I have a 2002 Dodge Dakota 3.9 v6. Have good oil pressure until it warms up then it drops down really low not low enough for the idiot light to come on but very close. I had another Dakota same year same motor that did the same thing. It has 224,000 miles on it has did the other one. Is this something common for Dakota’s or is it just that the motor is worn out? What could I try for fixing it besides another motor?
Do nothing until you have to, unless you are towing or carrying heavy loads I have seen engines go for years like this. It is not economical to repair it. If the light is not coming on at hot idle what directed you to seek out a “Problem”?
Even if the light starts flickering at idle realis that there is almost no load at idle. When did we get the expectation that an engine would not be almost worn out at 225,000 miles. I remember when people got very excited if their car made it 100,000 miles before being junked.
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How do you know it has good oil pressure cold, and really low pressure when warm if the idiot light doesn’t come on?
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I found a lot of similar posts on a dakota site and scattered around the net. Just google it. Most were related to sludging plugging up pump intake. Maybe this engine is more prone to that, what has your oil change regimen been? If it was mine, I might be inclined to try an engine cleaner. It’s cheap and done right unlikely to cause any harm. Next I might drop the pan to look around and potentially replace the pump.
You owned 2 trucks with the same problem at similar mileage. And the problem is primarily related to worn bearings. I’d say your maintenance routine is very consistant and your results are as well.
Keep driving it. Try the flush as suggested. It can’t hurt. I’d suggest running a bit heavier oil. If it was running 10w30, switch to 10w40.
It’s a gauge that reads oil pressure
Thank you. I thought maybe running a thicker oil might help.
Thank you. I’m not sure how often the oil got changed. I’ve only have had the truck for about a month. From the looks of things previous owners didn’t take care of it. I’m going to do an oil change on it and maybe try using a thicker oil.
What product would folks here recommend to try and remove sludge?