I have a 2003 Dodge Ram Hemi with about 105K miles. I'm the only owner, and for the most part it was babied it's whole life...except I will admit that I went over a year (maybe 14K miles) without changing the oil. I can't help but think that had something to do with my current problem.

I recently started to develop a "tick" which eventually turned into a full on knock. It started out only during cold start and then would immediately go away. Over the coming weeks/month it got progressively worse and now knocks constantly.

The knock definitely sounds like low-end and is most noticeable under acceleration. My gut instinct tells me it's a crank or rod bearing, but I still haven't ruled out oil pump pickup rattling??? (I guess I'm just hoping on that one)

I'm currently not driving the truck. Sort of planning for the worst (engine swap) but wondering what my next step should be. Pull timing cover, drop oil pan and inspect?

I took a quick video...sorry I wasn't able to get in close but I was all by myself. I'll do a better one where I can get in behind the wheel well.

I appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Cold start. Note the initial knock while starting which then disappears (only to return under acceleration). I tried to go into the engine compartment to show the noise is not present top-side.

After running for a couple minutes

 

Sounds like a stuck, collapsed lifter to me. I just had this happen last week and got my truck back from the dealer yesterday.

At idle, does the knock/tap seem somewhat slow and almost a bit random? Like one tap every 2 seconds or so?

 

14k oil change? Shame on you! Knowing that I'd be looking at the lifters first, but it could be almost anything. Take a good look at the springs too...

 

Yeah...I was hesitant to post this thread for the ridicule I'd likely receive for that. Thanks for that information. I will look into that.

 

Yes, I was actually commenting to myself that the knock doesn't sound consistent enough to be a bearing...which I would think would be a fairly steady noise. It does tend to sound more random at lower RPM's and then becomes more steady as RPM's rise.

However, wouldn't a stuck lifter be heard clearly under the hood in or around the valve covers? Maybe it's an illusion, but this noise definitely seems to be occurring down low....which is what got me thinking crank/rods.

 

Here's another video with the engine warmed up for about 10 minutes. This time the noise is more audible in the top end. It still sounds more prominent from underneath but now I'm thinking that it could just be due to the fact that there aren't any other noises underneath the truck to compete with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwfBN...ature=youtu.be

 

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...sual-tick.html

This is another thread another owner put up... he never said what the problem was. However this was the exact noise my truck made. It was a collapsed MDS lifter(cylinder #7). The lifter had debris in it.

 

Thanks for that. I'm really hoping it's a lifter so I'm not having to deal with an engine swap.

Just a couple notes. My 2003 does not have MDS....not sure if that matters. Also, my engine actually runs fine. No rough idle or misfires. If it wasn't making the noise, you wouldn't suspect anything was wrong.

 

Since we're mentioning lifters, I went ahead and poured in a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil and let it run for about 15 minutes....increasing RPM's to 4K then back down to idle. I'm going to run it again tomorrow and probably go ahead and drive it around the neighborhood for a bit and then go ahead and drain the oil and see if I see anything in it. The oil was just changed in June.

 

You have a 2003, if you do look into an engine swap ever...remember, you can only get an engine from another 2003. You can tell because the 03 has no EGR hole in the passenger's side cylinder head where a 04 and up will on the front. Also I am told that their are a different number of teeth on the crank sensor gear.