removing oil pan from 91.5 D250

[284]

go an oil pressure problem of going to zero sometimes when I press the accelerator hard/rapid. I had a ranger that had a piece of gasket break free and clog the oil pick up, so I had to have someone yank the engine to remedy it.

Looks like just unbolt it and slide it back, but...

So....is it necessary to raise the engine to drop the oil pan ?

Thanks for all input.

[cummins king]

the only way i know of getting the pan off is to lift the motor, have fun and is its not in goo shape the pan replace it

[dpuckett]

First thing I'd do is verify that you have low oil pressure with a mechanical gauge plumbed into the oil filter housing (there's a 1/8NPT plug there, next to the turbo oil supply line), and go from there. Sending units in Mopars are notorious for going bad. Does it make any odd noises when you accelerate and the gauge drops?

Daniel

[284]

the only way i know of getting the pan off is to lift the motor

that's what I was afraid of. Mebbe just a slight tilt would do it. But first...

[cummins king]

but do what dt said and test to make sure its just not the guage

[284]

Does it make any odd noises when you accelerate and the gauge drops?

daniel, nope, no odd noises. I was thinking it was electrical due to the fact that the temp gauge moves faster than I think the needle should. I'd not think there'd be fluctuations that rapid in temp. Everything seems normal.

Ran seafoam in it, so the sucking down to 0 isn't as bad as it was when I first got it (had it for a few hundred miles). Oil pressure on needle guage went up to where it should be.

Just looked at it and it seems like once lowered about an inch, it should slide back...but there may be an oil pump or something preventing that?

[boostedve]

yea b 4 you go doing all the work of pullin the pan off put a mechanical gauge on it first. my truck with the factory gauge when i stop it shows 0 oil press. but with a mechanical gauge i have 60 psi...

[greasemonkey]

that sounds like when the oil psi sender went out in my 96, every time I'd hit the throttle quickly the guage would drop as soon as the tack picked up; but it hardly ever dropped all the way to zero and the idiot light never came on. it'd usually work cold but once the engine warmed up, the guage would read lower and act up more.

put a mechanical guage on that before you go pickin the engine up to pull the pan!!!

[284]

Thanks for all the replies.

I found an oil sending unit from napa for 25bucks. (autozone wanted 250 and they'd have to order it). I figure if it's something I'll probably have to replace anyway and I'd have to buy a mechanical guage to tell me to replace it, why buy both?

Now, to find out where in heck it is on the engine....

[PToombs]

Down behind the IP. Below and to the rear, almost to the fuel filter.

[TWorline]

Be careful on the reinstall, it is real tight in there with the PS pump. I tried one of the fancy sending unit sockets, did not like it, installed mine with a wrench.

[greasemonkey]

something you might want to do is go to sears and pick up an 1 n 1/16th deep socket, for a few bucks it makes it ridiculously easy to change that sender.

[284]

Went to lowes and all the deep sockets they had weren't deep enough.
They did have a knucklebuster (crescent wrench) that opened wide, was solid locking, and was only 8". That worked.

Put on the new one and it does the same thing, only more rapidly and doesn't go as high on the analog PSI scale. Oh well, tried to save money, but as usual, didn't work out.

So, here's my future:
1. Put said mechanical gauge on it. Problem goes away, I'm good.
If not,
2. drain oil and keeping plug off, run a gallon down it to see if it washes out anything. Reattach and refill. If problem goes away, I'm good.
if not,
3. Lower the pan and with a garden type spray pump and no nozzle, spray in a couple of quarts of Seafoam. (I use this because it's less viscous, so should aid in "cleaning out" the pan and any dingleberries). Problem goes away, I'm good.
if not...
4. Purchase a 12 pack of PBR, put milwaukee radio by vehicle, take rented engine hoist and disconnect everything I need to to raise the engine enough to pull the pan.

So.....whatchall think of that?

[cummins king]

put a free sign on it would be easyer, but i guess you'd have no way to get the beer,

[284]

put a free sign on it would be easyer, but i guess you'd have no way to get the beer,

You're right about the beer, however, I need to sink about $5k more into this truck before I surrender and give it away for $500.

btw, does cummins put some sort of screen on the oil pump intake?
I ask because I don't want anything to get sucked up and jammed up there.