2001 dodge Dakota SLT 4.7L Is this normal oil pressure for idle at operating temperature? Is the idle correct? I’ve only owned this truck for a few months. I’m just wondering if this is normal. 163,xxx miles
Also no check engine light 0.o
It’s funny lol. I can go around 112 miles before it just dive bombs. I get around 300 per tank
Damn, you right lmao
I was going to say this as well!!!
Yes everything is normal, oil pressure should fluctuate somewhat while driving, however it should stay within the two center lines on the gauge.
And it does. It’s never dipped below the bottom range line ever. It was just I’ve never had a vehicle that had an active and useful oil psi gauge. All my other trucks have had just a dummy gauge that zips immediately to the center of the range and sits there regardless of actual psi reading
Check your oil for signs of head gasket, 4.7 loves to warp heads.
So far mines been good. Haven’t had issues with disappearing coolant, no funny colors in the oil. But I plan to put an extra gauge under the hood to give me a mechanical reading too
Where's the little yellow light on the bottom left of the info center?
CEL is clean and clear. There’s a little trick for you and all the other Dakota owners out there. Turn the key switch on and off 3 times leaving the key on the third time. The mileage indicator will display the codes. It’ll scroll through until it says “pDone”. That’s the end of the reading. Mine has no codes or issues. I check it every few weeks
Is this true? If so, I certainly was completely unaware of this. Sounds too good to be true. Same with your second comment..
Go outside and do it. That’s how I check codes on it. Ram models of the same gen do it too. Go prove me wrong I’ll wait
Lol I wish all cars had this. One thing dodge did right. Thanks big time for this one 👍👍
No problem
No fuckin way. That's like how I can use a paperclip to read codes on my Miata.
There’s also a way to reset all the computers and default everything back to factory by turning on the switch 3 times (I think) and holding down the trip counter reset button. Your gauges will recalibrate in front of you and it’ll run a self diagnosis on the system. It’ll do a few other crazy little things but it’s all a reset sequence that few know about
Wow. Your gauges still light up..? So you can see how fast you are going, even in the dark..? No, that would be not at all normal for my ‘kota…..
…well don’t jinx me
I’m sorry. That cynical humor of mine is a bit much for some people. Just remember that you have purchased a truck that has great overall reliability and bang for the buck. For reals…..
I appreciate it. I’ll be posting a lot more soon with more detail on everything I’ve done. I posted awhile back about how clean the interior is lol. I already bought a parts truck and have torn down the motor and already got the heads back. Just waiting on the block to come back. The main issue I’m having is the transmission hunting for gears and occasionally slamming 3rd. Parts truck had a remanned engine with very low miles so I’m hoping I spot the tell tale paint on the tranny showing it’s been replaced too. If so it’s going straight into mine. Also did the grand Cherokee TCM mod awhile back. I get 17.8 mpg everywhere I go now.
That truck sounds like a dream. The transmission takes some getting used to. I know exactly what you are talking about. I always just use the lockout for the overdrive button on the end of the gear selector when doing city driving. The whole shift timing selection changes without the overdrive on. Over 55 I always have to remember to use the overdrive, just as I always have to remember to not use it to drive to work. The transmissions in this generation Dodge trucks were a bit of a weakness. You just have to take it easy on it and use that lockout button.
Out of curiosity what kind of rpm are you turning at around 60mph?
Dam, it’s been a while, I’m trying to remember. On the highway I hit 60 and put it into overdrive and rpm’s drop to like, 1500 maybe..? It cruises really well at 65, 70 in overdrive. I always found that to be impressive.
Engine is 3.7 Magnum
With the TCM mod, I can run 75 and barely push 1500
That’s frickn awesome. Sounds like you found the perfect cheat code. If I were to do it again, I would find a clean, rust free Dakota to drive as my daily driver. Just good, simple, reliable transportation. Pretty basic and easy to work on. Parts are still plentiful. Perfect for daily commute- utility vehicle.
I went from a 2003 ford ranger I’d driven for 14 years. Put over 300k miles on it. Original drivetrain. My dad bought it from me for $4k after I bought this Dakota for $2500 and a few bang sticks
Look up the oil pressure sensor for your vehicle and the 4.7. if it's a single terminal sending unit it only registers oil pressure but not the exact PSI.
I know it’s not just a dummy gauge like the 1500s of the same era. It fluctuates like a mechanical gauge. Reads upper end on cold start, middle of range when driving or anything above idle, and bottom of range at idle at operating temp
Idle speed appears normal. Throttle position sensors were a problem on those engines. Caused erratic idle, stalling, and odd transmission operation. If you get the engine up to operating temp and tap on the sensor, a bad one makes the idle surge or stall. Easy and inexpensive fix if it’s acting up. Oil pressure looks normal.
Excellent thank you. When I first got it, it did the surge thing you’re talking about. Still kinda does it a little. But I think the PO either dogged the shit out of it or it wasn’t doing something right. Got a cheap replacement to see if it would change it at all and if anything it made it worse lol. Put the old one back on it seems to be alright ish…
I think mine might need replacing soon. Started having weird idle and hints of stalling occsssionally. Cleaned throttle body and sensors not long ago and that helped a lot but it's starting to be a little weird again. Every so often the transmission feels like it shifts too hard into reverse, but not often enough to worry me yet. Interesting that it might be connected to the tps, might replace that sooner than originally planned.
Hey question about this, not to make you my mechanic tonight. Sometimes I have issues with my 00 3.7 v6. No full on surges but I have strange tranny behavior, sometimes it wants to start in 2nd, sometimes I have some HEAVY hesitation moving up and down gears. It behaves correctly, just in the wrong order and at random. I'm throwing codes for O2 sensor and governor tranny solenoid so I'm assuming it's the solenoid, but before I drop the pan I figured it couldn't hurt to ask if it sounds like that
A dead upstream o2 can cause low power and even set misfire faults from bank to bank depending on which side is failing. The trans solenoid fault can cause your erratic trans behavior. I believe on the “42” trans, the solenoids are part of the solenoid pack. Should be tested to verify.
Check how much oil you have. Should we well within the hatched safe zone.
Consider yourself lucky. My 4.7 can’t hold pressure at idle anymore…
Just keep an eye on it at red lights.
Being a Chrysler product I kinda figure it’s like the infamous Cherokee XJ oil gauge. XJs read really low when the motor if fine. I put an external secondary mechanical gauge on my jeep. It reads 65 psi on cold start while the cluster reads 40 psi. At operating temp the cluster reads like 15 psi while the external gauge reads around 35 psi. Sending unit on the jeep looks damn near identical to it so I just figured this truck was the same
I have an 02 SLT 4.7 and this is about where it idles at when warm, sometimes even at the first markers on the gauge. It idles higher in the cold weather here obviously but in the summer that’s about where she’s at
Excellent. Thank you. I may check a few things just to make sure that dosnt change lol
Good idea, are you running 10w-30 for your oil?
Yes I believe so. When I did it, it was still cold out and I used what the book called for. When I do it again soon (I also used a lot of cleaners and additives to clean the gunk out of the motor in case it hasn’t been kept up with properly) and I’ll likely use 10-40
I'd check your oil, make sure its not too low. Or run the motor and look it over with a flashlight. I really DO think something is wrong.
Hmm look what over exactly with a flashlight?
Oil pan, around the upper intake manifold, in the spark plugs etc.
You’re talking about coolant leaks right
oil drips, but feel free to look for all the leaks.
Valve covers have a slight leak but not active drip. Timing cover looks caked but no wetness anywhere. Oil pan is similar to timing cover. Never drops anything on the ground
Then unless the oil pump is dying you're good, But you'd REALLY know if the pump was going, it would be a common sense kinda thing.
Truck has the typical occasional lifter tick at times when under load but never had an issue with the oil psi trying to dive while driving or going too low on a hot day. Puffs a little smoke sometimes on start up but that’s just the valve seals going bad like most 4.7L do at some point in their life. Runs very smooth, and quiet for the most part. Occasional noisy pulley but nothing internal… yet
Might just need a little bit of Lucas or redline for the worn in rings. Dodge Dakota and RAM always scare me when it comes to their pumps. Its always good to lubricate the rings and rev out the carbon. I think though, the only thing thats going to happen is you're just going to wear her out. I'd keep a wix filter in it with Pennzoil platinum or Mobil one synthetic. Then it will protect everything longer. I'm on castrol edge on my cars, I've not had to add any for about half a year now. Synthetics are great.
It’s a weird habit I have but I use Napa gold filters or the OE filters. Every oil change I run a bottle of seafoam through the gas tank and a pint of marvel mystery oil in the crankcase. I’ve done this for every vehicle (except my 78 CJ which gets a pint of zinc and rotella T4), and it’s seemed to keep everything happy this far
If the Speedo works it’s not normal.
I’ll get to work on that 🫡
Minty tittiesp
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for a dakota, the gas gauge seems too high.