$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

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. 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.

Reply to
Joe Maloukis
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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.

Reply to
N.Cass

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...

Reply to
SamMan

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

Reply to
Matt Whiting

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.

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

Stupid is as stupid does!

Reply to
RPhillips47

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.

Reply to
Joe

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

Reply to
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.

On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 02:01:14 -0400, "Joe" spake thusly:

Reply to
Opus-

Reply to
Jack Pucci

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.

Reply to
Steve

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.

Reply to
Brent P

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

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

Reply to
mic canic

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.

Reply to
Joe

REMOVE the NOCRAP in my address to reply.

Reply to
Len

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

Reply to
Hemi4268

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