2000 Dodge Ram 1500 5.2l

[BrianF]

My dad bought a 96 with the 5.2 new, same long box, reg cab 2wd. he still daily drives it. Early on he did a propane conversion for a dual fuel set up. A few years later it back fired and popped the lower intake gasket. When it was torn down we found all sorts of neat sludge deposits and other random [censored] sitting in the valley. It was cleaned up and now back solely on gas. It still runs as fine as that era truck ever did. We did plugs, cap and rotor, a freeze plug or two, oh and when I was a teenager I caused the thing to need a new rear end and some sort of transmission work.....

It got similar mileage to the other v8 trucks of the time, which is not great. I think the thing only has 150,000 km on it.

I would love to find a similar era 2500 with a Cummins and a stick shift.

Enjoy the truck!!

 

[danthaman1980]

One of my best friends in D/FW has a 2001 model with that engine, so I'm somewhat familiar.

Is it burning oil? These engines can develop a problem with the intake manifold belly gasket and begin sucking oil into the manifold. If this is the case, a thicker oil might help reduce consumption.

You say the oil looks clear still - that is good! My friend's truck had a bit of a sludge problem - the oil in the pan sludged up a bit and the sludge got sucked into the oil pump pickup screen, causing a loss of oil pressure. He caught it immediately, changed the oil pump and screen, and went on his way. A couple of quick OCIs to flush remaining sludge, and no problems.

That said, I'd use a 5W-30 year-round but don't skimp on quality. Synthetic or synthetic blend oils that tend to clean would be optimal. Maybe something like QSUD 5W-30 (Menard's has it on sale right now!)

 

[[email protected]]

Dan- as far as I know, the truck burns no oil. But has a bad hesitation. I think it *might* have something to do with the (at least but maybe more than) 2 year old gas in the tank.

Today, I drained the oil for 4-5 hours - had nothing better to do - and refilled with the T5 10w30 I had on the shelf. I ended up finding an extra quart in the boat that I kept on as a spare. I bought a Mopar oil filter. No joke, I swear the truck runs better with the oil change!

The old oil looks translucent on the dipstick, but when I drained it was a different story. It looks tar black and was VERY thin. Im satisfied and can sleep better at night knowing I changed out the 5 year old oil.

 

[killswitch83]

QSUD 5w30 or even Mobil 1 will do nicely, along with a Mopar MO-090 filter. I had 243k on mine when I got rid of it (12.5-13.2 MPG at best was killing me, even with good new plugs, wires, cap, and rotor button), sold it to a buddy of mine who is currently enjoying it!

As mentioned above, keep an eye on your oil consumption, as that intake belly pan gasket has a nasty habit of getting ripped to shreds (Al intake + steel plate + improperly-sized pan mounting bolts= shredded belly pan gasket, all day long, and oil consumption). Hughes Engines has a fix for that (Al belly pan, gasket, better mounting bolts, and I think a new thermostat), or you could also find the pan on eBay sometimes. As a side note, haven't seen any sludge issues in mine, which was a 5.9L 360. Regardless, it's a good truck in spite of its short-comings, so enjoy!

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks everybody for the advice!!

I will keep an eye on oil consumption - its hard to tell right now because my Dad owned it for ~5-6 years but barely drove it. Heck, he never even had to change the oil, based on mileage, and he was old school, so he never did. lol. However now that Im driving it I will have a good idea of oil consumption (if any). I watched a youtube video of the belly pan repair, looks straight forward. If I cannot solve my hesitation issues I will look at that. Im wondering if the 15 year old, 147,000 mile O2 sensor is on its way out or something.

 

[THORROMIG]

Hey there, I own a 2000 Ram with the 5.2L but 4WD. Just turned 81,000 miles here recently. I purchased the Ram in 2011 and immediately changed plugs,wires,cap & rotor & also changed PCV valve with only having 64 thousand miles. I purchased the truck off the orginal owner who was an older gentleman & said he used conventional oil its whole life. Initial change was Rotella T5 gallon jug & 1 quart of T6 5w40 to equal the 5 quarts needed/called for paired with a Mopar filter. After 2000 miles and two bottles of Techron Concentrate Fuel System cleaner it was ready for a change in my book. Oil came out "pitch black" and filter felt like a lead weight -- Oh how I wish now I would have cut open & posted the reamains!! Since then I have been running PYB to PP Pure Plus 5w30 paired with either a P1 or Fram Ultra running 5000 miles OCIs. I also changed fluids over to synthetic in both front & rear pumpkins and also in transfer case. Good luck with your Dodge, sorry about your Father & im sure hes smiling down on you with your effort & devotion towards him & yours Dodge!!! Take care, Ken

 

[THORROMIG]

You said you watched the video and got feedback about the intake issues that could possibly happen. I get anywhere between 12-14mgs in city & 15-19 on Highway with my Ram. That is light footing it 90% of the time. Once again good luck and GO MOPAR!!!

 

[Red91]

I recommend Defy 10W-30 or 10W-40 twice yearly, since you say it may see 10K miles a year. I realize you're in Michigan, but that oil will flow fine in the cold.

 

[addyguy]

I think you made an excellent choice with the T5 10W-30.

I'm not suprised it is running better...even thought it was low mileage, old oil probably was contaminated with some gas, which made it thinner.

I'd run a strong FI cleaner through it as well, or maybe an octane booster to try and not have problems with the old gas...try to get that burned through as soon as possible.

 

[GenaFishbeck]

Originally Posted By: [email protected]
I just inherited my Dads 2000 Dodge Ram, single cab long bed 2wd, with the 5.2l engine. In the 6 years he owned it, he barely drove it. I think the oil and filter are from the change he did in 2010 (he was busy fighting cancer before you judge him on not changing the oil). He probably drove it 4000 miles in 5 years. The truck has a total of 147,000 miles on it. The oil in there right now is still translucent.

So after fixing the transmission governor pressure solenoids and actually getting it to drive, I am on to changing the oil. The manual says 10w30 is preferred, but 5w30 is ok to use in all temps. It is summertime(ish) here in Michigan and it might actually get over the 70 degree mark eventually and stop raining, lol. With that being said, I plan on using the truck to tow a light trailer back and forth to our cabin, and maybe our jet boat (2000lbs). I will be using it a lot more than my late Father. Probably 10k miles per year.

I would love to hear your oil recommendation. Brand and weight please!


Hey Chriznat20! For your Dodge Ram, we recommend Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage 10W30 full synthetic motor oil. It’s made from natural gas and designed to deliver less oil burn off than other high mileage oils. It also helps reduce leaks and oil consumption. Hope this info helps! – The Pennzoil Team