I have a 2002 Ram 1500, 4.7engine with 40,000 miles on it, original owner. Within the last year, I have noticed the tap / tick / knocking noise that has been talked about in many other threads on here. It first was only audible when the engine was cold, but seems to happen all of the time now. About 6 months ago, I had the truck at the dealer for some other work and pointed it out to them. Of course it was not tapping at that time, so they said that they found nothing, possibly just low on oil. Oil was changed with that service, got the truck back - tick is still happening. Reading on this site, it seems this is a fairly regular occurrence.

Tonight I was talking with a friend that had just bought a 2003 4.7L over the summer and has also had the same tap / tick problem for a little while now. He said that he was talking tosomeone else who knew a Ram owner who had the same issue, got worse and ended up blowing his motor. That guy was told that the issue was caused by an oil filter that is hidden in the oil pan on the Ram. The ticking is caused by that filter clogging and not allowing the proper amount of oil to flow through the motor while it's running. Supposedly, the dealer did not know about this filter until they pulled the motor apart, but the damage and repairs was not covered by warranty because it was caused by lack of maintenance.

Has anyone else heard of something like this happening or know if there really is another filter in the oil pan itself? I have to take my truck into the dealer tomorrow - master cylinder most likely shot& possible leak in the power steering system, and plan on asking them about this. Just wondering if there is any possible truth to this or just a twisted story. Thanks.

 

Nope never heard of a oil filter in the pan...are you getting it confused with the tranny filters? A filter in the pan would get too dirty too fast and wouldn't be practicle to have in there.You'd think if oil flow was being restrictedthe oil pressure would skyrocket.

 

Na, just going by what he said that he was told by someone who was told by someone else. [&:]

It was something I haven't heard before and seemed viable that an engineer would do. "Hey, let's try this out." Flash forward to 5 years in the future, "Hey, that clogged up a lot faster then we ever expected it to. How do we change it out now?" "Oh well, it's hidden in the pan, no one will ever find it, plus if it breaks the motor, we get to sell a new truck!"

Looks like I'll just add it to the list of problems that popped up as soon as I paid the truck off in full. Literally the day my final check cleared my engine light came on. I swear there is a sensor somewhere in the truck linked back to the corporate offices, pay it off & they hit the remote self-destruct button. lol

 

aaahhahha, yea i hear ya...I wouldn't know about the paid off thing though[&o]

Have you switched to a synthetic oil within the year since the noise started? Believe it or not synthetic oil has a slight cleaning effect and can sometimes cause more valve noise...which isn't really a bad thing. I've read several posts on here about the EGR valve causing a sound similar to a exhaust leak...might want to look there also.

 

not real sure about the newer years truck but my 99 ram every time i would hit thebrakes the oil pressure would drop but theres not no filter in there just a pick up hose in there about the size of dime or so um dont know if this helps you are not im a lil tipsy soo!!!!!

 

I have the 03 w/4.7 I just went through the overhaul manual. Their isn't anything in there that talks about a filter in the oil pan. I would think that they would tell you about it. There isn't any picture of it in the veiw of the flow path, or theory of operation,and nothing is said in the removal of the pan. I'm sure the bottom end of the 02 and 03 are probably the same. It sounds like the dealer was pulling the wool over that guys eyes to get out of warrenty work.

 

Manifold gaskets.

 

Or try just tightening the exhaust manifold bolts, they are bad to loosen over time on 4.7L