I may have over-reacted about the head gasket....the only problem is the knocking, otherwise it's running fine.

 

hmm.............

 

So the engine itself is knocking or you are hearing a "ticking" sound from the engine?

I'm a bit lost as to what your problem has evolved into now, so can you elaborate on what is going on exactly?

Does it get louder as you increase RPMs?

Does it go away (or quiet down) once the engine warms up?

Do you have ANY DTCs (Diagnostic Trouble Codes)? (If so, please list them in order they appear via the key method)

 

Mine does the tick thing also when you first start it up. I haven't worried much about it. Since you haven't changed th oil,do that first and see if it changes. It could be just old oil that got thin. Do regular maintenance ie: plugs,air filter,clean PVC valve. I bet your mpg's will increase.but from what you are describing about the mileage sound exactly about what mine is. Theese are big trucks with little motors your bound to get bad gas mileage.

 

I apologize, let me clarify. The problem hasn't evolved into anything, This knocking has always been there. I simply got some bad advice freaked out and thought I had a head gasket problem.

I'm not a "car-hypochondriac"

I suspect the knocking to be coming from the drivers side. It sounds louder on that side with a stethoscope on the valve cover (mechanics scope, not a doctors) but it seems to sound equally as loud across the entire valve cover and not louder in one spot or the other that I can hear.

The knocking is the same volume at idle as it is at higher RPMs, but increases in frequency relative to RPM and only sounds like it's "timed" with a single cylinder IE it only happens when one of the valves is opening/closing.

The engine idles and runs perfectly, there are no DTC's, but the noise does seem to get slightly quieter after the engine has run for a bit.

I personally suspect that one of the lash adjusters needs replacing, possibly the rockers as well, and that there may be a good deal of sludge in the engine.

I'm going to be running Royal Purple when I get the cash for an oil change. I'm even half considering using the RP from my car as the oil was changed less than 1000km ago and I'm no longer driving the car.

 

If the noise gets quieter when it warms up I think you're problem might be oil related...

What brand and weight oil are you using? Also is it Full Synthetic, Blend, or Conventional?

What Oil Filter are you using?

 

I don't really know if it gets quieter when the engine is hot, I could just be imagining it does.

As for oil I really don't know, it's most definitely in need of an oil change, but is running conventional right now.

 

I still have smoke that puffs out the tailpipe on start up. It's slightly bluish, and only happens on a cold start.

I notice I have coolant disappearing, but it isn't showing up on the ground.

There is a slight smell of coolant from my vents every so often when I turn it on (only happens when warm)

If this is a heater core problem, where is my coolant going because I don't think my carpets are wet and I don't see any signs of it leaking into the cab.

 

there are places for it to go, but if it was the heater core you would smell antifreeze when the heat is on.

If you get blue smoke on a start-up then you might have an issue with piston rings, so what you should do is the following:

1) COMPRESSION TEST! (Post up results for each cylinder)

2) Leak Down Test! (Post Up Results!)

Once you do that we can go into the next steps of troubleshooting... but you'll have to get those plugs out to do all of those tests..... so thats the most important thing right now.

 

The stealership wants $109 + taxes for a compression/leakdown test, and I'm a little worried about getting one done because my coil packs are fused to the plugs and if they go to pull a plug and break a coil, that's going to up the cost to have them replace parts.

The first thing I'm trying to do is get an air filter, new plugs, and an oil change.

I'm going to call some other places but money is a little on the tight side at the moment so there isn't a lot I can do until I get my cash flow back on track.

Being a student kind of sucks, I've been dirt poor for the last 3 years.

I should also add that the blue smoke isn't happening with every startup. It's a little bit random.