2006 Ram 1500 small block with 119,000 miles.
Always babied and 100% city driven... mostly highway miles.


My engine recently overheated.. about 2 weeks ago. I either let the coolant get low and the water pump sprung a leak... or the pump already had a leak. I kept an eye on it and finally got it to a garage this week. They pressure tested it and said it need thermostat and water pump.
I had them replaced and coolant flushed. Also had a full synthetic oil change. Now, 2 days later, on the way in to work I am getting a light tapping/knocking feel through the gas pedal, intermittently. Also does it with cruise control on..
( of course it should, but I had to check).
As I understand it this is fly by wire?

Any ideas on where this could be originating? I would understand it better if it was traveling up through the steering column but I don't detect anything through the wheel.
It's a very light tapping.. with no rythym to it.

 

i don't understand how you can say 100% city driven and then say mostly highway miles....

anyways...

Check your coolant for oil, and check your oil for coolant... have the oil changed regardless, and with the truck started and in park w/ the e-brake on get under there and listen for a knocking sound both at idle and with a helper there to rev the engine up a bit...

 

Because we have highways in the city... I-95.
The Turnpike.
I live 1 mile off 95 and work 1 mile off 95 with 20 miles of 95 in between.
40 miles per day of highway.... and 2 non-highway.


anyways...

As you can see I just had the coolant flushed.See above. If there was oil in it I would have heard from the mechanic.

I did have the oil changed. See above.

It's my understanding that the accelerator is fly by wire...so not sure how an engine knock would travel to the gas pedal. See above.

 

How badly did it overheat? Did the needle peg the red?

 

Yes.. it did.

 

I have listened to the engine and hear no knocks or pings. Still having a hard time correlating a possible engine knock/issue with tapping in the gas pedal..?
Engine actually has better pick up and mileage after doing the full synthetic... as on would expect.

 

Another thing... the truck will make a dinging sound if you leave your blinkers on too long or seat belt not fastened. How hard would it have been for Dodge to program it to make a sound if your engine starts overheating.
I had the truck idling in park for about 10 minutes prior to getting on the road and seeing the problem... but while idling was not looking at the dash.
If had made a warning sound that would have got my attention. I ws busy dealing with something in the back seat.

 

Usually the "Check Gauges" Light comes on and that makes an audible chime when it comes on.... just saying.

There is NO Feedback in a Drive by Wire Pedal so what you are feeling you should probably feel on the floor boards and on the brake pedal too.

Next step is to start checking suspension components, then move to the drivetrain.... if you don't have any issues there then you're back at looking at the engine (which is what failed in the first place)....

If no problems in the Drivetrain or Suspension then it's time for you to go get a Compression and Leak Down test done to see if you indeed have some internal engine problems.

Without any DTCs or other major symptoms present other than some "tapping" in the pedal then I'd say there likely isn't anything wrong, but without further investigation we'll never know.

 

I had a knock in my gas pedal and i replaced all 3 of my u-joints and it went away. I was told it was the single front u-joint that was real bad

 

Hmmm.. could be. I just had the u-joints replaced at the tranny shop a few months ago. I thought there were only 2 though. Have to check with them and see if all 3 were replaced.