Hey there, new member to the forum here. Just bought a V10 about a month ago and have been getting some good info from the knowledge base you guys have built. I've been on the diesel forums for about the past ten years, and recently sold my 1st gen Cummins in favor of this 2nd gen V10. Dumb choice? Maybe for some, but I need and extended cab and air conditioning for the comfort of my family now. Plus the lower maintenance cost of a gasser seems appealing to me, and I hope I'm not wrong about that!

My truck is a 1999 5 speed 4wd V10 extended cab long bed, built in the heavy duty/trailer tow/camper special group with an 8800# GVWR. Currently sitting at 176,000 miles.

So far I have replaced plugs, wires (placed correctly into the loom with #5 and #7 spaced apart), and coil packs, changed the oil with Valvoline 10w-30 and a Wix 51515 filter, dropped the oil pan to clean the pickup tube and replaced the oil pressure sender, deleted the smog pump, had the exhaust re-welded without cats into a dual-in single-out muffler, and a list of smaller items. I previously had an issue with the oil pressure gauge dropping, but cleaning the pickup tube seems to have fixed it.

Other than the front end issues every 2nd gen has, my next maintenance item is investigating what seems to be a lifter tick. It has been present since I bought the truck, and I hope I didn't make a mistake by thinking it was no big deal at the time. You can hear it running in the last video I took, HERE. I've had suggestions of a leaky exhaust manifold, but it sounds much more mechanical than that. Additionally, when I rev the engine hard at a standstill I can hear some popping/backfire coming out through the intake. From what I've been told, this is usually indicative of an intake valve not fully closing. I'm hoping it's something easy and obvious like a bent pushrod. Either way, the first step is pulling the valve covers which I intend to start tonight.

If anyone has the time to pull up my short video and take a listen, I'd appreciate all the input I can get!

 

That does sound like a possible exhaust leak..... or a sticking valve...... I think you need to pull the top part of the intake to get the passenger valve cover off..... Checking the valve train does sound like a good idea. (and replacing those gaskets sure won't hurt. )

I got some lifter rattle on my as well. Been that way as long as I have owned it. (about 3 and a half years) It hasn't gotten any worse, and it doesn't appear to be causing any trouble...... So, I haven't done anything about it yet. I suspect I just need to replace the lifters. 20 of them......

Might try a compression test before tearing into it though. Give you an idea of which cylinders you need to pay the most attention to. (or leakdown test, if you can.)

Welcome to DF!

 

Hey, You! Appreciate it. You seem to be the resident V10 expert, glad you chimed in so soon.

Sadly I do believe the entire intake has to come off. At least, from every other mention of it I've seen.

For what it's worth, the exhaust guy who installed my new muffler seemed 100% convinced it was a manifold leak. But I've had enough doubt about it that I think taking it apart is warranted. Fortunately I don't have a huge pressing need for a truck at the moment, I just hate having it out of service for so long!

Something else I failed to mention was O2 sensors. I know these engines are picky about using only NTK, and they don't hold up for years and years. I have a $60 bluetooth code reader, and it does get some rather detailed reading but I'm still iffy on what I'm seeing. Could you possibly tell me the best way to test my sensors and what the accepted voltage range is if they are good?

 

If you aren't getting any codes for the O2 sensors, then the PCM thinks they are working properly. Problem is, if they are slow to react, or inaccurate.... the PCM has no way of determining that, and unfortunately, neither do you. (aside from the engine running strange, or your gas mileage getting worse than it normally is..... these are some THIRSTY engines. ) If they are originals, replace them. I think they are supposed to be replaced every 60K miles or so in any event.

 

Good deal - I'll give them a look soon! And I'll double check the voltages to make sure they are in the .9v spec at idle.

 

They should bounce from about .1 to around .9 if operating properly.

 

Re-tested the O2 sensors, they appear to be in spec.

The GREAT NEWS is, I pulled off my valve covers and immediately found the problem. One busted rocker arm and two bent push rods, all on the passengers side. Driver's side was good, but I removed it all to clean in the parts washer at work. Wasn't as bad a job as I expected, took about 2 hours for a first timer to get it all apart. Also have some chafed injector wires I need to insulate.

Have a buddy hunting down spare parts for me, then hopefully I'll have the engine in tip-top shape and ready to start on that pesky front end!

 

Now the question is what caused all that

 

I think it's pretty clearly just a case of bad maintenance. I'd say with the oil pressure issues it was having that part of the engine got the least lubrication. I'm really not concerned about it, it seems to be in good shape everywhere else.

 

To bend a push rod I doubt it was low oil pressure lol