Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) oil pressure

[zues]

When I start my truck in the morning, the oil pressure takes about 6 seconds to move. The temp outside is only 50 degrees. After the truck warms up it still takes about 3 or 4 seconds to move on the needle. Should I worry about it or what should I do.

 

[y-knot]

The oil pressure on your truck is regulated/controlled by the on board computer, a signal is sent from the sender indicating you have at least 6 psi of oil pressure, and the computer sends a signal to the gage, showing the oil pressure in the normal operating range. The reading you get is not a true reflection of your engines oil pressure at all. Instead it is simple a pre-determined setting, that Dodge came up with to give the user some peace of mind. It is entirely possible, and has happened many times, that your engine can experience a oil pressure related problem, and the gage will continue to read normal. For who knows what reason, Dodge decided to have there gages programed to always read normal, weather the engine is normal or not. I had a Dodge run completely out of water and the engine got so hot, it cracked the head in three spots, while the temperature gage and oil pressure gage continued to read normal. I ask the head mechanic at the dealership why, and that is when he informed me that all gages in Dodge vehicles are basically dummy gages. They no more reflect what the engine is doing then the radio does.

If you noticed, my signature shows a vast array of gages mounted in my truck. I do not like being kept in the dark, nor do I like being deceived or lied to by a gage that has been programed to read normal. All I can say is, if you are truly concerned about your engines vitals, then get yourself some quality gages and monitor the engine independently. Good Luck

 

[JGheen]

Originally posted by y-knot

The oil pressure on your truck is regulated/controlled by the on board computer, a signal is sent from the sender indicating you have at least 6 psi of oil pressure, and the computer sends a signal to the gage, showing the oil pressure in the normal operating range. The reading you get is not a true reflection of your engines oil pressure at all. Instead it is simple a pre-determined setting, that Dodge came up with to give the user some peace of mind. It is entirely possible, and has happened many times, that your engine can experience a oil pressure related problem, and the gage will continue to read normal. For who knows what reason, Dodge decided to have there gages programed to always read normal, weather the engine is normal or not. I had a Dodge run completely out of water and the engine got so hot, it cracked the head in three spots, while the temperature gage and oil pressure gage continued to read normal. I ask the head mechanic at the dealership why, and that is when he informed me that all gages in Dodge vehicles are basically dummy gages. They no more reflect what the engine is doing then the radio does.

If you noticed, my signature shows a vast array of gages mounted in my truck. I do not like being kept in the dark, nor do I like being deceived or lied to by a gage that has been programed to read normal. All I can say is, if you are truly concerned about your engines vitals, then get yourself some quality gages and monitor the engine independently. Good Luck

Your kidding, right?? Why would Dodge do that?? They would be better off not installing a gauge at all. You heard this from a tech at the dealer or something?? Sorry, but I just find that hard to believe(not calling you a liar, just don't understand that). There has to be some kind of line that goes to the gauge that is plumbed into the engine pressure.

 

[britannic]

The oil pressure sender's voltage signal is routed to the PCM, where it's interpreted according to it's internal programming and then it outputs the translated voltage to dashboard gauge. The Cummins can register over 100psi cold, so the computer holds off sending the gauge a signal, until it drops to a preset threshold (this is based on what I have read on these forums).



For my application, I'm wiring directly to my gauge from the sender, so I can get a true picture of what's going on.

 

[y-knot]

True fully I could care less what you think, stick your head in the sand like the rest! I have owned 4 Dodges in the last 8 years and have had two blow-up. I was told this "YES" my the head mechanic at two different Dodge dealers. Get out a real Shop manual and read what the on-board computers are designed to do. Why the hell do the think I have 9 gages in my truck, cause they look pretty? I don't think so. Yes Dodge does this, Why??? It would seem to me that if there was a gage(even if it is a dumby one) tell the driver everything is A-OK, they were would be alot less service calls under warranty. Can see where I am going hear Hoss?? Can you smell at something stinks?

If I was Dodge, maybe I would think this scam to be Genius, I am not sure, but as a consumer, I find it deceitful. You can take it or leave it, **** I don't care. Find a shop Manuel and READ

 

[Joe G.]

I wonder if the gauges in my '95 are that way. I had a hole in my radiator hose once. The temp gauge hit the peg. I also have marine alarm pressure sensors on my lube oil and fuel. Anything below 10 PSI lights up a big red light. In testing this thing I independantly tested my oil pressure and fuel pressure. The light is on when I start and goes out when pressure hits 10 PSI on both of them. Each one worked correctly tested separately. I'm wondering if the '95 is before they started doing that with gauges. I am also going to use a marine alarm temp sensor for coolant. I'm afraid I won't notice the feeble lights on the dash until too late.



Any comments on this one y-knot?

 

[JGheen]

Take it easy, there y-knot. Like I said, I wasn't calling you a liar or someone who doesn't know what their talking about, I just have never heard of such a thing. But that is quite an interesting fact, I'll have to look into it and get some literature on that.



So, now that I am aware of this I am going to buy a couple of Auto Meter gauges for oil pressure, water pressure and temp. Do you know where I can plumb these gauges into, so I can basically just run an -3 AN hose from the block to the gauge?? Is there a plug somewhere on the engine that I can tap a pipe boss fitting into, like maybe on the oil filter housing or run tee off the turbo oil feed line??

 

[DSiemens]

Please correct me if I am wrong. The oil sender, false readings, has previously been discussed here. I thought it was only a problem on 1998. 5 and newer trucks.

 

[JGheen]

Originally posted by DSiemens

Please correct me if I am wrong. The oil sender, false readings, has previously been discussed here. I thought it was only a problem on 1998. 5 and newer trucks.

98. 5 24Vs right, not early 98 12Vs??

 

[DSiemens]

Yes, 1998. 5 = 24 val.

 

[y-knot]

True fully I could care less what you think, stick your head in the sand like the rest! I have owned 4 Dodges in the last 8 years and have had two blow-up. I was told this "YES" my the head mechanic at two different Dodge dealers. Get out a real Shop manual and read what the on-board computers are designed to do. Why the hell do the think I have 9 gages in my truck, cause they look pretty? I don't think so. Yes Dodge does this, Why??? It would seem to me that if there was a gage(even if it is a dumby one) tell the driver everything is A-OK, they were would be alot less service calls under warranty. Can see where I am going hear Hoss?? Can you smell at something stinks?

If I was Dodge, maybe I would think this scam to be Genius, I am not sure, but as a consumer, I find it deceitful. You can take it or leave it, **** I don't care. Find a shop Manuel and READ

 

[y-knot]

I am not sure if your 95 had that problem or not, It seems to be the standard practice for Doge (Chrysler,Plymouth, Dodge). I have on had to worry about one truck, and that is the one in the sig. My wife had the other three vehicles and since that time she has sworn to never again own an American car, she now drives a Honda and is pleased as punch. On her cars the gages were the same, the temperature gage was designed to never read higher then NORMAL operating range. The first time I new about there odd practice of deceiving the public, was when her head cracked and the water ran completely out. The mechanic that worked on the car, came over and asked if we had been using synthetic oil? I told him yes we always do. He said he knew it, because he had never seen a engine melt down like this one and still turn over. We got to talking and he told me about the gages and how they do not register the right data. I was curious because my wife had committed that the oil and water temp gages were showing normal. After that I started reading into it, we traded that car off because she (and I) had no confidence in it's lasting. Next car has almost the same thing happen, block heater pops out going down the expressway and motor melts down. That is two cars in two years with less then 20Kmiles on each. Third car now, why we kept going back I do not know, probably me be a "loyal Dodge owner". It starts having troubles with less then 5,000 miles, not temperature related but enough to say ENOUGH. Go to Honda and have not had a issue in two years. The car is twenty times the car of Dodge, and accelerates, stops,and gets better mileage. We both vial to never again by Dodge.

I monitor all the vitals and then a few out of curiosity. I have all the confidence in the world with my Dodge, but then again I have replaced most items of concern with aftermarket parts. I do plan on keeping my truck till one of us are to rotten to be driven, if I had not planed on that I would never have stuck so much time and money into it. Good luck

 

[bmoeller]

Originally posted by Joe G.

I wonder if the gauges in my '95 are that way.

I believe they are. I know they had a reflash for the (some of the) gauges. Oil psi being one of them. If the gauge showed what it should, the needle would move up and down with the engine RPMs. Mine barely moves at all once it says I have 40 or so psi. When the oil is cold (particularly in the winter), it should read pretty high 'til the oil warms up.

 

[ndurbin]

I'd haveta say my gauges work atleast all of them but the fuel tank level gauge. I don't know about that whole dumby gauge thing, but if you want to put all those gauges in your truck be my guest. Just don't expect everybody to do it because you do.



Now one thing I wondered during reading this post was, why not sue dodge for all the problems? Since they obvilously caused them from the use of dumby gauges.



I've seen some thick BS being laid on people but this takes the cake.

 

[JGheen]

No answer

So, does anyone know an answer to my question?? Can you run an Auto Meter oil pressure gauge that is tapped into somewhere on the engine?? And if so, where can I tap into to run a -3 AN line directly to the gauge and totally get rid of the dummy gauge and run a real gauge?? Tee off the turbo oil pressure feed?? Can I run it off the stock oil pressure line and just tap into the line going to the sending unit??

Thanks, Joe

 

[britannic]

YMMV, but you may want to avoid tapping into the turbo feed in case of a failure in the tee, since the turbo is a lot more sensitive to oil pressure loss.



There's a tap on the oil filter housing itself, or you might consider installing a tee fitting into the OEM oil pressure sender location, so you can keep the sender.

 

[Joe G.]

bmoeller,



My gauge does respond to oil pressure changes. If the engine is cold the oil pressure at idle shows the needle on the high side of the 40 PSI mark just touching the mark. After it is warm it idles with the needle about the width of the needle below the 40 PSI mark. At higher RPM it always reads a little bit more than the cold idle reading. That appears to be the pop off point for the relief valve in the oil pump.



The temp gauge will go up if I am towing and pulling a hill. Last year on Whitebird Grade in ID it was close to being pegged before I noticed it and backed off a little.



These '95 gauges appear to be responding as they should for the condtions observed.

 

[Joe G.]

britannic,



When I installed the sensor for my marine oil pressure alarm I got a short grease gun hose. I put that where the stock oil pressure sender is. Then I put a T fitting on the end of the hose and mounted the stock pressure sensor and the marine alarm sensor. I used a tie wrap to secure the hose. That setup has been on my truck for well over a 100K miles with no trouble.

 

[JGheen]

Originally posted by britannic

YMMV, but you may want to avoid tapping into the turbo feed in case of a failure in the tee, since the turbo is a lot more sensitive to oil pressure loss.



There's a tap on the oil filter housing itself, or you might consider installing a tee fitting into the OEM oil pressure sender location, so you can keep the sender.

Where is the OEM oil pressure location going to the sender?? On the block somewhere? Driver side, passenger side?? I think tapping into the oil fitler housing wouldn't be a bad idea. Has anyone done this oil pressure gauge method I am asking about and if so, pics or explainations of location would be greatly appreciated.

 

[britannic]

Just behind the steering pump on the driver's side (assuming left hand drive).