I've gotten to the bottom of this. The truck had run for so long with a damaged plenum, all the oil was getting sucked into the runner going to the number one cylinder which developed a bad knock, and the plug gets fouled after a couple hundred km. I have been running the motor with no #1 cylinder, and it runs fine, so I know where the problem lies! When you accelerate under normal load, it runs great. As soon as there is any load ( a hill or you hammer down the gas a bit) the engine makes a loud consistent knock.... the same knock that came from the #1 cylinder when it was hooked up. Mind you, when the #1 cylinder IS hooked up it makes this noise ALL the time.

My thoughts are:

The #1 cylinder is so badly fouled up it wont run right

The rings are gone ( yet I did a compression test and it was 110-120 psi )


I need some suggestions of a product I can pour in that cylinder in hopes to free it up and cure ( or bandage ) the problem at hand.

The injector on that cylinder has been replaced, and the intake was cleaned very well when I had it off.

Also, the last 2 oil changes I ran 4L oil the rest ATF, and have been getting fair sized chunks of carbon out, so I know she's dirty haha.

 

i'd guess your #1 has a heavy buildup of carbon on the valves and piston, and when that spark plug is connected, its building up a lot of heat - leading to predetonation (pinging) ?

rings are probably not gone, just dirty as hell.

try either mopar combustion chamber cleaner (from dealer) or seafoam. dodge people will recommend the mopar over the seafoam. also try a series of different fuel cleaners. seach hankl's recent post for the 3 different ones he recommended.

gunk makes an engine flush that you put in and run for about 15 minutes just before an oil change. it smells like paint thinner. its worth a try and i don't think it will hurt anything when used as directed.

 

I've heard seafoam might do some crazy stuff to the motor though.

I'd junk it and get a 09 :P it is almost 15 years old.

 

lol... yea I think I'll just grab something I can pour in there and let it sit for a day. Its not my daily driver right now, its my winter beater... something I dont have to worry about too much lol. No I don't want an '09 I'd be sleeping in it for fear of something happening to it haha.

 

Little update here. I went to a local auto parts store and spoke to their machinist / engine builder, and here is what I ended up with.

A 1L bottle of Kleen Flo diesel fuel conditioner. Haha weird, but I watched him demonstrate how well it works on carbon deposits on a block that was sitting in the shop. It literally stripped it clean. I was told to get the piston close to the bottom of the chamber on that one cylinder, and pour half a bottle in, and let it sit for close to a week, checking the dipstick to see if the solution is creeping down into the oil. I used a big 60cc syringe, filled it about 4 times and squirted it through the spark plug hole until it came out the top. Replaced the plug and now she's sitting. Hopefully it does the trick!

 

heres a silly question; how do you get the crap out? is that something thats ok to have in your cylinder at start up? I'm not critisizing I'd just really like to know.

 

Turn the engine over with that spark plug removed.

 

Yup, I feel silly. Thanks charlie

 

That's exactly what I did. Tried it this morning, as I checked the dipstick and it seemed like lots crept past the piston. I had a little bit splash out on startup, but I put the plug back in afterward and let it run for about 10min. The knock has lessened in frequency, but it still exists. I filled the chamber up with more conditioner and I'm gonna let it sit a couple more days. I'll keep you posted.

 

why not fix the leak and be done with the issue??