[4th Gen : 01-07]: Engine Tick Under Load
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Joined: May 2021
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Engine Tick Under Load
I obtained a 2002 Dodge Caravan 3.3L from a local police auction hoping to make use of the van for camping. It is a former police vehicle
The van seems to run great, plenty of power all around. Has been driven 500+ miles without breaking down so far. Even offroad.
I'm trying to diagnose an engine tick that occurs when the engine is under load only when driving. It cannot be heard when idle, or when revving the engine in park. Only while driving the vehicle and at higher speeds of typically 40MPH+. Sometimes the tick is louder than other times. It can't be heard on a flat road 99% of the time, if you do hear it, it's typically super quiet. But if you go up hill, it's ticking away. Doesn't matter what gear you're in, the tick is still there and about the same loudness. Sometimes it can carry in loudness, which is odd.
If I have been driving on a flat road for a while and I go up hill, the tick slowly increases in loudness as I go up hill until it's consistent in volume. It's not typically immediate that it's loud. As if there's plenty of fuel or fuel pressure until it slowly decreases as the fuel intake increases when under load. But I'm no mechanic, so it's a theory based on my lack of knowledge.
If I put the van in "3" or "L" while going down hill, there is no tick at all, regardless of speed.
Initially to resolve the issue, I noticed a loose spark plug. I tightened it, and this reduced the tick noise a good amount. Soon after I replaced all the sparks plugs because they were all in poor condition. This definitely helped reduce the noise a bit more. But didn't resolve it. Spark plug wires have not yet been replaced.
There was an oil leak at one point from the valve covers. That was fixed.
Also noticed a leaking fuel rail pressure cap. It was incredibly dirty inside the gasket, this causing the leak, which was caused by the leaking oil issue. Once I cleaned that up, it no longer leaked. This did not change anything with the tick.
I eventually added some fuel injector cleaner, thinking it could be the injectors making the loud tick because of the dirty pressure cap. This cleaner seemed to temporarily quiet things down for an hour long trip where the tick was almost unnoticeable at times, even when going up hill and under load. At that point I had to fill up, and thus having a more thinned out fuel injector cleaner. Where the noise did pick up from there, but varying in loudness. I haven't tried using cleaner again yet. But will try it out again and see how it sounds.
I'm no mechanic, but I do all the work on my vehicles to the best of my knowledge. Any ideas on what this could be or what I could do to find the issue?
The van seems to run great, plenty of power all around. Has been driven 500+ miles without breaking down so far. Even offroad.
I'm trying to diagnose an engine tick that occurs when the engine is under load only when driving. It cannot be heard when idle, or when revving the engine in park. Only while driving the vehicle and at higher speeds of typically 40MPH+. Sometimes the tick is louder than other times. It can't be heard on a flat road 99% of the time, if you do hear it, it's typically super quiet. But if you go up hill, it's ticking away. Doesn't matter what gear you're in, the tick is still there and about the same loudness. Sometimes it can carry in loudness, which is odd.
If I have been driving on a flat road for a while and I go up hill, the tick slowly increases in loudness as I go up hill until it's consistent in volume. It's not typically immediate that it's loud. As if there's plenty of fuel or fuel pressure until it slowly decreases as the fuel intake increases when under load. But I'm no mechanic, so it's a theory based on my lack of knowledge.
If I put the van in "3" or "L" while going down hill, there is no tick at all, regardless of speed.
Initially to resolve the issue, I noticed a loose spark plug. I tightened it, and this reduced the tick noise a good amount. Soon after I replaced all the sparks plugs because they were all in poor condition. This definitely helped reduce the noise a bit more. But didn't resolve it. Spark plug wires have not yet been replaced.
There was an oil leak at one point from the valve covers. That was fixed.
Also noticed a leaking fuel rail pressure cap. It was incredibly dirty inside the gasket, this causing the leak, which was caused by the leaking oil issue. Once I cleaned that up, it no longer leaked. This did not change anything with the tick.
I eventually added some fuel injector cleaner, thinking it could be the injectors making the loud tick because of the dirty pressure cap. This cleaner seemed to temporarily quiet things down for an hour long trip where the tick was almost unnoticeable at times, even when going up hill and under load. At that point I had to fill up, and thus having a more thinned out fuel injector cleaner. Where the noise did pick up from there, but varying in loudness. I haven't tried using cleaner again yet. But will try it out again and see how it sounds.
I'm no mechanic, but I do all the work on my vehicles to the best of my knowledge. Any ideas on what this could be or what I could do to find the issue?