1998 Dodge Durango oil pressure gage

BEAR402DAVID

MEMBER
1998 DODGE DURANGO
V8
4WD
AUTOMATIC
104,019 MILES

I have a 5.2 liter with 104,019 miles. I have had my oil pressure gage drop to 0 at times in the past(a couple of years ago) when I got on it(driving fast to get to work on time lol). If I let off of it pressure would go back to normal around 50-60. A couple of months ago it was dropping off to 0 when just normal driving and usually oil presure is now around 30-35. I took it to my machanic who changed the sending unit. At the same time I changed the oil and filter. I substituted 1 quart of the oil with lucas oil as my mechanic recomended. I had no issues oil presure went back to 50-60 until about 2 weeks ago. I have only put on about 1800 miles now it is dropping to 0 again and the oil prssure is back down to 30-35 it comes and goes as I drive it drops when I accellerate and if I let off or stop it comes back. Sometimes I can drive 5-10 if the engine has reached full temp of 190 with no issues. Then beyound that it will drop to 0 again as before. The oil is not milky no leaks are seen and oil fluid is at normal level and it is clean looking oil. I just came back from my machinc he is baffled by this he watched and saw what I just described. On my way back home the oil pressure momentarily went back to 50-60 then droped back to 30-35 in only 1/2 mile drive. Then I went back to mechanic after talking to another mechanic he recomended and the pressure is back up to 50-60. The answers I am getting are the pick-up line screen is partially blocked, the returns are blocked, and the oil pump is going bad if replacing the oil pump it has been recommended to go to a high volume pump. Can you please help me? Thank you Dave

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,916 POSTS

Finally someone with a nice thorough understandable description of the problem! :)

First of all, if you still have the old sending unit, have a Dodge technician tell you if the correct one was replaced. I can't remember if your engine uses one or two units. I think it's one dual unit. If yours has two connector pins, one is for the gauge and the other one is for the "Check Gauges" warning light. The part for the gauge is a rheostat, and in those dual units, Chrysler had a real lot of trouble with them doing exactly what you are describing. The clue was that the warning light never came on because that section was working fine. That half is just an on / off switch that turns on, as I recall, at around 7-15 psi.

Some engines had two separate sending units, one for the light and one for the gauge. Each had only one terminal. Is it possible your guy changed the one for the light by mistake? It is pretty small compared to a sending unit for a gauge and is very inexpensive.

A worn oil pump will cause low pressure all the time once the oil is warmed up and thinned out. If you ever see high or normal oil pressure, you know the pump is not worn out. Some things that could happen though include debris in the pressure relief valve or a loose pickup screen.

Something stuck in the relief valve could cause it to dump oil back into the oil pan, or it could block the passage causing higher than normal oil pressure.

A loose or mispositioned pickup tube and screen could allow it to draw in air instead of oil, but I doubt this would happen at idle or low speeds.

The worst thing I can think of is a spun crankshaft or connecting rod bearing. You would normally hear a loud knocking noise, but as the bearing spins, it will at times block the oil feed hole thereby preventing loss of oil pressure momentarily. I don't think this is the problem either because it wouldn't have lasted very long.

I would suggest finding someone who would install a mechanical oil pressure gauge in place of the warning light switch, and tie it to the front or rear of the hood so you can watch it while you drive. By comparing the readings to your dash gauge, you can figure out if it's a gauge or oil system problem.

Low pressure at high engine speeds has also been known to happen when the bottom of the oil pan is dented blocking the pickup screen. One other thing to look at is if the technician used teflon tape on the new sending unit. Teflon tape is used to help seal the threads against leaking, but it also insulates the electrical connection. Both parts of the sending unit are grounded through the threads. Teflon tape usually won't make an intermittent connection. You also can't tell if the connection is good by observing the Check Gauges light with the engine off and ignition switch on because the stopped charging system will also turn that light on.