Did you remove the throttle body so that the engine can be lifted higher?

 

It was pushed up against the AC hoses. They are non- flexible aluminium i think. but I FINALLY got it... just had to use another combination of jacks and mounting to make room. It came out hard still but quick.

I'd been at it so long that when it came out my first reaction was to put it back. I was so taken aback I thought I did something wrong!

 

So what's it look like in there, clean or sludge?

 

sludgey. cleaning like a **** at the moment...

 

 

glad to hear you got it off...


and yes that is a lot of sludge...you probably have the same amount under the intake too.

 

Congratulations on getting the pan out, takes patience. As for the sludge I have seen much more in LA 318s (very common) and still have no idea why.

 

wow- I haven't been that frustrated and PO'd since my last girlfriend...

If i ever have to do this again I am absolutely taking the AC pump off the top of the motor so I can tilt it even higher. it was hell getting the pan back in. I put it in first then the new oil pump and gasket; so the pan was all up in my face the whole time. Total PITA but I knew I would mash the hell out of the gaskets and beat the oil pump up getting the pan back on.

Not a job for one person; I couldn't get help and I couldn't wait any longer. I've got a big weekend in shows (im a musician) need the wheels.

It was impossible to be neat about installing the gasket so it may leak but at this point I just don't care. as long as when I fire it up I have the oil pressure I need. I'll deal with the pan leak this summer when I have the time and facility to do so.

now the fan spins freely in the clutch. Not sure why... always ONE MORE THING... efff

 

Just an update- here's some crazy sh*t...
summary...
1) some dodge rams are really dodge Wagons(!) (WHA??) and there is no way for part stores to disseminate between the two...
2) my screen and pump were fine... it turned out the be a electrical problem in the dash. when your oil pressure gauge gets wonky check the oil pressure at the source... lesson learned here.

after finally getting the oil pan off I installed the new pump and screen BUT after getting it back together (another hellish experience by myself) and firing it up... bang, bang, bang... after much theorizing and stressing and enlisting the help of a friend I, AGAIN, removed the oil pan only to discover that the screen got mashed in the cams.

I assumed this was my fault. That I had tilted the screen up too far when installing the pan. So I got another screen intake, and pump, the new one was damaged, and installed it only to find that there was no way to get the new screen in there without it hitting the cams. Both screens were the WRONG SIZE! - every store I went to pulled the same WRONG screen from their stock.

I ended up throwing the old screen in there since it was fine and putting it all back together. at this time I decided to change my tranny fluid and filter only to find out that the filter (i had two, both the same from two different stores) didnt fit. The one that cam out of the van didnt have a case around it. completely perplexed I finally called the dodge dealer and gave them my VIN. The guy explained I actually have a wagon. And its a little different then a ram van, even through it's almost exactly the same and looks like as dodge ram van. And says DODGE RAM VAN 1500 on the side...

I couldnt get a good answer as to why this is or what to do at parts stores... they dont have a selection for WAGONS... I had google filters, find a picture and a part number to get the one I need. And even then the gaskets weren't the right one. CRAZYNESS. It doesnt seem like this should be so hard. any light from anyone on this subject would be amazing.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Ram_Van
http://www.allpar.com/trucks/b-vans.html

Ram Van and Ram Wagons are both AB platforms and I wouldn't think their drivetrain components would vary given the same engine/year. I'd imagine the variations were limited to seating, windows, interior/hvac options, alternator capacity, etc. Were these aftermarket parts?