Well, I decided to start a new thread on this while I diagnose my problem with the "rattling noise" thing. I took the air cleaner off today, with help from a coworker and a snake light, looked down the hole.. i dont see any "black" oil, although there is a slight shine , like a film coating. Ive searched on this, but couldnt find a definative answer heh, is it supposed to be bone dry down there? An another note.. ALWAYS TAKE OFF MAGNET TIPS on snake lights BEFORE looking inside.... Had a scare when after checking the tip was missing, thankfully it got stuck on the belt pully (Phew!!), i threw that sucker away! Truck seems to be happier now that Im running 92 oct with 2 bottles of Octane Booster (STP). Would worn rings cause spark knock? Would "restore" help at all? Should I do the seafome thing? I plan on checking the timing this coming week, just got a timing light and a few other things, also getting a compression test kit to see if all is good in the hood. I'm using 10w30 rigtht now and am planning on swapping it out for something thicker as well. :-) Did I mention to take off magnet tips from snake lights??!

---the more you know--- (rainbow and jingle)

-tim

 

Timing cannot be checked (with a light) or adjusted with these trucks, computer does all of the timing (referenced to the crankshaft, so turning the distributor has no effect). If it's a knock due to a lean condition, it's likely from one cylinder only; multiple cyl's lean will have the computer either adjust or, if it's bad enough, throw a code because it can't adjust far enough (I've had both, plenum was one cyl running lean but the other cyl's balanced alot of that "leaness" in the exhaust stream out by the time it got to the o2 sensor). A lean condition on one cyl can also be found by looking at the spark plugs, usually.

It's also possible that the knock is due to carbon buildup, wrong spark plugs, or something like that, in the cyl itself. Worn rings can't cause knock. There are other possible causes, but if there's even some oil in the intake, you have a knock, and the plenum gasket hasn't been fixed...well....i'd start wrenching. Another test for the plenum gasket is to remove the PCV and the breather from each valvecover, and cover the holes in the valve covers with the engine running with your hands. If you can feel a vacuum, it's a plenum gasket.

 

Thanks Froesen, ill check to see if that sucker sucks ;-) Plugs have recently been changed and didnt make a diffrence for knocking.. Also I forgot to mention.. I checked the PCM and I see it says "Authorized software upgrade" Could this mean I have the 'death flash' Ive been hearing about?

 

oh, another thing .. soooo, i dont know why I didnht think of this sooner, but yeah, well, my air cleaner's mounting gasket is kaput noticed that today, and has been sucking in air from the side I guesss.. Im assuming this could cause extra hot air from the engine it's self to be sucked down and cause detonation?

Im still a newbie lol still learning

 

A blown plenum gasket will pool oil just a bit. To check it, park on an incline and pull off the air cleaner and the throttle body. Get a *25 torx driver or socket, remove the sensors on the TB and clean it while you're at it. Now look down into the intake manifold with a small flashlight and look toward the back of the intake (near the cab). If you see pooling oil along the plenum pan, you've got a shot gasket.

A little oil gets in there because of the PCV returning exhaust gases from the engine, some oil sneaks through, but it should not be pooling. If you've never replaced the PCV get a new one, they're like 3.99.

Make sure you get a new air box gasket and a TB gasket (where the TB and Intake manifold meet).

If you want to try Seafoam or Mopar Combustion Chamber Cleaner you can. It'll help get the carbon out and the engine will run better, but if the plenum gasket is blown, you will just build it up again. I'd suggest 2 cans of MCCC or 2 cans of Seafoam Deep Creep. Here's my suggestion on how to use it.

When you're ready to park it for the night, run the engine until you get it hot. Take off air box to expose the TB butterfly plates. Spray an entire can of cleaner into the TB through the plates by alternating two second bursts on each side of the TB until you run out of cleaner. Shut off engine. Replace air box. LET SOAK OVERNIGHT. Next morning, start engine and let it idle until you see no more thick, white smoke from the tail pipe. Then take it onto the road and romp on it hard a few times to blow the rest out. That night, repeat the procedure.

 

Cool!, thanks man! I'll replace the PCV today :-)

-tim

 

The PCV can rattle and cause a funny noise, but also slap the Catalytic converter under your truck (only when exhaust is COLD), if you hear even the slightest bit of rattle, move up and down the exhaust pipe, slapping it with a closed fist or the eal of your hand and try to determine if the rattle is indeed louder from the CAT, and replace if necessary.

You didn't really say exactly where the rattle was coming from, could you post that? I'd hate for you to just throw parts at it without being 100% sure where you're hearing it. PCV is a guess, but it's so cheap it's not a huge loss if it's that. It's part of a tune up for me anyway.

 

Heh sorry, yeah Ok, so let me try to make a long story short.. soo at first, I thought that the noise was coming from the tranny area, already ruled out the CAT and any exhaust.. (hammer test) .. rattling only happens when driving under load. ( uphill etc) Thought it may have been a loose torque converter bolt.. for the longest time I thought this.. Untill a couple of days ago I decided per recommendation of a forum member to try Higher octane,, I thought to my self, nah I tried that already ( but only tried mid grade and didnt do any diffrence) Soo this time I decided to try 92 Oct and added octane booster to a full tank (1.5 ish bottles of STP Octane booster) and wouldnt ya know it, the "rattle" noise I was hearing diminished by 90% at least, I still have some low octane fuel in the mix, but yeah this kinda opened my eyes into thinking, Ok, its a spark knock :-).. also posted a thread called "Rattle Noise" earlier :-)

So my guess is, sparck knock since the higher octane seems to help

-tim

Oh yeah,

1999 Dodge RAM V8 5.9 SPORT 4X4
115 K
New Sparks, new water pump

 

another reason for pinging is worn plugs, cap & rotor... if it hasnt had a tuneup in the last 40k or so miles, might be worth it to do now. autolite 3923's & mopar cap & rotor...

 

Yep, planning on tuning real soon :-) sparks are brand new, but Ill re-check their condition when I tune up