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Glen Novitsky
Dodge Dakota
9/06/2001
23:02:05
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 Subject: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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I just bought an '94 3.9 Dakota Sport 2WD. 116K. Great price, clean truck. I noticed that the oil change sticker on the windshield said it was due a change at 114K, and like I said it was at 116K. It was done by the previous owner at a Texaco Lube station and 10W-40 was used. I took it to a Valvoline QOC and used 10W-30. Since then, I drove it only a couple of times, once for about 30 miles round trip, noticed nothing strange. I then, this week, hooked up my 18.5 foot fish and ski boat and pulled it to the lake about 5 miles(this was the first time I hooked it up to the Dakota)I ran the whole way with overdrive off. Upon entering the dock area, I parked the truck and un-did everything I had to on the boat. I then swang the truck to the dock, and as SOON as I shifted to reverse to back the boat into the lake, the oil pressure dropped to ZERO and the oil light appeared. I quickly shut it off, checked the level, and it had plenty of oil. I started the truck back and had pressure. Again, reverse, again, drop to 0. I put the boat in, ran for about 2 hours and came back. Started the truck that had cooled, and pressure seemed to be OK, until, I stopped at my driveway to back the boat in, again, reverse, no pressure. The truck was idling at about 200-300 rpm's, so I figured it was just idling too slow, changed the IAC and raised it to 400 rpm, but it still does it after the truck gets a good workout (tonight I ran the unloaded truck to the dock using O/D off). I don't hear any knock except for a valve train clatter at start up. Is this bearings? Cam or main? Or was it the switch to 10W30 from 10W40, or what? The truck has good pressure during driving, AND as soon as you tap the gas when the pressure is at 0, it rises to normal. HELP!!!
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Marc
Dodge Dakota
9/06/2001
23:14:21
|  RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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sounds like it only happens when you are in reverse, mabye the gauge is shorting out with the nutral(spelling) safety switch, get a manual gauge and see what you really have. just my 2 cents but that is what i would try first before i went and tore down the motor
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Marc
Dodge Dakota
9/06/2001
23:14:57
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Message:
sounds like it only happens when you are in reverse, mabye the gauge is shorting out with the nutral(spelling) safety switch, get a manual gauge and see what you really have. just my 2 cents but that is what i would try first before i went and tore down the motor
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Ken Grierson
Dodge Dakota
9/06/2001
23:16:15
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Get the Oil Send unit checked. I had very similar behavior going on with my '01 CC with only 900 miles and no tow use. Turns out the unit was bad.
Got it replaced, oil changed and haven't had a problem.
You check the oil pump and lines yet?
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Ken Grierson
Dodge Dakota
9/06/2001
23:18:16
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Get the Oil Send unit checked. I had very similar behavior going on with my '01 CC with only 900 miles and no tow use. Turns out the unit was bad.
Got it replaced, oil changed and haven't had a problem.
You check the oil pump and lines yet?
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BMac
Dodge Dakota
9/07/2001
11:10:33
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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I agree with the guys, check/replace the unit, change the oil and use a quality filter.
When you buy a used vehicle, ALWAYS change the oil and filter before ANYTHING!
My brother buoght a '76 Coronet with the 360 some 17 years ago and within a week it was HAMMERING. He still took it on it's weekly 100 mile trips for about a month and then gave it away. It was dieing but he could not kill it. He bought it at a dealer.
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BMac
Dodge Dakota
9/07/2001
11:13:09
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Message:
I agree with the guys, check/replace the unit, change the oil and use a quality filter.
When you buy a used vehicle, ALWAYS change the oil and filter before ANYTHING!
My brother buoght a '76 Coronet with the 360 some 17 years ago and within a week it was HAMMERING. He still took it on it's weekly 100 mile trips for about a month and then gave it away. It was dieing but he could not kill it. He bought it at a dealer.
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Glen Novitsky
Dodge Dakota
9/07/2001
11:22:37
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Message:
Forgive me... I've really never dealt with oil problems til now.. how do you check the oil pump to see if its pumping? Hook up another oil pressure gauge or what? Thanks! Glen
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Marc
Dodge Dakota
9/08/2001
00:32:46
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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the best thing to do is to get a manual gauge and it will come with a plastic line and some fittings. take your oil pressure sending unit out and put a t fitting in the hole put the line and a fitting in one hole and screw the sending unit in the other. if not then the computer may not let the engine run because it will think there is no oil pressure. good luck
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sandman
Dodge Dakota
9/08/2001
08:30:26
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Oil pressure at curb idle minimum 6psi
@3000 rpm 30-80 psi
bypass setting 9-15 psi
switchin actuating presure 5-7 psi
The above figures are from my 2001 service manual. Personaly I like to see 18-35 psi at idle and 10 psi on top of that for every 1000 rpm's. Your sending unit is probably bad. Main bearing and main seals are usualy the culprits when you have a major drop in oil pressure. The oil pump on your truck has a stamped steel cover that can wear excessivly and cause a drop in oil pressure as well. This same thing happens to the GM 3.8 v6. Check your pressure with a manual gauge and let us know what you get for a reading. It is easy to check main bearings and oil pump. You can check one main bearing with a piece of plasti-gauge and you can check oil pump with straight edge,feeler gauge, and mic.
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Glen Novitsky
Dodge Dakota
9/08/2001
14:36:22
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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I guess I just expect this to be the worst case here!! I would really like it to be the sending unit, but why would it only show up after driving the truck for a long or hard pull? Thanks! Glen
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sandman
Dodge Dakota
9/08/2001
18:29:41
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Message:
Well I think that most people here are keying in on the reverse issue. The engine does not do anything differnt when your transmission is in reverse. It still rotates the exact same diresction. So if the presure only drops when you are in reverse then it is most likely a ground issue in your cluster or a problem with your sending unit. If you had this pressure drop all of the time most would think in much more serious terms. Presure drops can be caused by alot of things. Filter restrictions, bad bypass spring, coocked bypass piston,oil screen or galley restrictions, diluted oil, wrong grade, worn rotor gears, warped backing plate, bad bearings, seals, a bad distributor seal, low oil level, bad sending unit,bad gauge, faulty ground........ This is way you need to remove the sending unit and check your pressure with a manual gauge. Until then the rest is all acedemic.
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Glen Novitsky
Dodge Dakota
10/04/2001
21:08:58
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help (old post follow-up)
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Well.. its been a couple of weeks since I first posted this.. the pressure never improved so I bit the bullet and took it to a highly recommended backwoods shop here in Middle TN. Found out that the oil pump HAS been a problem in the 3.9's... however, this one already has been replaced. Sorry to say, that when they did that, they didn't change the mains... they were scored, and not only that, the Crank was "walking" about 1/16" back and forth.. needless to say, new crank, rods, bearings, pump, timing chain, gaskets.. all done for $1060 complete.. at least I know I can get a few more miles out if it now! Thanks for all the suggestions.. Glen
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Retread
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
3/21/2002
09:42:57
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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I've had intermittent problems with the low pressure gauge/light at the same time I was having some type of electrical engine shutdown. The oil pressure was manually checked and found to be OK. The shutdown was just a few seconds and if I had revs up, the engine came back in without incident. This week the oil pressure gauge again showed a drop. I drove it for ~6 miles until I heard that dreaded noise. Got it to the shop immediately.
Deduction by mechanics EAR: NEW ENGINE NEEDED!
Called for 2nd and 3rd opinions: Both indicated that loss of oil pressure has been a big problem with Chrysler engines for over 10 years.
I'm getting another mechanic to pull it apart, but it sounds like either a major rebuild or new engine.
DON'T IGNORE THAT OIL PRESSURE LIGHT!
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Mark Green92
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
3/21/2002
12:45:58
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Message:
I have posted this before, but it seems to be a reoccuring problem in early 90's V6 engines.I had a similar problem around 150k.Thicker oil will not help, I use 15w40.Returning home one evening, my oil pressure warning light came on and stayed on. Fortunatley I was 2 blocks from home and I crept home at idle. The cure was a melling high volume oil pump for the 318-360,it works. I replaced it myself in the driveway, the oil pan was a fight. There were no metal shavings in the pickup screen so I have to assume the pressure relief for the pump failed. Now the gauge is medium high range (now 163k). I replaced the sender first before the pump but when you turn off the engine and hear the sound of hot metal clicking, it's not a sender. If your truck has this pump installed try a different brand of oil filter.
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Nicholas
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
3/21/2002
21:28:54
|  RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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I have a 4.7 dakota, 2001, and I noticed one day that when I was at a red light, had my foot on the brake and noticed the oil pressure was dropping. So I called the dealer while driving down the road, they said it was normal with the 4.7 engine, and they didnt know why, so I was like, WTF.. I was just wondering if anyone knew why this might be happening or if anyone else is having the same problem?
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Joe
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
11/01/2002
01:18:18
|  RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Message:
my truck will go up any off road trail no problem but when you come back downthe hill the oil pressur drops to 0 and the light that sais check gadges came on is there some thig i can do i thought about instaling a dry sump oil pump but it's pricey please help
$$$
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Todd W
GenIII
11/01/2002
10:21:50
|  RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Nicholas,
Your oil pressure -will- drop when your idling (such as at a red light), even moreso possibly if the engine is below idle (trying to idle but under load), simply because the oil pump's innards aren't spinning as fast. It's normal on all engines to have lower at-idle oil pressures than at-speed oil pressures.
"I think I hit my excitement threshold about ten minutes ago..."
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Texas Todd
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
11/01/2002
10:39:09
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Message:
Glen, sounds like I would've put a manual gauge on it first. Sounds like this shop replaced whatever they could, needed or not. I"m sure it runs better now though, good luck.
Todd Bouton
01 QC 4.7 5psd etc.
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GREG
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
11/04/2002
19:44:31
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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Message:
MY 94 V6 HAS 105K ON IT, RECENTLY WHILE GOING DOWN THE ROAD AFTER ABOUT 12 MILES THE OIL LIGHT COMES ON THEN I LOOSE OIL PRESSURE, WHEN I LET OFF THE ACCELERATOR I REGAIN OIL PREESURE AND THE OIL LIGHT GOES OUT, UNTILL I ACCELERATE AGAIN.
WHILE GOING DOWN THE ROAD AT STEADY PACE OIL LIGHT COMES ON BUT OIL PRESSURE DOES NOT DROP UNITLL I ACCELERATE QUICKLEY.
OIL GAGE IS AT HALF MARK.
THIS JUST STARTED HAPPENING THE DAY AFTER I HAD THE WATER PUMP REPLACED.
ANY ADVICE OR COMMENTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED BEFORE I TAKE IT BACK TO BE LOOKED AT.
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chuck
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
4/21/2003
18:23:13
| RE: Low Oil Pressure! Help
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95 5.3
i was driving the interstate lost oil pressure and heard rattling. oil level was ok. check and change oil every 3000. drinving in colorado lost pressure going into the mountains, this was after driving it from indiana, even drove it home from colorado. i have lost pressure once since november. it always seems to run low at idle. but it runs at the least amount in the ok zone. had the sending unit replaced and still runs low. any ideas.
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