple years back, and have paid more than half off but still owe. I've attempted selling it with no bites, it looks like we'll have to fix it and drive it till it's paid off and it completely falls apart. It's been a fairly decent truck despite the many many fixes, and has been very reliable, so I'm counting my blessings that it's lasted the years it has. If it fails us before payoff, it will be a very ugly lawn ornament while the loan is repaid until we can salvage junk it. I refuse to put a new motor in it, they're too costly in my area even rebuilt and I can't see dropping an additional 5k when we only owe 6k.
I appreciate your help!
Champion
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 3,772
Likes: 449
From: Atlanta
Thank you for your response. We will try testing the two methods you've suggested this weekend, hopefully it will lead to a less expensive fix. I'll also read through the thread you left and see what we can do.
I would love to let this truck go, but unfortunately I owe around 6k to the bank still. I stupidly borrowed against it to pay off an old loan a couple years back, and have paid more than half off but still owe. I've attempted selling it with no bites, it looks like we'll have to fix it and drive it till it's paid off and it completely falls apart. It's been a fairly decent truck despite the many many fixes, and has been very reliable, so I'm counting my blessings that it's lasted the years it has. If it fails us before payoff, it will be a very ugly lawn ornament while the loan is repaid until we can salvage junk it. I refuse to put a new motor in it, they're too costly in my area even rebuilt and I can't see dropping an additional 5k when we only owe 6k.
I appreciate your help!
I would love to let this truck go, but unfortunately I owe around 6k to the bank still. I stupidly borrowed against it to pay off an old loan a couple years back, and have paid more than half off but still owe. I've attempted selling it with no bites, it looks like we'll have to fix it and drive it till it's paid off and it completely falls apart. It's been a fairly decent truck despite the many many fixes, and has been very reliable, so I'm counting my blessings that it's lasted the years it has. If it fails us before payoff, it will be a very ugly lawn ornament while the loan is repaid until we can salvage junk it. I refuse to put a new motor in it, they're too costly in my area even rebuilt and I can't see dropping an additional 5k when we only owe 6k.
I appreciate your help!
My truck is a 2003 Dakota and I'd have let it go back in 2016 if I wasn't able to fix it on the cheap... and it's super clean even now (GA, no rust). But I understand your predicament and I didn't owe anything on my truck. Earlier this year I got an EV and the gas savings has made me relegate the truck to Home Depot runs or if I have to park at the airport, 2nd car etc. Since Feb to now, the total I've spent on charging it would fill the truck for a week and half.
Currently dealing with a coolant leak myself. Took me a while to diagnose, but the way it's being flung all over the engine bay made me realize it's the GMB water pump that I changed back in 2018. Dang thing only lasted 40K, so I was refusing to believe it could be the pump. Sigh...cheap Chinesium. I'll just throw a cheap Gates pump back on, given the low usage.
Last edited by Dodgevity; Oct 11, 2023 at 01:28 PM.