So I'm going to give you a little back info. About a month or two ago I went to change the oil in my truck. I noticed that it was leaking oil from around the oil pan. I decided to change the oil pan gasket. I ended up not being able to get the oil pan back on. I finally found out that you can remove the starter and inspection cover and then it would go back on. So I did that. I also put RTV around the oil pan, then set the gasket on top of that. I put it all back together and I haven't really drive it much since. It did sit for about a week with the oil pan off. I've driven it maybe 15 miles since putting it together an now. The first time I started it up, I heard a weird noise, but it went away and I didn't hear it again. Today, I decided just to start it up to let it run since it hadn't been started in a few weeks. Anyway, upon starting it I hear this pretty loud ticking noise. I climbed under the truck and it sounds like it's coming from the oil pan area. Just sounds like a loud ticking from the bottom of the motor. Any idea's what's going on? Could I have messed up something with removing the oil pan and inspection cover on the transmission? Or is it likely something else? Any tips to help diagnose this noise? Thanks guys.

 

Does the noise go away after warm up or even cold and just shifting it out of park?

 

when i put my oil pan back on i didn't hook the rear lip of the oil pan correctly with the flex plate dust/inspection cover. this causes the flex plate to hit the cover, and make a BANG on every engine revolution. i about crapped myself when i started it up.

it took me 2 more tries to get it right. when installing the stupid dust cover, you have to bend it over the starter stud, and this can leave it bent - which might still be hitting. this was my problem the second time, more of a TICK than a BANG. so i took the f***ing starter off a third time, and with flex plate loosely hanging in the right place over the starter stud, i bent the dust cover back straight again. then hooked it with the oil pan, then put the starter on and tightened everything back up.

see if this is your problem. and does the ticking increase with rpm?

edit -
i also have a light knock at idle that comes from the crank area. it's always been there since i had the truck (4 years) and i've never figured out what it is. if yours has always been there, you might have the same thing...

 

Ticking goes away when I get on the gas. Or at least it sounds like it. I can't hear it, but the exhaust is loud too. However, I'm pretty sure it goes away. After it warmed up the ticking stopped for a minute or so, but then it started again.

So I'm not sure I understand how the flex plate cover needs to be hooked. Any advice on how to hook it? Or pictures?

This knock has not been there the last 6 years I've had the truck, so it's fairly new.

 

when its ticking, place your hand on the flex plate cover and see if you feel it hitting.

for a good stethoscope, use a piece of pipe about 12-18" long. metal or pvc, either will work. place one end of the pipe on the engine and your ear against the other. move around and follow the noise. be VERY careful of moving parts.

 

Tick? Knock? Which one is it? Do what DV has suggested first. If it stops, all's good, if not. I had a ticking noise that would go away after warm up or by putting it in gear when still cold. I had an issue with stalling after warm up. Swapped the crank sensor from my 98 for the hell of it before buying o2's or IAC. Well, to my surprise, the stalling issue stopped and it does not tick anymore.

 

you DID remember to fill it back up with oil, right??

 

well now, this question is precisely what I was going to ask- but I didn't have the cojones...

mine is similar- it's almost a low rumble from somewhere around the back of the block/bell housing area.. Is this the same you're hearing?

I had an idea it is the torque converter, which has drained and it lasts maybe ten seconds before it re-loads.. I wasn't/ain't worried about it because I'm about to get the tranny rebuilt and get a new TC... But, what if this isn't it? It only happens when the truck has been sitting for an hour or so..

I've done nothing to my lower engine. The only bolt turned down there in the last 90 days is the oil plug...

I'm all ears- and watching this thread because it seems a little too familiar..

 

Yes, it's full of oil. I don't know if it's a ticking or knocking. Maybe a knock, but I don't know how to explain it. Maybe a tick, I just don't know which to call it.

Anyway, I went down to check it out again and fired up the truck, and now it wont make the noise for me. I did put my ear up to the oil pan and it sounded like a slight ticking or something in it, but not loud at all, and I'm thinking it's probably normal. It wouldn't make the loud noise that it was doing earlier. So I'm not sure what it is now.

 

Well, I noticed that after it sat for about a week without being started, it did it again when I first fired up. Just lasted for 10 seconds or so then went away. It doesn't do it when you start it back up, so it seems to only do it the first time you start it after letting it sit for a few days. Any ideas on this?