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Car Forum / Dodge / Dodge Trucks / May 2007Oil Pressure Troubleshooting - 1995 Ram 3500 Van
If you wish to reply to me by email, please use the address "funkychateau at yahoo". My "reply-to" address here is a spam-blocker. Two weekends ago I picked up my girlfriend's 1995 Ram 3500 passenger van (V8, automatic) for an oil change. First thing I noticed was that the oil pressure gauge was reading near-zero (needle barely leaving it's peg when the engine was revved). The oil-pressure warning light was not coming on, though it illuminated with the key on and engine not running. Before driving away, I let the engine idle in her driveway for 10 or 15 minutes and listened for valve-train noises. Hearing nothing abnormal, I assumed the oil pressure was OK and the problem was with the instruments. It's been driven several hundred miles since, no new noises. Yesterday the oil-pressure light started coming on intermittently, and now it is illuminated most of the time, so the problem has become annoying enough to fix over the weekend. I only have the Haynes "Dodge and Plymouth Vans 1971-1999" repair manual, so it's understandably short on detail for her specific model. Actually, there appears to be nothing in there relating to this instrumentation or it's troubleshooting. Can anyone will a "real" service manual for this model van please tell me: 1) Where to access the oil-pressure sending unit. 2) Assuming it's electrical, what measurements can I make with engine off/on to check the sending unit? I have a digital multimeter. 3) If the sending unit is good, what is the recommended sequence of checks to further isolate the malfunction? All help appreciated. best regards, Martin Hi Martin, Actually your problem sounds very similar to my 1990 Dodge Dakota 4x4 (152,500 miles) that I bought new oh so many years ago...I too started showing low/no oil pressure but it wasn't making any strange sounds. I replaced the switch but still kept showing low/no oil pressure. All the while I was driving the truck as usual. Finally, because I'm not about to rebuild this engine, I switched oil to Mobil1 and everything has been fine ever since. I've put at lease 40,000 miles on the vehicle since I made the switch and it's running along just fine. I change oil and filter every 7,000 miles. I'm not one to praise any oil companies products but my Dakota seems happy with the switch and it is cheap when compared to an engine rebuild/replacement. In fact I've changed all my vehicles over to Mobil1. No, I don't work for ExxonMobil or any oil companies or automotive business'...I just happened to find a product that solved my problems...Maybe it'll do the same for you! Cordially, George > Hi Martin, > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > George George, Are you saying that you really had zero oil pressure, and switching oil brands brought it back to normal? thanks, Martin >> Hi Martin, >> [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Martin I'd almost bet the problem is a bad oil pressure sender. They use one sender for the light and gauge. Al As I mentioned in my previous post all I did was change the type of oil I use. My Dakota is a 3.9 liter V6 that has both an oil pressure light and gauge. Before I switched to Mobil1 I was getting ZERO oil pressure most of the time and at best VERY LOW oil pressure the rest of the time. Honest, I'm not trying to B.S. anyone. When I switched to Mobil1 I was doing it because a friend suggested I try it to at least extend the life of the engine until it succumbed to having no oil pressure. But, from the moment I started the engine after having changed the oil, it's been showing normal oil pressure. The gauge has not, once, gone down to ZERO since I made the switch nor has the light ever come back on except at first startup, momentarily. The only thing I changed on the engine, again as previously mentioned, was the oil pressure switch...and it made no difference! You can spend a lot of money chasing down a problem like this. I'm usually one who likes to know the root cause of a problem but, while I honestly don't know what caused the problem in the first place I do know that changing to Mobil1 solved my problem, or at least made it go away! I suppose if I read my last post and this one I'd be skeptical too! I don't blame anyone for questioning what I've written but I was just trying to relate what my experience has been with my long time own, I believe well cared for, 1990 Dodge Dakota 3.9L 4X4. All I know is a switch to synthetic oil (Mobil1) has made a very big difference in my vehicle and I tow and haul the usual things a person with a pickup tows and hauls! Cordially, George "> > > > Are you saying that you really had zero oil pressure, and switching > > oil brands brought it back to normal? > > > > thanks, > > > > Martin I have a question. I have a 99 Dodge Ram 3500, and it has started leaking oil thru the blow by valve. Any Ideas on how to fix it? MB >>> Hi Martin, >>> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Al OK, since I couldn't find any documentation or prior knowledge about locating or troubleshooting the sensor, I just used the "substitution method". I found a sending unit at a parts store for $13 instead of the $40 wanted by a dealer, bought it, and crawled all over the engine until I found a matching part to remove. BTW, for future reference, on this vehicle the oil-pressure sender is on top of the block, at the rear behind the intake. It's a black-plastic cylindrical unit with what appears to be a 1/4" pipe-threaded nipple on the end. Anyway, the original unit was apparently bad since replacing it cleared up the problem. best regards, > If you wish to reply to me by email, please use the address > "funkychateau at yahoo". My "reply-to" address here is [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > Martin |
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