OEM 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Crankshaft

2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Crankshaft Parts and Q&A

• Q: How to Safely Extract the Crankshaft from an Engine on 2004 Dodge Ram 1500?

  A: The crankshaft can only be taken out of the engine once the engine is removed from your vehicle. Take off the engine oil pump first. Dont try to pry the oil pan gasket off when getting rid of your oil pan, as it is tied to the cylinder block at three spots and needs to stay intact. After that, undo all the oil pan bolts and take out the oil pan, next remove the oil pump pickup tube and finally the oil pan gasket/windage tray. Unscrew the bolts holding the bedplate and remember where the stud bolts will go, then pull the connecting rods away from the crankshaft. Do not wreck the carefully designed lip that joins the bedplate and cylinder block. Since the lower main bearing halves are placed in the bedplate, be careful not to drop or harm them, because the wrong installation may seriously harm the crankshaft. Find the proper pry spots on the bedplate and release them to take out the bedplate and then remove the crankshaft and its tone wheel. Look at the connecting rod bearings and main bearings for any sign of scoring, blueing or deep scratches, since you may have to take down more parts if these appear. If damage shows up in the connecting rod bearing bores, then the cylinder heads must come out to look at the pistons and rods; on the other hand, if the bedplate or cylinder block main bearing bores are damaged, the entire engine must be replaced. As necessary, disconnect both main bearing halves from the cylinder block and bedplate, clean the main bearing's sealing surface areas and completely remove all remaining oil and sealant. Study the main bearing bores of the bedplate for any breaks, scratches or heavy blueing and inspect the crankshaft thrust washers for indications of wear or breaks, exchanging them if so. In addition, examine the oil pan gasket/windage tray for any damage and if there is any, replace it. Make sure you treat the bearing surfaces lightly and slather sealant on the tone wheel retaining screws when installing the crankshaft. Place clean engine oil on the two bearing halves at the top, add on the crankshaft tone wheel and tighten the bolts to 15 Nm (11 ft. lbs.). Set the crankshaft into the cylinder block and then fit the thrust washers. Slather RTV sealant on the contact surface before the bedplate goes in place. This will prevent serious oil leaks and keep the sealing points clean. Put a 2.5 mm (0.100 inch) thick bead of Mopar Engine RTV around the cylinder block-bedplate connection, coat each crankshaft journal with clean engine oil and assemble the bedplate onto the cylinder block. Before you fix the bedplate, apply engine oil to the retaining bolts, fit them properly by positioning the stud bolts correctly and tighten them in the required order. Pull on specific bolts until the bedplate touches the block and after that, tighten all the bolts according to the required torque and any extra turns needed. Determine the crankshaft end play, add the connecting rods and measure side clearance. Set the oil pan gasket/windage tray in place, put in a new O-ring for the tube, tighten the tube to 28 Nm (20 ft. lbs.), position and tighten the retaining bolts for the oil pan to 15 Nm (11 ft. lbs.) following the suggested order, then install the engine.