Need oil advice dodge durango

[JordanF1]

Hey guys i was referred here by my friend to see if you guys could help me choose an oil. I recently bought a 1999 dodge durango with the 5.2 liter V8 engine. The motor does not leak or consume oil that i know of. Previous owner didn't have the receipts or proof of oil changes but assured me it had dino around 3k every change. I changed the oil the other day with pennzoil platinum 10w-30 and it holds about 35 psi hot idle and like 50-60 psi at 60 mph. (roughly 1600 rpm).

Now my friend told me changing synthetic at 3k is wasteful, but another friend said this engine has some kind of intake leak, and i shouldn't use conventional at all because it will sludge. Any truth to this? Sorry for all the questions i don't know that much about oil. As far as engine specs, it has 103,000 miles on it. My daily driving is about 4 miles to work and 4 back home, maybe some leisure driving in the evening. So like 12 miles total daily. (city stop and go driving) Weekends i usually hit the highway and travel about 60 miles total between saturday and sunday.

Thanks everyone :]

 

[440Magnum]

I'd stick to short oil change intervals on a 318 (aka 5.2) Magnum subjected to just 4 miles at a time most days. They're a little slow to warm up compared to newer design engines and don't tend to get the oil very hot anyway, so you're going to get a lot of fuel and moisture accumulation in the oil. When you work them HARD, 318s are very easy on oil because they don't roast it and have plenty of excess cooling capacity. When driven short-trips, they can be pretty hard on oil because they don't warm it up enough to drive out moisture and fuel, leading to acid formation and additive depletion. The best way to make a 318/5.2 last 400,000 miles is to drive it like you hate it, but maintain it like you love it

As far as conventional vs. synthetic, I would split the difference and go with a synthetic blend (I've seen Valvoline Max Life perform very well in 5.2s) and change at a short/severe usage mileage interval.

The "intake leak" is actually a seal on the underside of the intake manifold, and in addition to drawing in oil to the intake, it can leak exhaust from the EGR passages into the crankcase. It doesn't so much cause sludge as it causes sand- lots of carbon grit. Not all 5.2s develop it, so I wouldn't worry too much unless you have reason to believe its a problem (a rough idle, lots of pinging/rattling on light acceoeration, visible blow-by out of the oil fill cap with the engine idling, blue exhaust smoke on acceleration, etc.) Its very fixable- the aftermarket provides bolt-on cover plates that are thicker than stock and cure the problem for good, but you do have to R&R the intake manifold to fix it right.

Here's some reference material on fixing the plenum gasket:

http://www.ebooksquad.com/2009/01/18/dod...um-engines.html

http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?t=461371

http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/products.php?partid=22220

 

[tomcat27]

the 318 is legendary for longevity and for taking abuse. unfortunately it is a member of the sludge club. check consumer reports and also amsoil. I believe it has something to do with the location of the oil pickup and the very small, fine screen they use. the screen clogs with sludge and starves the engine of oil. if you ever see a pressure drop, take it seriously and check it out. a friend of mine leased a 99 Durango (ok, yes, this was 11 years ago) and he sludged it up and roached the motor with only 45k on it. he claimed to have changed the oil on time. more or less. cost him $5k for a new engine.

I have a 98 with 100k miles on it and it runs flawlessly. I have always used M1 - and always will. 5k OCI. (fear of sludge)

 

[Summerwind]

I have a '99 with 143k on her, (no idea what the previous owner used in it) Been using either Valvoline Maxlife, or Castrol HM, whatever is on sale at the time (never seem to run accross PYB HM) Doesnt use any oil, and runs nice and quiet. Mine is a 5.9 360, but not all that differnt than your 318

 

[hounddog]

Use what you put in it.PP and chage it every 4 to 5k and you'll be fine.

 

[VNTS]

I would listen to 440.

You may want to have the belly pan fix done, IE HUghes plenum or you can get an M1 intake, doesnt have the plenum gasket.

Per the 5.9 it is not a sludger, just more internet [censored]. If the belly pan starts leaking it will drink oil and foul the intake and plugs.

I would recommend you use a good synthetic, ie what ever you can get on sale like Mobil1, PP etc and limit your changes to 5-6K.

Go over to Dodgetalk or DOC(Durango Owners Club) and learn from people who actually own them. They have their teething problems but for the most part if yours has been maintained and you use common sense, they are great vehcihles. I have a 2000 SLT+ and havent had a single issue. Ball joints were done under warranty and I have done a brake job, put Bilstiens on it, all synthetic fluid changes and that is about it besides a set of plugs wires rotor and cap. ALso did the hoses and serpentine belt.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: tomcat27
the 318 is legendary for longevity and for taking abuse. unfortunately it is a member of the sludge club.


IF AND ONLY IF it has a leaking plenum gasket. Pre-Magnum 318s don't sludge. Post-EGR Magnums don't sludge. Middle-year Magnums that either don't suffer the plenum gasket failure or get modified with Mopar Performance intakes (which are basically clones of the pre-Magnum intake) don't sludge. Its just the ones that have that plenum gasket fail which develop the problem, AND its not really your typical Toyota-style gooey sludge- its a very hard gritty deposit which (I believe) comes from the greatly increased blow-by which happens as the rings stick from running with an oily intake charge, aggravated by detonation caused by oil in the intake charge.

FWIW, I don't have a 318 in my signature, but I have put over 400,000 miles on a single pre-Magnum 318 and there've been several others in the family, including a >200k mile 1992 Magnum. The 318 never got any glory because for ~20 years there wasn't even a 4-barrel version of it- the 340 and even the 273 got built for speed, but the 318 was just a workhorse- practically an industrial engine. But its architecturally identical to the 273/340 and the only difference between it and the 360 is the main bearing diameter. They even shared the same connecting rods for years, and heads swap directly so long as you match the chamber volume to piston dome... otherwise you might wind up with 6:1 compression or 13:1 compression by accident

 

[JordanF1]

Okay thanks! I appreciate all the good information. I looked at those links about the plenum pan, and it looks pretty easy to do. I'll probably run this o/c out to its end and do the plenum fix then.

I was wondering about the high mileage oils since it does have over 75k, but it doesn't leak or burn so idk.

 

[hounddog]

The PRE Magnum and Magnum's are ENTIRLEY different engines.The Magnums series are no where near as bullet proof as the old style was.Entirely different beast.To check plenum pull air cleaner.Have a flashlight.Lean over motor.Open throttle body WIDE open and look down it.If puddle of oil or noticeable amount of oil sitting in there the belly pan is leaking.If its dry its not.