2004 Ram 4x4 Oil Pump

[rickow1]

new to the forum and just getting my way around here. I'm sure this question has been asked several times before but I'm not having any luck with my search. If someone can direct me to the thread or sticky I would appreciate it.

I'm looking for some basic information and best known methods of replacing the oil pump on my 04 RAM 4x4. The Haynes manual tells me I have to raise the engine to get the pan off and was wondering if this is truly the case or is there a trick to getting this off. Like everything on this RAM lately I've started to get the oil pressure drop while idle. The level is good and oil isn't that old but I do have about 100k on this motor but 200k+ on the entire truck. I experience this about this time last year but my mechanic said that this was due to a sending unit issue and possibly the wrong synthetic blend viscosity being used at Valvoline. He changed the oil, filter and sending unit and all was good for a year. Should I "shotgun" the pump or change oil and sending unit again. These to me would be low hanging fruit and cheaper. If the motor needs to be raised to do this it's off to a new mechanic (long story).

I'm open to suggestions and welcome all input.

 

[hotkarl]

Is the motor a rebuild or a used engine?

You do have to jack up the block to remove the pan because of the pick up tube.
There's no getting around it.
If you are gonna attempt the work yourself I'd say go for it. If you intend to have a shop do the work it might be money wasted. It's not a cheap job.
If you are not capable or unwilling to do this yourself I would suggest you bring it to a competent and qualified mechanic to thoroughly evaluate the overall condition of the engine before you throw any money at it. The first thing to do is get a mechanical gauge on it to find out what the oil pressure really is.

 

[RonJon '06]

I was able to get the pick up tube unbolted and the oil pan off my '06 4x4 with the 5.7L without raising the block, but just barely. I don't think I could have got it back on though without raising the block. The only reason I dared taking it off was I knew the motor was coming out anyway.

I had a lot of sludge in the oil pan from running regular non-synthetic oil for 168K miles and I think the 4.7L is more prone to sludge than the Hemi so replacing the oil pump and cleaning out the oil pan and pick up screen would be well worth the hassle IMO. The hardest part for me was reinstalling the harmonic balancer since none of the tool kits I rented fit. I ended up pounding it on with a rubber mallet and using the new bolt praying I didn't strip the crankshaft threads.

 

[hotkarl]

4.7 is notorious for sludge. It's a slow painful death for these motors.
The motor should really be professionally diagnosed before throwing any substantial money at it.

 

[rickow1]

The motor was rebuilt by some outfit in Maryland about 80k miles ago. My thoughts are the sludge in the pan or carbon deposits could be clogging that pickup tube. My other question is regarding the oil pump, what I can tell is the pump seems to be more time consuming than the pan due to taking off the timing chains, valve covers, etc. Since doing one appears to be separate from the other is it safe to start at the oil pan and see what that pickup looks like? I can do the pan myself with a lift for the motor but the rest might be getting into territory that's better suited for the seasoned mechanic.

 

[RonJon '06]

I ended up taking off the oil pan shortly after my rebuild and when I looked at the pickup screen it was already partially clogged with lint and cat hair. I knew I wasn't working in a clean environment and I did try to keep everything wrapped up but still I was pretty surprised to see that. If you take off the oil pan to inspect the pickup then be sure to use RTV sealer at the front cover/block/oil pan junction when you reinstall it. Mine still has a small leak from not getting it sealed properly.