E4ODnut
Member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2016
- Posts
- 31
- Reaction score
- 3
- Location
- Gibsons BC Canada
- Ram Year
- 1995 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4
- Engine
- 8L V10
As my signature indicates, I have a ’95 2500 4x4 with the 488 V10 and a 5 speed manual transmission. I had been looking for a truck like this in good condition for some time, but the V10/manual combination seems to be very rare, at least in this part of the world. When I found this truck it was the first example I could find, but unfortunately the poor old thing is very rusty. It seemed to run and drive OK, so I bought it for the drive train with the intention of doing a power train swap if I could find a 2500 4x4 with a good body and frame but the wrong engine /transmission combination.
Anyway, I don’t drive the truck much, but turns out it, burns oil. A lot of oil. About 1 litre per 500 Km local driving, which is mostly town and country at max 80 Kph and lots of hills. It starts and runs fine, with one minor exception, which I will discuss later.
There are no undesirable engine noises.
It does not go through coolant, and there is no sign of coolant in the oil.
It burns a lot of fuel, about 8-10 MPG Imperial, but I expected that. It seems to have no shortage of power.
The spark plugs are all as grey as a badger’s tail with no noticeable difference between plugs.
The engine is dirty with evidences of oil leaks just about everywhere, but there are no drips on the pavement when parked and no wet indications on the undercarriage.
It does not smoke on start up, or under steady load or acceleration, but it does smoke on deceleration. If you are going down a long steep grade, it will smoke enough to do a WW2 convoy escort laying a smoke screen proud.
I did some tests to see if I could find out where the problem is. The tests were performed at sea level +~300 ft.
Just to determine if the bottom end was OK I installed a known accurate oil pressure gauge and checked pressures at operating temperature. They were within factory spec at ~ 20 PSI @ 500 RPM, 30 PSI @ 750 RPM, and 53 PSI @ 3000 RPM (10w30 oil).
Manifold vacuum at 750 RPM is 19.5 In Hg. At 3000 RPM no load it is 23.5 In Hg
Compression spec is between 170 and 190 PSI. Here are the results, engine warm:
#1 - 179 PSI
#3 - 172 PSI
#5 - 179 PSI
#7 - 175 PSI
#9 - 175 PSI
#2 - 170 PSI
#4 - 177 PSI
#6 - 173 PSI
#8 - 171 PSI
#10 - 169 PSI
I also did a cylinder leak down test with my DIY leak down tester. 2 gauge with a 0.040” orifice. Using 80 PSI reference pressure. Most of the leakage was heard from the open oil filler on the right rocker cover. I did not hear any leakage at the tail pipe, I did hear some leakage at the throttle body, but thinking about it later, this may have been from the crankcase vent orifice as I neglected to disconnect that from the intake manifold. Here are the results, engine warm:
#1 – 5%
#3 – 20%
#5 – 1.25%
#7 – 7.5%
#9 – 13.75%
#2 – 5%
#4 – 20%
#6 – 27.5%
#8 – 10%
#10 – 3.75%
These results aren’t great, but I don’t think they are bad enough to justify the quantity of oil use. I suspect it is a combination of worn rings and worn valve guides with hard seals, but again, that is a lot of oil to be going through.
The other minor problem I mentioned is that when warm, the idle will surge.
When first started it will idle at ~850 RPM as smooth as a kitten, but as it warms up, and the idle speed drops, it suddenly starts to surge a bit. It idles at ~ 750 RPM and ~14.7 AFR. It will gradually lose revs and the AFR will increase to ~ 16.5 and it will start to miss, at which time a correction is made and the speed increases back to ~750 RPM and ~14.7 AFR with a smooth idle. The cycle takes about 10 seconds. It is not throwing any codes.
All of this has me puzzled, and I sure would appreciate some opinions.
Thanks.
Anyway, I don’t drive the truck much, but turns out it, burns oil. A lot of oil. About 1 litre per 500 Km local driving, which is mostly town and country at max 80 Kph and lots of hills. It starts and runs fine, with one minor exception, which I will discuss later.
There are no undesirable engine noises.
It does not go through coolant, and there is no sign of coolant in the oil.
It burns a lot of fuel, about 8-10 MPG Imperial, but I expected that. It seems to have no shortage of power.
The spark plugs are all as grey as a badger’s tail with no noticeable difference between plugs.
The engine is dirty with evidences of oil leaks just about everywhere, but there are no drips on the pavement when parked and no wet indications on the undercarriage.
It does not smoke on start up, or under steady load or acceleration, but it does smoke on deceleration. If you are going down a long steep grade, it will smoke enough to do a WW2 convoy escort laying a smoke screen proud.
I did some tests to see if I could find out where the problem is. The tests were performed at sea level +~300 ft.
Just to determine if the bottom end was OK I installed a known accurate oil pressure gauge and checked pressures at operating temperature. They were within factory spec at ~ 20 PSI @ 500 RPM, 30 PSI @ 750 RPM, and 53 PSI @ 3000 RPM (10w30 oil).
Manifold vacuum at 750 RPM is 19.5 In Hg. At 3000 RPM no load it is 23.5 In Hg
Compression spec is between 170 and 190 PSI. Here are the results, engine warm:
#1 - 179 PSI
#3 - 172 PSI
#5 - 179 PSI
#7 - 175 PSI
#9 - 175 PSI
#2 - 170 PSI
#4 - 177 PSI
#6 - 173 PSI
#8 - 171 PSI
#10 - 169 PSI
I also did a cylinder leak down test with my DIY leak down tester. 2 gauge with a 0.040” orifice. Using 80 PSI reference pressure. Most of the leakage was heard from the open oil filler on the right rocker cover. I did not hear any leakage at the tail pipe, I did hear some leakage at the throttle body, but thinking about it later, this may have been from the crankcase vent orifice as I neglected to disconnect that from the intake manifold. Here are the results, engine warm:
#1 – 5%
#3 – 20%
#5 – 1.25%
#7 – 7.5%
#9 – 13.75%
#2 – 5%
#4 – 20%
#6 – 27.5%
#8 – 10%
#10 – 3.75%
These results aren’t great, but I don’t think they are bad enough to justify the quantity of oil use. I suspect it is a combination of worn rings and worn valve guides with hard seals, but again, that is a lot of oil to be going through.
The other minor problem I mentioned is that when warm, the idle will surge.
When first started it will idle at ~850 RPM as smooth as a kitten, but as it warms up, and the idle speed drops, it suddenly starts to surge a bit. It idles at ~ 750 RPM and ~14.7 AFR. It will gradually lose revs and the AFR will increase to ~ 16.5 and it will start to miss, at which time a correction is made and the speed increases back to ~750 RPM and ~14.7 AFR with a smooth idle. The cycle takes about 10 seconds. It is not throwing any codes.
All of this has me puzzled, and I sure would appreciate some opinions.
Thanks.