• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Car trouble.

rjny36

rjny36

Jan 29, 2006
500
6
Syracuse, NY
#1
Well, I figure there's bound to be a few people on here who know a lot more about cars than I do, so here goes:

Yesterday I had to drive up to my office to interview for a promotion. Started up my truck (a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500, V8, with around 160,000 miles), and it was running just fine. After about 15 miles, and while I was on the highway, I noticed that my oil pressure indicator started flickering, and then the gauge bottomed out. :eek:

I decided it was best not to chance it, so I started my way out of traffic. It took me about a quarter of a mile to get off to the side of the highway and stop the truck.

On the way to the shoulder, the truck was still running, the engine heat indicator hadn't gone up at all, and the check engine light did not come on. I didn't see any smoke or anything like that. Nor did I see anything unusual when I looked under the hood. The only symptom other than the gauge was that I think the engine started to sound the way it does when it gets to be time for an oil change. The oil was last changed ~1,000 miles ago.

In any event, I called a cab, and went to my interview, and my truck was towed back to my mechanic. The interview went great (:D), but I've been stressed out about the truck, and the mechanic probably won't get to it until tomorrow.

So I guess my question is, what could be the possible causes? And do you think I might have done any permanent damage to the engine?

I've done a little reading, and I guess some of the most common causes are oil pump failure, that the oil pressure gauge is just simply broken, or the timing belt needs replacing... any other possibilities?
 
#4
Is there a temp gauge, or just a warning light? With that high mileage, if the oil got hotter than normal (thinner), it could have tripped the pressure gauge. As bearings wear and tolerances increase, there is more room for oil, therefore lowering pressure. That, combined with a possibly hotter engine (and thinner oil) could have caused the pressure light to trip.
 
#7
MatticusMania said:
No leaking of oil I presume? I'd have to go with what Eric said.
Click to expand...

Nope. No leakage or anything like that. Eric's advice makes sense... maybe it's time to switch to a higher viscosity oil.

I almost never take it on drives that long, so that would account for giving the oil time to get much warmer and thinner than normal. I usually only drive it about 7 miles one way to work, as compared to the 15 or so it got yesterday.
 
#10
rjny36 said:
Well, I figure there's bound to be a few people on here who know a lot more about cars than I do, so here goes:

Yesterday I had to drive up to my office to interview for a promotion. Started up my truck (a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500, V8, with around 160,000 miles), and it was running just fine. After about 15 miles, and while I was on the highway, I noticed that my oil pressure indicator started flickering, and then the gauge bottomed out. :eek:

I decided it was best not to chance it, so I started my way out of traffic. It took me about a quarter of a mile to get off to the side of the highway and stop the truck.

On the way to the shoulder, the truck was still running, the engine heat indicator hadn't gone up at all, and the check engine light did not come on. I didn't see any smoke or anything like that. Nor did I see anything unusual when I looked under the hood. The only symptom other than the gauge was that I think the engine started to sound the way it does when it gets to be time for an oil change. The oil was last changed ~1,000 miles ago.

In any event, I called a cab, and went to my interview, and my truck was towed back to my mechanic. The interview went great (:D), but I've been stressed out about the truck, and the mechanic probably won't get to it until tomorrow.

So I guess my question is, what could be the possible causes? And do you think I might have done any permanent damage to the engine?

I've done a little reading, and I guess some of the most common causes are oil pump failure, that the oil pressure gauge is just simply broken, or the timing belt needs replacing... any other possibilities?
Click to expand...

i'd start by changing the oil pressure sender. They've been known to go bad on the magnum v8s, As long asit wasn't really noisey @ idle, your true pressure is probably ok. The sender is located on the back of the engine, next to the distributor.
 
#11
buzzbass said:
i'd start by changing the oil pressure sender. They've been known to go bad on the magnum v8s, As long asit wasn't really noisey @ idle, your true pressure is probably ok. The sender is located on the back of the engine, next to the distributor.
Click to expand...

Also, take a flashlite and shine it down the open bores of the throttle body. Do you see oil or a brownish residue down in the intake manifold ? If so you have the infamous belly pan gasket leak. If you're low on oil, chances are, that's where it is going. PM me offline, if you'd like. I know this engine combo like the back of my hand.
 
#12
buzzbass said:
Also, take a flashlite and shine it down the open bores of the throttle body. Do you see oil or a brownish residue down in the intake manifold ? If so you have the infamous belly pan gasket leak. If you're low on oil, chances are, that's where it is going. PM me offline, if you'd like. I know this engine combo like the back of my hand.
Click to expand...

It wasn't overly noisy at idle, I don't think. I was kinda scared s***less at the time, so it could well have been that I was being hypersensitive to any perceived difference in sound. It wasn't a loud tapping, knock or clank or anything like that, anyway. It just sounded like it was running a bit more rough than it had ... well, about ten miles earlier. :D

The truck is at my mechanic's at the moment, so I haven't got it around to shine a flashlight in there. I recall reading something about the pressure sending unit being replaced first, most of the time.

Thanks for your help, though! I'll PM you when I hear something from them.
 
#13
rjny36 said:
It wasn't overly noisy at idle, I don't think. I was kinda scared s***less at the time, so it could well have been that I was being hypersensitive to any perceived difference in sound. It wasn't a loud tapping, knock or clank or anything like that, anyway. It just sounded like it was running a bit more rough than it had ... well, about ten miles earlier. :D

The truck is at my mechanic's at the moment, so I haven't got it around to shine a flashlight in there. I recall reading something about the pressure sending unit being replaced first, most of the time.

Thanks for your help, though! I'll PM you when I hear something from them.
Click to expand...

like I said, I know that combo like theback of my hand. That's the engine combo that's in my hot rod. I'm intimately familiar with it, at this point. I've built about 1/2 a dozen of them, for myself & friends. No major noise huh ? It sounds like your oil pressure is probably ok. If it wasn't you'd hear it on that combo.
 
#14
Well, guys, thanks again for all your help. I thought I'd give you a little update. The truck repair came to a whopping $45. They changed out the sending unit, and the problem was solved. True pressure never dipped below 20 psi. Major sighs of relief on my end!

Oh, and I got the promotion, too. :bassist:
 
#16
I figured it was a sending unit from the description. Some cars have a reputation for sending units going bad - the best known nay be the Datsun 240-260-280Z/ZX series. They all had a very basic sending unit that screws into the passenger side of the block. Replacing it is a 5 minute job.

I once had one on a 240Z go bad on me in the MIDDLE of a howling showstorm. I wasn't too far from home, but rather than take a chance, I parked it in a supermarket lot and walked about 10 blocks home through snow halfway to my knees. NOT a fun walk. Came back the next day with a replacement sending unit and a wrench, and was very relieved to find out it was just the unit.

BuzzBass is right - if you really have lost oil pressure, most engines will sound rattly because most have hydraulic lifters, and the lifters won't be pumped up properly. More valve and lifter noise results.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back