Any Dodge Truck Mechanics Here ??

[magnumpi]

I have a '98 Dodge Ram 1500 4 x 4 5.2L truck with AT that I use forvarious hauling around the local area. If I average 2000 miles/yr, I'm driving it a lot.
My question is simply it uses an excessive amount of oil under load. An example would be yesterday I drove about 300 highway miles with a trailer loaded with about 2000 lbs. It went through about 3 qts of Havoline while averaging a pesky 10 mpg - maybe. The head scratcher here is no leaks, no smoke, no blowby - nothing. Engine compartment very clean for a truck with 42000 total miles. This is the first veghicle I've owned for some time with an actual oil pressure gauge, but it reads 45 or so when cold and dips to probably 30 or so idling when at operating temperature. Anyone that can steer me in the right direction will earn my eternal thanks. TIA, Craig

[cowboy]

I cant answer that. But mabe the rings are hanging up some frome not being used enough. Possibly run some seafoam in the oil. May be worth a try. If its using that much oil I don't know why it dosen't smoke.

Billy

[magnumpi]

Thanks Billy, I thought about that as well, but the lack of any visible clues has me puzzled. Used Seafoam years ago quite often. I've noticed at the local farm store that the prices has gone from around 2.50/can to over $5/can !! Havoline has gone from just over $1/qt to over $2 in short order as well. We're not only getting manipulated at the pump, but in the stores as well. Interestingly, oil has dropped from it's mid-winter high /barrel to now around $60/barrel as of yesterday. Me thinks government is out of control and ethics in business has vanished......but that's a topic for another day. Craig

[Rick Prentice]

Hi Craig. I happened to be on the phone with a friend who owns a shop. I read him your post. He said, to him, he would check the PVC valve to see if it's sticking. He said it sounds like the oil is being sucked slowly through the intake and out the exhaust without visible signs of smoking. He also said he would change to a good grade of oil such as Castrol and then see if you have the same results.

Hope he is right,

Rick

[magnumpi]

Thanks Rick !! Sounds too good to be true, but I'll certainly try it today. I'd also thought I'd maybe switch to Mobil 1 as it seems that synthetic has a nice gradual cleaning characteristic that might be beneficial as well. Your post suggests that Havoline is not a high quality oil ?? Thanks again, Craig

[Eugene]

Next thought. What weight oil are you using? If using 5W or 10W oil. Try using 20W at next oil change. Step up a weight in oil.

Eugene

[magnumpi]

Eugene: I usually use 10-40w in summer and either 10 or 5 - 30 during winter months. Below zero, it's all molasses at that point. Thanks, C

[Eugene]

Got one more thought. If it's not the PVC and no external leaks.

Oil drain holes in heads partially plugged. Easy check. Check oil with cold engine. Start engine and let warm up. Turn off engine. Check oil level at 3 minutes and 5 minutes after shutting off the engine. If the oil is draining back into the oil sump properly - at the end of 5 minutes the oil level should be back to or very near the cold level.

Eugene

[Jack fowler]

Craig, I’m not a Dodge Technician, just Chevrolet and Ford

I suspect you have a ruptured plenum gasket in the intake manifold, very common on 5.2 and 5.9 Rams. Your first sign will be oil consumption. To confirm, disconnect the PVC Valve and plug both the valve and the vacuum hose to the manifold. Then disconnect the breather hose going from the valve cover to the intake plenum and check for crankcase vacuum. Any more than slight vacuum indicates a plenum gasket leak. You can also check for oil at the bottom of the manifold (looking through the throttle body) but I found checking for vacuum is easier than climbing up into the engine compartment.

Jack

[junkman1946]

Craig Ive run Mopars all my life. The 318 was about the most popular engine out their. One quirk ive found with my 318s was they would use oil with every kind of oil except Quaker State. I use 10/30 det. Thats only my experience but its a cheap fix? Engine techs have told me that engines "get accustomend" to a certain oil formula and its not a good idea to keep switching around

[magnumpi]

I've always thought the 318 was "bulletproof" as well. I took Eugene's advice and rechecked the oil level after it sat all night ! I'll be damned - it was a quart over the fill line !! I then used Jack's post and checked the possibility of a plenum chamber gasket failure. I didn't want to run it with the over fill condition so managed to look down the throttle butterflies to see no oil. To doublecheck, I taped a Q-tip to a long-handled screwdriver and poked around down into the plenum and came up dry so I'll assume for now that the gasket is intact. (after seeing where that engine is nestled - snug up under the firewall a good 6-9", I realy don't wanna pull the intake manifold). I think my next step will be to drain it right where it sits and figure out the best method to flush it out as severely as possible w/o damaging any bearings or rings. Any thoughts ?? Thanks to everyone. Craig

[George Willer]

Craig,

Mine is a 1999 and it just turned up 30K. Most of its miles were early on when it hauled a lot of tractors home from out of state.

I don't know anything about liters but it's a 318. It's only service so far was to charge the A/C. It doesn't use any oil at all. How soon should I start to worry?

[magnumpi]

George: Seeing the quality of ALL your things mechanical, the vast array of knowledge you possess and the pictures of your shop, I'd say you have no worries - at least related to things mechanical. The original owner that I bot it from 5 yrs ago drove it 3 miles back and forth to work each day and pulled his boat to Lake Minnetonka each weekend ( I think I could have thrown a rock and hit the lake from his home) so I'm guessing it's probably got a fair amount of sludge built up in it. Craig

[Eugene]

Pull the valve covers and take a rifle cleaning rod with bore brush and brush - clean out the drain holes - specially the one at the rear of the engine.

Problem occurs on larger engines seldom/lightly used.

The 318 is a good solid engine. It has a few design problems.

Eugene

[oronc]

I work at a dodge dealership, The pan gasket on the bottom of the intake is the problem, The intake has to come off the pad is located under the intake . Call your local dealership and ask for a copy of TSB #09-05-00.


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