1999 Dodge Dakota Oil Pressure Drops to 0

DODGE DAKOTA
Avatar
CARBON0
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I just bought a 99 dakota 5.9 liter, ran great for about 3 weeks, then all of the sudden after i had punched it and got moving pretty fast i slowed down and the check gauges light/buzzer came on and i noticed my oil pressure had droped to 0...i coasted for a second then it came back up, shruged it off and didn't think anything about it, about 2 days later it happened again (twice in one morning) so i checked my oil and there was NO oil on the dipstick, but i had changed the oil about 2 weeks before this happened and put 5 quarts in it, i know it didn't leak anything out, put a quart in it to get it home to be on the safe side, any clue on what could be going on? oh also it does it sometimes going around the turn, buddy of mine told me it might be sending oil up to the engine but not back down into the oil pan.
Feb 7, 2007 at 9:24 AM
Advertisement
Avatar
RASMATAZ
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 75,988 POSTS
Is it making noise-if not find out what turns the pump.

check the oil pressure with a gauge
Feb 7, 2007 at 11:10 AM
Avatar
CARBON0
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
can here some type of noise but it sounds like a heat shield rattling around, but i heard that before this started happening
Feb 8, 2007 at 10:31 AM
Avatar
ALINKCAZ
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I have a '92 dakota with 200k miles and had the same problem with the oil pressure bottoming out. It is sludge build up blocking your oil pump. My truck would lose pressure until it warmed up.

You will need to drop the oil pan and clean off the screen to the oil pump. If your model is like mine, go ahead and replace the oil pump because you will have to pull the engine up anyway.

Hope this helps.
Feb 12, 2007 at 2:49 PM
Avatar
RASMATAZ
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 75,988 POSTS
Okay its the heat shield for the racket.

Sludge is a bad thing the only sure fire fix is to drop it and clean out that nasty stuff

No shortcut with engine flush-sometimes it make things worst.

Good Luck!
Feb 12, 2007 at 7:57 PM

Suggested Repair

Confirm oil pressure with a mechanical gauge and correct the low oil level. If sludge is blocking the pickup, drop the oil pan, clean the screen and sludge, and consider replacing the oil pump; do not use an engine flush. The heat-shield rattle was treated as unrelated.

Conversation Summary

The owner of a 1999 Dodge Dakota 5.9 said oil pressure dropped to zero after hard acceleration and sometimes in turns, then found almost no oil on the dipstick despite a recent oil change. Another owner attributed similar pressure loss to sludge blocking the oil-pump pickup and recommended dropping the pan, cleaning the screen, and replacing the pump. The expert advised verifying pressure with a gauge, cleaning sludge by dropping the pan, and avoiding engine flushes, while identifying the noise as a heat-shield rattle.

Related Repair Questions

Add a reply
Join 2CarPros for free, one of the most advanced car repair communities on the internet. From first-time drivers to seasoned mechanics, everyone is welcome to reply, share details, and get better answers. You can add a temporary image or video first; uploads are limited to 20 MB.

Ask a new question

Frequently Asked Problems for This Vehicle