$20,000 Durango Yard Ornament

Purchased a '99 Durango new. It did fine for 104,000 miles, but then
started dropping oil pressure out of the blue. Normal to zero.
Luckily it did no damage the first few times it happened. I had a new
oil pump put on, the engine flushed and oil changed. Also had the
return flow screen changed out. Did fine for a couple of months, then
started the same song and dance. Not so lucky next time. I now am
the not-so-proud owner of a $20,000 yard ornament I still owe about
$5,000 on. Dodge, of course, refuses to acknlowledge that there is a
problem with their 5.2L engine. I am not going to drop another
DEFECTIVE 5.2L V8 in the Durango. Instead, I've decided to burn it on
a big bonfire and broadcast the event LIVE on the web. I'm in the
process of doing a popularity study to see if I can garner enough
support ($) to pull this off.

Check out http://www.batcity.com/bonfire .

In addtion to the information about my Bonfire Event, you will find
several links to some very interesting info. One of them is a link to
a service bulletin issued by Chrysler in Feb 2000 - a recall for a
faulty plenum gasket in '98 and '99 Durangos (among others). We were
never notified. (Dodge Bulletin 09-05-00 dated February 25, 2000,
addresses the replacement of the engine intake manifold plenum pan
gasket in certain 3.9L, 5.2L and 5.9L gas engines to solve a problem
with oil leakage.) The bulletin does not address all of the bad things
associated with this faulty gasket, one of which is the very premature
oil sludging it causes. That's what's happened to literally thousands
of these engines. You can find many documented cases by doing a
search on the 'net.

 

I understand that you have had a bad experience with this engine, but I
am thinking that you got stuck with the one bad egg out of the factory.
It is a proven fact that the 5.2 liter (also known as the 318) is a very
reliable engine. I have seen most of these engines go well over 200K
miles with minimal problems. 104K miles in about 5 years is a lot! Maybe
better preventative maintenence in the future?

Take it to a junkyard, get some money, buy something else.

 

As others have already said the 318 is a great engine. Put a new engine in
it and this time change the oil more than once every 50K miles...

 

104,000 miles and you say the engine is defective. How long would it
have had to last before needing work to be considered not defective?
200,000? 500,000? Forever?

What was the real cause of the problem? Obviously, it wasn't the oil
pump. I'm guessing that flushing the engine contributed to its early
demise. I think this is a stupid practice in general. If an engine is
sludged up enough to cause problems, then it should be torn down and
properly cleaned and overhauled.


Matt

 

What diagnostic procedure(s) did you use to determine that a new oil pump
and an engine flush would solve the problem? It sounds like you just
guessed, especially with this "engine flush" business. Your engine is not
a toilet; it doesn't need flushing unless antifreeze or some other serious
contaminant has got into the oil. I've lost count of how many engines I've
seen ruined by indiscriminate "flushing" procedures.

The fact that you "flushed" the engine also gives us a clue as to the
degree and nature of maintenance work you performed on the vehicle during
those 104,000 miles.

There is no "return flow screen". What did you have changed, exactly?

Yours is an excellent example of why the WAG method (Wild-Assed Guess) of
car repair can get very expensive in a very big hurry.

That's because there isn't a problem with their 5.2L engine. It's been
reliably and durably powering cars and trucks for decades.

Well, that's the first smart thing you've said in this whole post. Of
course you wouldn't go to the trouble of removing the old engine only to
install a defective replacement -- you'd want to select a *good*
replacement.

So you're a drama queen...

....and a panhandler...

....and a moron. First off, the plenum gasket would not cause your oil
pressure to go to zero. Secondly, a service bulletin is not the same as a
recall. You don't get notified of service bulletins; if your vehicle
experiences the problem outlined in the TSB, it is repaired according to
the TSB when you bring it in -- and usually this repair is covered by the
warranty. If your vehicle does not experience the problem described in the
TSB, then there's no issue.

When there is a recall, you get notified.

A faulty plenum gasket causes an oil leak. Period. It does not cause
"premature oil sludging" or any other "bad things".

You can also find many documented cases of alien abduction, ESP,
telekinesis and all sorts of other stuff...by doing a search on the net.

 

Stupid is as stupid does!

 

You'd think they could get an engine right after 40 years or so. Be sure and
waste plenty of gas on that fire. It's fitting.

 

Instead, I've decided to burn it on a big bonfire and broadcast the

THAT got me laughing!

Wonder if he's still planning to do it?

Besides, he bought it new in 1999. According to his post, he still owes
$5K. How long did he take that loan out for, anyway?

--Geoff

 

The 318 is one of the best engines ever made. I have met many Ford and
Chevy fanatics who admit that the 318 is the next best thing to
perpetual motion. Chrysler got it right back in 1958 when that engine
series was introduced. Methinks there is more to the story.

--

(Jim, single dad to Lesleigh [Autistic] 04/20/94)

"What, Me Worry?" A. E. Newman

Please note: All unsolicited e-mail sent to me may, at
my discretion, be posted in this newsgroup verbatim.

 

Did you ever bother to check the $15 oil pressure sending unit that
usually causes this problem? Did you bother to have it tested with a
mechanical oil pressure guage to confirm that the oil pressure is
actually low?

Because there IS no "problem" with the 5.2- its been around 45 years and
was one of the most reliable engines ever produced... by ANY car maker.

Even if yours is "defective" (which I doubt), the next one wouldn't be.

Instead, I've decided to burn it on

You're a jackass.

 

I doubt that he was really going to do it anyway. Just grovelling for
net.attention, and too ashamed to admit he didn't check the $15 oil
pressure sending unit before ASSuming the oil pressure was actually low.

 

You purchased it ~5 years ago and still owe 5 grand? *bogglesome*

What problem would that be?

That's nice. I am sure you'll be the only one watching unless you do
it in a populated area.

Sounds like an internet scam now.

A small leak won't cause a loss of oil pressure worth mentioning.
It makes a mess, that's all it does.

Ok, how does an oil *leak* cause oil sludge?

It sounds like your premature oil sludging occurs at 104,000 miles.
Engines aren't lubed for life. If you had to flush it with an oil
pump replacement you didn't take care of the engine in the first place.
What happened to your vehicle's engine points towards insufficent and
improper care of it. It sounds as if the oil was rarely changed and
it had a number of 'heart attacks' as sludge blocked passages, pickup
screen, etc. The new pump was able cope with it for a little while,
then it couldn't handle it either. The problem with flushing is that
it can move these globs of sludge around sending them to places where
they can really cause damage.

 

Sounds like 7 years, which is as insane as driving 104,000 miles without
properly maintaining your vehicle.


Matt

 

waaaahhhhhhhhhh!

 

Great response! That was my point, but it was badly made, I'm afraid. I was
trying too hard to be funny. I was trying to say in my post the 318 might be
the oldest engine design in all of production. That might require some
judgement call as to whether current Chevy or Chrysler small blocks are the
"same thing" they were in the 50's, but anyway there's clearly nothing wrong
with it.

 

I had a 77 Fury Sport with a 318 in it and I beat the living shit out of
that engine, 4 transmissions, even changed it over to a 340 intake and a
couple different carbs then back to the stock intake and carb again, I
had close to 300,000 on it when I parked it then ended up scraping it 4
years later and it still ran like a clock after I got all the 50 weight
out of the cylinders.

REMOVE the NOCRAP in my address to reply.

 

Hi

I do know this. With zero oil pressure, the lifters will make so much noise
you will not be able to hear yourself think. Since this is really an
unforgetable experience and you didn't say anything about it, me things you
actually have another problem.

Larry