oil going bye bye

[tonysD99]

I have a 99 durango just bought with 44K. Went to check the oil for the first time and it was low, 1 qt low to be exact added oil to safe line on dip stick went on down the road. Thought i would recheck in few days, did and now it's a little bellow the safe line, whats the deal, NO smoke out of the tail pipe, NO spots in the drive way WHERES THE OIL GOING??? Could it be building (or turning itself) into this sludge that i've read about on this page. Can an engine flush work??? if so is 45K to late to run fully syntic oil.
thanks, tony

[Eric Tverberg]

It sounds like you have a bad intake manifold gasket. This is a fairly common problem (or so I'm told). Mine was just replaced EDIT: I forgot to mention that this results in an internal vacuum leak that sucks the oil out of the engine/sludges it up nicely on the inside...

Here is a link to the technical service bulletin that pertains to the Durangos: http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2000/09-05-00.htm

Mine was just replaced due to the same symptoms. The TSB discusses the other symptoms as well as the proper diagnosis and fix of this problem.

NOTE the PARTS LIST includes the intake manifold BOLTS. Be sure to replace these and not reuse them. This style of bolt is designed to stretch when torqued. They *should not* be reused.

[tonysD99]

thanks for the info i will try to run a vac test and see whats the deal
thankz again
tony

[tonysD99]

well i did the vac test and boy did the guage move fast so that would mean that the intake is bad right???

[Eric Tverberg]

Originally Posted by tonysD99

well i did the vac test and boy did the guage move fast so that would mean that the intake is bad right???

You are correct. The TSB states (in a round about way) that if tested correctly, the gauge will not register the vacuum buildup unless there is a problem with the gasket.

Regardless of whether you fix this yourself or have somebody else do the repair, have the intake manifold checked to make sure it is not warped. A machine shop should be able to do this for you pretty quickly - plus they can mill it if required.

Have fun with this repair...

P.S. In case you were curious, the other TSB referenced in the above link was in regards to spark plug wire routing. If your truck is missing/misfiring they say you should fix it first... I would *guess* that a misfire could also trigger some crankcase pressure increases from a plug firing at the wrong point in the cycle --- resulting in blow-by.

[Eric Tverberg]

I found the other TSB on spark plug wire routing for misfires / missing. Here it is: http://dodgeram.info/tsb/1998/18-48-98.htm

While I have not tried this, it looks like a pretty simply fix. Hopefully somebody else will find this useful.

[12sec5ltr]

Mine really sucks. 20 psi of vaccum when doing the testing I have all the symptoms so it looks like I'll be doing an intake gasket. What's the best of the best intake gasket.

[Eric Tverberg]

I'm sure other people have other preferences that they can share with you. But, personally, I would simply use the MOPAR part #'s specified in the TSB and replace/do everything they listed.

I would also do an oil change immeadiately after the repair and again at around 500 miles after the repair. You will be working on a dirty engine and there is a decent chance that crud can get in there - including pieces of gasket.

[tonka971]

I did this test on my 99 dodge durango and had a vacuum of about 15 in Hg. The guid talks about not having more then 3 psi. what does this mean?

[12sec5ltr]

Originally Posted by tonka971

I did this test on my 99 dodge durango and had a vacuum of about 15 in Hg. The guid talks about not having more then 3 psi. what does this mean?

It means you have to replace your intake manifold pan gasket. when you take the intake off you'll see the pan bolted to the bottom of it and you'll also see chunks of gasket sticking out where it is blown. I replaced mine with a friends help, took us half a day to do. dealer wanted like 800. I used felpro gaskets and have had great luck so far. no more adding 2 quarts of oil at every gas fill up.

[n8zdogg]

Would this be the same for 2001 durango w 5.9?