i am probably , once again in the wrong place, i am sorry if i am,, i dont even know if my truck has lifters, but i have noticed, when i am in high gear, its a automatic, but when i am like going up a hill and in high and give the truck just a little gas, it sounds like lifters rattling ? pretty much always, but runs fine, and if i give it more gas, it stops. thanks for anything, total moron here..

 

That's detonation, or pinging. You'll want to check out the sticky topic in the forum about plenum repair. You might not have a failed plenum gasket, but if you do you want to know about it just as soon as possible so it doesn't cost you lots of money when it kills off big expensive parts -- heads and catalytic converters.

If your plenum gasket isn't shot, just bump up a notch in the octane rating of the gasoline you buy.

 

Yep, that's just ping. Get some carbon cleaner or combustion chamber cleaner. I've had it since I bought my truck in 2001. All these trucks have it because Dodge didn't use knock sensors. If you want to know what and how this occurs, read this:

http://dodgeram.org/tech/gas/Trouble/ping.htm

 

thanks guys, i know less then nothing about engines.... this forum has helped a lot over the past two yrs.

 

PS: If you're not running Top Tier gasoline, you probably ought to be. The low detergent levels accepted by the gubment aren't sufficient to keep any engine clean and carbon deposits will boost your compression ratio from what it was built to be to where it will ping.

My own experience in my own truck is that (a) it will ping at part throttle and moderate load if I tank up on cheapass gas even though the advertised octane rating is the same, and (b) the decrease in fuel economy more than offsets the lower price of the cheapass gas so it costs a bit more to use it anyway. Even before there was such a thing as Top Tier, it was very easy to tell when tearing down an engine if it ran on high quality (e.g. Chevron) or poor quality (e.g. ARCO) fuel.

 

Sounds to me like your plenum seal has begun to fail . If you leave it long , it will get worse most likely .

Oil seeps into the intake , and down into the combustion chamber . This forms carbon deposits on the heads and piston tops . This carbon will stay red hot , allowing the fuel to detonate at it's LEL(lower explosive level)because of compression , and before the timing provides it's spark . This causes the valve to be slammed back in the head from the premature detonation in the combustion chamber , and results in the rattle noise you hear .

You can fight it all you want . Higher octane will help because the Anti-knock index of that gas is higher . Basically meaning it takes more compression to fire , even with some carbon build up . This puts you in the timing range and results in no ping . Still , the oil still seeps in the CC and build up more and more . Eventually it will get in the rings and lower compression .

I always bank on doing the plenum gasket on any V8 magnum engine . I even keep a spare Hughes plate ,and Fel-pro gasket set on hand . (ordering when needed is a PITA) . My truck sits at only 46k , my plenum is still unbelievably clean but I will do it this spring anyways . My Jeeps engine has 55k and I did it (Donor was crashed 50k barn find)

If me , I would get a few cans of Mopar combustion chamber cleaner , and follow the instructions using the first can . Run it a day or 2 and dive in for the plenum gasket job . It's like cancer , catch it early to prevent more damage .

There's a bunch or write ups , and videos to help out . It's not hard , just time consuming . Even the wiring harness is simple , maybe just label your injectors as those are the only plugs that can be mixed up . And take lots of before pics of the vacuum lines to ensure they go back properly . Be careful of any plastic lines as age/heat tends to make them brittle and prone to cracking if not handled with care .

It's a basic socket set job except you need 2 torque wrenches , a fuel disconnect tool (cheap$5), small hammer and flat top screwdriver . The 2nd can of Mopar CCC is used to clean the plenum and throttle body . Old toothbrush works great to get in crevices .

 

onegoodmason, lol, i so appreciate the detailed reply, i am the type guy that can not turn a wrench, i cant do the simplest of things, that is way over my head, lol, but i am calling to check on plenum gaskets. and doing some google stuff, just to have an idea, it is help like you guys give that helps so much. i thought lifters til someone said my truck doesnt have them, WHAT no lifters ? ugggg.

 

Oh, we have lifters alright. Who would say they don't???

My truck has pinged since it was built. Got the death flash and everything. I always fight it. Years ago, my dealer stopped carrying MCCC and told me it was discontinued. That's when everyone rediscovered Seafoam. I will sometimes use 89 but I lose power with it. 87 has the best power and mileage but will usually ping. I had no ping for 4 years when I ran Nitto tires. Now that I have Coopers again, ping is back. I've given up trying to figure that one out.

Loved running Champion Truck Plug 4071 but guess what, also discontinued. So I tried the ever popular Autolite 3923 but not impressed. Still pings with no power increase at all. It does seem to idle a bit smoother but who cares.

Several years ago, it was pinging like usual and using a bunch of oil. Ordered the Hughes kit. Guess what? Plenum was fine. Paid for the replacement anyway for peace of mind and switched to thicker oil. Now it uses only a quart per change and only pings a little. Just nature of the beast. Price we pay for driving the sexiest and most reliable trucks ever built. Not to mention the original big rig styled truck that every make copied. You can bury me in my baby.

 

Overhead cam conversion anyone? Some guy came out with one for small block chevy's. It was... interesting, but, that's about it.