Dodge Ram Sludge

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RRR - 30 Apr 2007 02:54 GMT

Have a Dodge with 130K miles. Just had all new SYN Oil and lube done
and was on the highway about 2 weeks later and the oil pressure gauge
dropped to zero. The Check Engine light came on and we pulled over and
checked oil. Oil was full abd when we started we heard a light ticking
sound.

Stopped again and the light went off and no sound but we were
concerned.

Brought it into a mechanic and he said he saw sludge. Told us he needs
to replace the pump, flush, and replace the radiator and for 2200 it
would be a temp patch. Or we could replace the engine.

Anyone have any ideas on this one?? Thanks for your help!

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Noozer - 30 Apr 2007 05:04 GMT

> Have a Dodge with 130K miles. Just had all new SYN Oil and lube done
> and was on the highway about 2 weeks later and the oil pressure gauge
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Anyone have any ideas on this one?? Thanks for your help!

I really think that you're REALLY being taken to the cleaners.

What year? What motor? What weight oil was put in? Any problems before the
oil change?

Have you taken a look under the oil filler cap to see if there is any
sludge/grime build up under the valve covers? How hard to pull the oil pan
off?

Why did he say you needed to do anything with the radiator?!?

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pAuL - 30 Apr 2007 05:35 GMT

Wow...
You must have the 2.7 v-6.
There is a lot of info on the web about this engine.
http://www.dontbuyone.org/
http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?scid=122&did=960
Ideas?
Fix it or junk it.
$2200 is about half the cost of a new engine.

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Scott Dorsey - 30 Apr 2007 19:10 GMT

>Have a Dodge with 130K miles. Just had all new SYN Oil and lube done
>and was on the highway about 2 weeks later and the oil pressure gauge
>dropped to zero. The Check Engine light came on and we pulled over and
>checked oil. Oil was full abd when we started we heard a light ticking
>sound.

How often have you been changing the oil on the vehicle? Have you been
careful and religious about it? Every 3,000 miles?

When you had the lube job done, did they use a good quality filter or
a cheap one?

>Stopped again and the light went off and no sound but we were
>concerned.

It's a concern, yes.

>Brought it into a mechanic and he said he saw sludge. Told us he needs
>to replace the pump, flush, and replace the radiator and for 2200 it
>would be a temp patch. Or we could replace the engine.

What does the radiator have to do with anything? Or was he saying the
sludge was caused by a gasket leak?

>Anyone have any ideas on this one?? Thanks for your help!

If you have sludge in the pan, it's usually caused by not changing your
oil frequently enough. It sounds like something briefly clogged the
pick-up tube on the oil pump, if the problem went away when you shut
off. I would definitely pull the pan, clean everything out, make
sure the pick up tube and screen are open, pull the valve covers and
make sure everything in there is clean, then put in a high-grade oil
with strong solvent properties (or a cleaning additive) and run it
for a while, then change the oil after around 2,000 miles and see what
comes out.

A collapsed filter can also cause this sort of problem too, though.
But again, the mechanic should have seen it if that was the case.

Sludge is bad. Sludge will ruin your engine. Your job is to keep it
out before it does.

NOW, if on the other hand, he saw sludge because there was water in
the oil because of an engine problem, that is a different matter
altogether, and that's a case of finding what gasket is bad and replacing
it. Unless the block is cracked in which case you need a new car,
but he would have mentioned that if he'd have seen it.
--scott

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"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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