Dean, your tick seems like a blessing. Mine is plenty loud. You can hear it just standing next to the truck without the hood up. I have noticed that changing oils makes a difference (and I don't mean changing oil weights). For me so far Amsoil works best. Right now I have Purple in and itdid pretty good up toabout 2k then the tick got more pronounced. I'm gonna try Mobile next since a few of you guys seem happy with it.
Funny the whole diff issue turned up (well, not so funny). If I do gears how much do you guys recommend replacing the diff? Another diff is like 400 bones!! I really don't feel like coughing up the cash, but if I have to I will. What kills me is that I think my diff works quite well and to replace it because of a set of silent killer clips seems like just a waste. Is there an alternative out there to secure the axles other than the clips?

 

i use mobile 1 full synthetic 5w-30 and change the oil every 6-8 thousand miles. no issues but i drive highway at constant speed. (if that matters) doing oil anali. on next oil change cuz i want the most outa my oil! i would have to change the oil once a month at least and its to pricy at 50 bucks a pop!!

i would cough up the money if i had 400 laying around (dropping the truck first!) as most people end up with catostrophic damage ie needin new rear axel all togethter!!

 

Interesting. Please post your oil results.I'm curious to see what that's all about and what info you get and how to interpret it. I might do the same if your results prove fruitful. For now I'm just testing oils (the caveman way) changing every 3k and once I settle on what I like I will move to the 6k interval with just a filter and top off at 3k.

I really don't have 400 "laying around", but if the advantages warrant the price I'm gonna do it.

 

Sorry for getting you guys off track with the whole diff clip comment. I know this thread is about valve springs. Didn't mean to 'tick' anyone off.

 

About oil, I've always had good luck with Castrol Syntec 5w30. I've maintained many vehicles and fleet vans too, and most ticking is just sticky lifters. You change the oil, it goes away, but the cheaper the oil is, the faster it comes back. I think it's the slight loss in pressure as the filter plugs up or the viscosity of the oil getting thicker with time, especially non-synthetic.

 

hey, reading about your valvespring problem has kinda scared me haha is there any way i can check mine?

 

Cordoba, I tried Castrol and it just didn't do it for me. Your right about the cheaper oils though. You get what you pay for.

Catalina, there is no easy way to check your springs. To really do it you would have to pull the springs and load test them for spring rate. Even then it would still be hard to predict a failure. A more detailed test would involve examining on the molecular level looking for microfractures or material inconsistancy/flaws. That kind of test is just way way out of the question. Sorry, but unless your going to do some engine work (improvements) your gonna have to play russian roulette like the rest of us.

 

Sorry for just getting back to you guys. I got my truck back yesterday evening as promised. It ran fine all the way to work this morning (74 miles) and I hope I don't have any more problems.
The repair was they replaced the #6 valve spring (didn't ask if it was exhaust or intake) and it cost me $308. I am thinking I got robbed by the stealership again because I just read where one of you posted the springs are only $1.50 each! I looked under the hood this morning to check things out and it didn't look like they even touched my motor at first until I saw the oil on the frame under the valve cover.
I have had the tick ever since I bought the truck. This does seem connected, especially that now after the spring has been replaced the tick is gone!! It may come back but for now I can't hear it at all. They told me they used the "upgraded springs" (WTF?) on that valve. I asked them if I could replace all of them and they told me it wouldn't help. They also couldn't 'inspect' the rest of the springs for weakness because they didn't have a spring compression tool. This coming from a dealer?! Overall, I am happy with the work they did, or at least the time it took them. I still feel like I got raped, but I expected worse so it wasn't that bad. I could have just as easy dropped the valve and caused internal damage to the cylinder and head, but I guess I was lucky this time.
I did talk to Dodge customer service and, as you can guess, it wasn't very pleasant. I asked them why a recall has not been issued when they know they have this problem. I stated that I was going about 80 when my truck started shuddering. I had an 18 wheeler beside me so I had to slow down to get in the right lane so I could pull off on the shoulder. The truck had died and I had no power steering, no power brakes, and was losing speed fast. I could have easily been ran over out there. She said she wasn't authorized to issue recalls and could not tell me why they haven't done so. DUH!! I told her that I guess not enough people has been killed by this so why bother, right?! I ended the call by saying I would never buy another Dodge product, which is a shame because I have always been a Dodge man. I know you get bad ones in every make and model, but when they have a widespread issue and won't fix it (other than the upgrades they did to future models), then I can't trust their product anymore to carry my family around.
I am going to keep running my truck since I still owe $18000 and it only blue books $10000 with my mileage. I am also looking into possibly upgrading the springs, but I was told you have to be careful with this. If you put in a set of springs over your old valves and they are too stiff, you could pull thetop off the valves. It is recommended to change thesprings, valves, guides, keepers, shims, and sleeves all at the same time. It makes sense to me, but I don't know if I want to go that route yet. I am worried though that if I break another one it might drop the valve and cost me a motor, so therisk definately outweighs the cost.

As far as the diff topic, mine is doing fine. I pull moderate loads at times and run the truck hard when responding to calls (volunteer fireman). I have only changed the rear oil once and I know it is time to do it again. And as far the engine oil, I use Mobil 1 without a problem. After 123,000 miles my oil is still clean between changes. I also use a K&N oil filter.

Thanks for your replies, and if I haven't answered any of your specific questions regarding this incident, please ask.

 

as far as i kno you only have to replace the springs...i am no mechanic though and would recomend talking to a seasoned one that is not all ape **** over certain vehicles being crap and others being perfect (for an unbias opinion) continuein on i have only heard of needin the springs replaced and rods and retainers when doing massive cams... why wouldnt a highly respected company like comp cams tell us to repalce EVERYTHING if they thought it was needed? true there are exceptions but i know they will recomend what is neccesary when going for big HP in the valvetrain. just a thought. i would assume only springs are really needed. i feel ya on the dealership. a whole set of springs could have been swapped for that price! I feel like iim drivin on needles due to the valve train and trany AND diff. issues and IT SUCKS!! my next truck wont be a dodge either (unless i can afford the Cummins and thats not likely).
wat is your normal oil change interval? and you have only changed the fluid in the rear once?!