Hello all,

I am working on my father's 1999 Ram 1500, 5.9L, 4x4, 170K. It had a few problems that I was able to fix. It was stuttering and feels like it was missing and had loud knocking sounds. The oil pressure gauge would drop when RPM dropped. It didnt have any ticking sounds.

So now I these replacement parts: Denso PK16TT Platinum TT Spark Plugs, Autolite spark plug wires, BWD distributor cap and BWD rotor. Removed and cleaned throttle body and replaced gasket. I did not find oil pooling in the keg, so plenum should be fine for now. I replaced TPS, IAC, and MAP sensors. Used a bottle of seafoam through intake, engine, and gas tank. Also changed oil pump to Melling HV pump when I found some metal shavings in the old oil. Now using 10w-30 Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil with Mobil 1 oil filter.

So after all that, the stuttering is gone, oil pressure stays up. But a slight tick has developed. I will try to get a video as soon as possible. But could the seafoam have dislodged something and cause this tick because it wasnt there before. Also, my dad says that he had the engine replaced, I dont know for what though. I noticed that none of the spark plug wires had clips to make sure they were where they were supposed to be.

Sorry for the long story, but I'm about to use the truck to make a move and want to make sure it will be fine without fixing. Thanks all.

 

This may or may not help, but I've heard that some of the magnum engines "don't like" synthetic oil due to the fact that they were designed to run on regular conventional oil. Not sure how true that is, but some guys swear that after switching back to conventional, the engine quieted way down. You might also try some Lucas oil stabilizer in there and see if that helps at all.

 

I see no point in running synthetic in a engine that was designed for conventional. And has been run on conventional for thousands of miles.

You may just have a bad lifter

 

sorry for the delay. here is the video

 

That's a lifter tick, time to pull the intake fix the plenum and replace all the lifters.

I run a full synthetic and have zero problems. I am not that big on Mobil one though, lots do run dino oil and they prefer it over a synthetic oil.

 

So... what could have caused this problem? was it some of the things that I have done? because it didn't have any ticking before. also is this something I need to have fixed now? I'm going to be moving soon, will be putting about 800 miles on the engine.

also, do you think adding some marvel mystery oil will help? and should I change spark plugs back to auto lite 3923?

and I was hearing around again, it sounds much more prevalent towards the rear of the engine.

thanks

 

There are times when a lifter can be stubborn to load up, have you driven it at all like this or just run ups in the driveway?

You might also switch back to a dino oil this works for some.

If the plugs are just Bosch premium plugs they should be fine, it's the Platinum and Iridium plugs that these trucks don't like.

I would not drive 5 miles with that sound let alone 800 miles, it needs to be fixed.

 

Agreed. This needs to be addressed immediately.

 

I have made some test runs on the highway and city streets.


I will switch to autolite 3923 and to conventional oil, Pennzoil 10w-40, change oil filter.

are there any write ups on how to change the lifters?

thanks.

 

ok, i did some more snooping. I havent changed anything yet.

I found that the ticking is loudest near the passenger side of the oil pan. Also the ticking didnt begin until the engine is fully warmed up and the gas pedal was pressed a little.

Could this be an exhaust manifold gasket problem?