turn the volume up a bit. Sounded like marbles in a can to me...... or, maybe its just my speakers....

 

.... either way it's needs to come apart for sure. Of course it's doing that by itself. lol

 

I went and started my truck to get it up on the ramps, and now it says it has oil pressure...its a tick mark under 40, but pressure nonetheless. I have only changed the oil so far [this was done the other day], and now the sound isn't as loud, but theres a small clicking/ticking noise coming from the passenger side of the block...somewhere from mid to back.

Question is, should I still try to change the oil pump or could it be the valves as was stated before?

I'm sorry, I know I sound stupid on a lot of this but I don't have enough funds to take it to a mechanic who will charge me out the wazoo for labor. I have a little bit of mechanical know-how but nothing big. explaining some stuff would be helpful if yall dont mind.

 

Remove that side valve cover and see what you find.

 

If your pressure is doing odd and strange things, It might not hurt just to have a look, and see if something odd is floating around in there, occasionally blocking the pickup tube.... (like a rag.....grumblegrumblegrumble) If you have the good gasket on there, you may not even need to replace it.

I don't trust ramps. Had a bad experience with 'em once, and have never used them again.

 

I've got the same thing going on. Be pulling my valve covers this week to see what's shakin'.

 

I pulled the valve cover on the passenger side and didn't see anything terribly wrong other than a dried leaf in there [wtf?]...no metal shavings or anything of the sort. The gasket is leaking a little bit so I'm changing both sides out tomorrow then going to clean out the oil pan and replace that gasket also. I honestly don't know what to look for under the valve cover but everything was uniform and seemed to be fine.

 

If the leaf didn't fall in there when you pulled the VC off, then I got to say that is not a good sign.

 

Download the 2001 service manual from the FAQ's section here lots of info in there.
When you pull the oil pan, inspect the pickup tube it has a screen on it.
Make sure it is clear, if its not either clean it or replace it.
If you use rags to wipe down anything inside the engine make sure they are lint free rags! Dont want lint in the engine. Not all shop towels are lint free.
If your not sure of what to look for get some pics or video of the valve train and pickup tube maybe someone may spot something.

Dave

 

Ideally, this is how you'd like it to look as far as sludge and stuff. But the springs need a closer look.