4.7 oil pressure?

[Red ram 66]

Hi guys I have a 2005 dodge ram and this problem just showed up the other day. When my truck is idling my check gauge light comes on and the oil pressure gauge drops to almost nothing. Im not sure if it would be the oil pump or just a sensor. Has anyone had this problem? Any help would be great.

 

[Hootbro]

You are going to have to go old school with a pressure gauge and adapter by taking off the sensor and hooking up where the sensor threads in and check pressure mechanically. If low or erratic, then you know you got a pump issue. If pressure is normal and steady, then call the sensor or possible associated wiring.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Those older 4.7s have issues with sludging up and/or having the paint on the inside of the oil pan delaminate, both of which will plug up the oil pick up tube.

The above post was right that to eliminate any question about the sensor’s accuracy you can put a mechanical gauge on a T in the hole the oil sensor screws in to and screw the sensor into the other slot off the T. That will give you accurate readings to know if theres an issue.

However, I would put money on the fact that you’re going to end up having to drop the pan and clean the pick up tube or replace it.

 

[DaBaws]

My experience with this issue was the timing tensioner .. The end of the Teflon looking tensioner actually broke off and immediately dropped into the oil pan . The tensioner end piece is just the right size to fit into the pickup tube and block the screen... This requires dropping the pan and pickup tube ...

 

[2003MOPAR]

I am having the same indication on my '03 4.7. I removed the oil pan in the hope that I would find a restriction in the pick-up tube. The pan was free of debris and the tube was clear and had the expected buildup of junk from 100k miles coating it. I will put it back together and replace the oil pressure sender next, which I hope is the fix. Otherwise I see no other alternative but to replace the pump. I could connect a pressure gauge to see the output of the pump but I see no point since the next step would be to remove the pan again while replacing the pump.

Since this problem appears to occur in our 4.7's I was curious to know what the final outcomes were when you guys chased this down. Did anyone have to replace the pump eventually or did the tube or pressure sender turn out to be the issue?

 

[fastf]

Cheapest is replace the oil sensor before doing this and that don't you think?

 

[spence340]

Why is it that many many people seem to have this problem and there is post after post about what to do or what people are going to do, clean oil tube and pan, completely rebuild the engine or replace the oil pump etc. but no one ever posts that they actually fixed the problem. Is this because it's hopeless or has everyone blown up there motors and moved on trying to forget they ever owned a 4.7L Dodge and are now on GMC or Ford sites?

 

[Hootbro]

Why is it that many many people seem to have this problem and there is post after post about what to do or what people are going to do, clean oil tube and pan, completely rebuild the engine or replace the oil pump etc. but no one ever posts that they actually fixed the problem. Is this because it's hopeless or has everyone blown up there motors and moved on trying to forget they ever owned a 4.7L Dodge and are now on GMC or Ford sites?

Because most members who post asking about it are newish low post count members looking to get out of the jam they are in now and not being a regular contributing member. Logical deductive reasoning can be assumed that the advice give if not sound, said newish members would be back asking for the next phase in helping.

You also have to realize that we are going on 18+ years of these early 4.7's that were a problem child and many RAM's that had them have gone to the junk yard for many other reasons besides the 4.7 being a sludger or other oil related issues.

This issue is generally a end of vehicle/motor life problem and not a upfront early ownership warranty problem.

 

[10 Break]

Cheapest is replace the oil sensor before doing this and that don't you think?

When my oil dropped to zero, I went at it with an oil pressure gauge in hand. As soon as I disconnected the electrical connector on the sensor, oil dripped out.....blown diaphragm I figured. Pressure checked fine and then replaced the sensor.

 

[spence340]

OK, I agree with everything you said but do you know of a post or an article that was written by a pro that can actually help me find a solution to the problem. I understand that the gauge is an on off switch that drops to L if it goes low but am I in danger of blowing my engine? Somewhere some how somebody must have found a fix for this problem but I can't find anything that shows that. My 02 4.7L has 144K and was randomly dropping to L and all I had to do was put it in neutral while idling to get it to stay up but now it sometimes drops to L while I'm driving which scares the crap out of me. I just put some money into this truck so I hope it's not the engine going south on me and I would rather not pull the pan etc. if I don't have too.

 

[spence340]

I guess I should start by replacing the sending unit or installing a mechanical gauge.

 

[spence340]

Do I need to order the special socket to remove the sending unit or can I just use a 1 1/16" socket?