2001 Dodge Ram 1500 oil pressure issue

I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 4WD 5.9L V-8 Magnum engine, 143000 miles. My daughter drove my truck, brought it home and told me the oil pressure was high. I started the truck and watched the oil pressure gauge move to approximately 70 and it stays there whether at idle or when I apply the gas pedal. A month ago I ran Sea Foam through the block to clean out the engine and think it might be a related problem. I also run Marvel Mystery Oil through my gas tank . So, oil has been changed along with the filter (Wix), to see if maybe the oil filter was the culprit...nope, fresh oil and filter still registers 70. Changed out the oil pressure switch and still no luck, pressure stays at 70. Now I am moving on to dropping the oil pan and cleaning up everything. While in there, I am going to install a newer high volume oil pump. Has anyone had similar problems? To have the oil pressure stick at 70 is a bit baffling for me...I am thinking that possibly when I ran the Sea Foam through the engine, residual sludge finally broke free and is now causing me these issues. No other options at this point from what I can see. Ordering a new oil pump and have to wait until next weekend to give it a go. Any words of advice or experience with this issue would be much appreciated...

personally i would run a mechanical gauge to double check the reading is accurate before I go dropping pans or worrying too much.. the sending unit may be going bonkers like others have had happen..

Thanks for the voice of reason...I am getting an oil pressure test kit from Harbor Freight and checking the pressure at the source...changing the pressure switch gave me the same results...startup looks normal, pressure is normal then slowly moves to 70 and stays there regardless of input. The Sea Foam cleanout most certainly did its job...my oil was darker than normal after the application and if the pressure is still 70 then I suppose the pan is coming off...I was thinking if it was a wiring harness issue I would have fluctuations or simply no reading at all...a steady pressure at 70 kind of leaves me two things now from what I can gather: bad console gauge or the pan has sludge and it is dorking with the oil pump...could be the screen or pickup tube too perhaps...if it comes to pan being dropped, I will post the outcome...thanks again...

Moves to 70 psi and stays there. If the mech gauge shows this to be true chances are you have a plugged oil passage, not good at all. Pulling the pan and changing the pump will not solve that problem. You would need to tear down the motor and have it hot tanked to unplug the oil passages. FYI 80 psi is max for these motors, depending on where the plug is you might be starving the rest of the motor/bearings of oil.

Good luck with your test and post up your findings when the mech test is done.

Brother Man, I hope it isn't a plugged oil passage...is it possible the pressure relief valve is stuck or the spring is broken (a serviceable part of the oil pump), from my research, the normal pressure is a low of 6psi at idle to a max of range of 30 - 80 PSI at 3000 RPM (pretty wide range)...if the mechanical gauge shows 70 then I will either run some ATF through the oil or a can of Sea Foam and let it do its work for a few minutes then drain the oil, drop the pan and inspect everything...I am not looking forward to dropping the pan because of what I might find but it has to be done...hopefully, scrubbing everything down and replacing the oil pump with a higher volume unit solves the issue...fml...

So, got the mechanical pressure reading: steady 64...when I apply gas pedal input the mechanical gauge moves to 67-68...looks like the oil pan is coming off and I am installing a high volume oil pump and while in there will change the rear main seal for good measure since the pan will be off...anyone have any thoughts about the pressure reading? Friday evening or Saturday morning the deed is happening...will post updates after the repair unless someone has a fix in mind...

Oil Pump swapped out...

So, went to a buddy's house, aka NASCAR garage, drained the oil, which didn't look bad, swapped out the filter (again), dropped the oil pan and didn't find any large pieces of sludge, metal or anything to make me alarmed, changed out the oil pump with a Melling High Volume Pump, scrubbed the hell out of the pan, pickup tube and screen. The screen had a few small pieces/specks of "sludge" if you will, changed the rear main seal (two piece) which was kind of a pain in the backside, buttoned everything back up, no oil leaks so far. Started the truck and the pressure went back to 64...let the truck warm up and the pressure went down to 40...drove about 3.5 miles to fill up the truck and as I pulled into the pumps, truck was at idle and the pressure dropped to 28 or so...revved up the truck, oil pressure went up as usual and dropped back to an idle reading of 28 or so...filled up the truck, drove another .5 miles, pulled over and let the truck sit for about 20 minutes...started up the truck and idle reading of 28...drove the truck 8 miles home and along the way the pressure was between 45-68 or so (estimating with the stock gauge), pressure drops to 28 or so at idle...what I am guessing is that this is my new normal. I am running full synthetic 10W-30 and a Wix oil filter. I have read that full synthetic isn't recommended for the 5.9L Magnum engine as it doesn't clean like it should...anyone have any thoughts on that? Also, I guess I should be happy with high oil pressure considering my truck is 13 years old and has 143k on it. I live on a small farm and tow a lot of stuff so as long as this old truck is pumping oil, I suppose everything is getting lubricated like it should. Still thinking about ****-canning my dash gauge and installing a mechanical oil gauge that runs directly from my block to my cab so I can get an honest reading...with all of the words I passed, does anyone have inputs? I appreciate everyone weighing in

i ran a semi syn in my '00 5.2 and am running at highest (by factory gauge guess) 70 ish psi at 75 mph and around 2700 rpm... let her back down to 70 and o/d kick in rpms around 1700 and it runs about 45-50 psi i have 250k on it lol all in all my op is you are good...

I also run a full syn oil 5w40. a mech gauge in the truck is a great upgrade and I will not be without one.


How to install gauges in a A pillar pod, a basic diy by Merc225hp use at own risk.

As we all know the factory sending units suck, so this is a way to install your new mechanical oil pressure gauge and keep the stock sending unit so as no cel is triggered.

Mechanical oil pressure gauge, I used Mopar performance mech oil psi gauge part number 77060034

All fittings are 1/8 NPTF

Three compression fittings are needed.

Thread tape is not to be used on the fittings, use a small dab of pipe dope or thread sealant. Nothing (sealant or tape) is to be used on the compression fittings.

Flexline kit and fittings.




There are many ways to make up the oil tree but these are the parts I had around.



Clean the area as best you can around the org sending unit, remove the org sending unit with the sending unit socket. Install the oil tree in it’s place and start to run the flex oil line. The line uses compression fittings do not over tighten them, just snug and 1/16 turn.

In this pix (below) you can see the oil tree installed and the org oil sending unit zip tied to the heater hose. For those with the org keg style intake you will be almost working blind.




Here you can see the org oil pressure sending unit zipped tied to the heater hose, also take note of the ground wire that needs to be fixed.



The org sending unit needs a ground wire, I just used a small hose clamp to hold the wire to the sending unit; then find a good spot to ground the wire to.

This is under the hood driver’s side, I used a small punch to make a hole in the rubber grommet, and then feed the oil line and wires through it.




This is under the dash, oil line running under dash and up into the fuse box area.




This is the fuse box; you can see the oil line going up and through it. This was done just for the photo, I moved the oil line out of the fuse panel after the photo was taken.




This is where the oil line and any other wiring will come up through; it is then routed up and into the gauge pod.




I used the Accel 2650-1157-00 dual gauge pod it is a cover not a complete a pillar, there is supposed to be a spot to run wires and lines between the two pieces; it does not work, I had to cut the org pillar (holes right behind the pods) so I could run the wires through it and behind.

Note; The red circle is irelavent in the pix for this diy.




INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
Full Pillar
For all model Gauge Pods
2650-1157-00
NOTE: Due to normal manufacturing processes you may have “flashing” (small fibers of plastic) around the pod holes. Once the gauge(s) are installed in the pod you will not be able to see the “flashing.”
Air Bag Warning: A-pillar gauge mounts should never be installed over an A- pillar or “curtain-side” airbags.
1. Your new A-pillar cover installs over the stock A-pillar. There is no need to replace the stock pillar.
2. Remove the stock A-pillar.
* For Dodge Ram with Infinity speaker, remove speaker from A-pillar. Cut or grind down the raised speaker portion of stock A-pillar to allow the mounting of new A-pillar cover and gauges.
Note: The other option is to purchase and install the base model A-pillar plastic from your local Dodge dealer. This will save the extensive modification made to the original speaker fitted pillar. You can order the original A-pillar from your local Dodge dealer.
3. Hold the A-Pillar cover in mounting position on the A-pillar. Slight modifications (trimming) of the A-pillar cover may be required for a perfect fit in some applications. Drill 3/16" holes through the four corners of both the A-pillar cover and A-pillar.
4. Install gauges (and/or speaker) in A-pillar cover. No retaining hardware is needed to hold gauge(s) or speaker. The gauges are press fit and the speaker snaps in place.
5. The A-pillar cover has clearance for gauge lines to be run down the back and exit through the bottom. Secure wiring and tubing to the back of the new A-pillar cover. Make sure gauge lines do not interfere with fit. If interference occurs create an opening in the stock A-pillar for the gauge lines to pass through. Secure gauge lines to the back side of the stock A-pillar.

Thanks for the step by step

I appreciate the walkthrough on the gauges...I will have to give this a go...does your original gauge still work and if so, how does the pressure reading differ from your mechanical gauge? I also changed my valve cover gaskets today along with replacing my upper and lower radiator hoses, radiator housing and thermostat. The valve covers on a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L Magnum 4WD will test a man's patience...luckily I am only 5'3 and can fit inside the engine area (with some contortions)...I had my patience tested for sure...had to have a friend provide another pair of hands, without help it would have sucked exponentially...no more leaks...finally...swapped out the thermostat with a 160 degree unit and replaced the housing too which stopped that leak too...truck runs nice and cool as I live in Eastern New Mexico on a small farm and it is hot, dry, and dusty...I haul a lot of hay and horses...am running a thorough radiator flush through it...100 miles before I drain and flush again...still need to swap out spark plug wires but will likely wait until I changes the plugs again...installed a Spectre Cold Air Intake, replacing the OEM unit that was cracked and on its last legs...Cleaned the carb really well with carb cleaner and am pretty happy with the Friday/Saturday maintenance...I learned a lot about this truck and am keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have any issues pop up anytime soon...I will keep an eye on the oil pressure until I can install the mechanical modification...thanks again to everybody that offered advice!

Hey Merc
Is the ground wire for the original sensor because it no longer is grounded by insertion into the block? My sons truck runs 0 or 110 on the factory gauge. What are your thoughts on just putting in a mechanical gauge and forgoing the factory sensor/gauge. We have put in a new sending unit already and same result.

Is there something under the dash I should be looking at? At times the gauge will read properly but very infrequent and sporadically.

Thanks,
Scott.

spikeman66 said:

I appreciate the walkthrough on the gauges...I will have to give this a go...does your original gauge still work and if so, how does the pressure reading differ from your mechanical gauge? I also changed my valve cover gaskets today along with replacing my upper and lower radiator hoses, radiator housing and thermostat. The valve covers on a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L Magnum 4WD will test a man's patience...luckily I am only 5'3 and can fit inside the engine area (with some contortions)...I had my patience tested for sure...had to have a friend provide another pair of hands, without help it would have sucked exponentially...no more leaks...finally...swapped out the thermostat with a 160 degree unit and replaced the housing too which stopped that leak too...truck runs nice and cool as I live in Eastern New Mexico on a small farm and it is hot, dry, and dusty...I haul a lot of hay and horses...am running a thorough radiator flush through it...100 miles before I drain and flush again...still need to swap out spark plug wires but will likely wait until I changes the plugs again...installed a Spectre Cold Air Intake, replacing the OEM unit that was cracked and on its last legs...Cleaned the carb really well with carb cleaner and am pretty happy with the Friday/Saturday maintenance...I learned a lot about this truck and am keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have any issues pop up anytime soon...I will keep an eye on the oil pressure until I can install the mechanical modification...thanks again to everybody that offered advice!

Click to expand...

There is quite a variance between the two gauges, I only go by what the mech oil gauge is telling me.

Silver Tex said:

Hey Merc
Is the ground wire for the original sensor because it no longer is grounded by insertion into the block? My sons truck runs 0 or 110 on the factory gauge. What are your thoughts on just putting in a mechanical gauge and forgoing the factory sensor/gauge. We have put in a new sending unit already and same result.

Is there something under the dash I should be looking at? At times the gauge will read properly but very infrequent and sporadically.

Thanks,
Scott.

Click to expand...

Hey Scott

Yes that is why a ground wire is used. You need the factory gauge or you will get a cel. There is nothing under the dash to help you with this problem. After you install the mech gauge you might be changing the oil pump and pickup tube in the oil pan if the oil psi does not read better.