Hi everyone,

I am new here. I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 conversion van. I have put about 3000 miles on it since I bought it. Now has almost 120,000 miles.
I just took it camping on a 6 hour drive each way. I noticed a very, very light ticking from the right side of the motor while driving to the campground. I could barely hear it at all. Gets louder with RPM, no noise in neutral or park when revving at least that I can hear. Put it in gear and drive and the noise is back. Gets louder the more of a load like going up hill and nothing while coasting downhill. Just had the oil changed before the trip at my normal mechanic. I did a complete tuneup 3000 miles ago and replaced the alternator and radiator before the long drive. It's much louder now than when I started the trip. Any ideas? (just happy to make it back!)

Thanks!!

 

What engine??

Could be an exhaust leak, might be spark knock. If you have the kegger intake manifold, have you checked the plenum for oil? They are notorious for blowing the gasket, and that gives you a vacuum leak, which leads to other issues. Using any oil? Gas mileage gotten worse lately?

Welcome to DF!

 

Hi and thanks for the reply! It's a 5.2 V8 (or 318 I think) I believe the motor is all stock. Is a Kegger intake manifold an aftermarket part? Oil was clean and @ perfect level after the 750 mile drive. No leaks anywhere. I got about 13 mpg the whole trip. I am hoping it is an exhaust leak but confused that I don't hear the noise in neutral/park when revving or coasting down hill in gear. Only in gear and under load.

 

kegger is the stock manifold. If you aren't losing any oil, it's probably fine. Gas mileage is about where I would expect it to be as well.

A minor exhaust leak may not show up unless the engine is under load...... Try driving with the doghouse off, and see if you can hear it better, and where it sounds like it might be coming from. Could also try running a tank of mid-grade gas, and see if that changes anything at all.

 

Thanks. Of course I just filled it with regular after I got back from the camping trip. Made it all the way back on one tank! I usually add Lucas additive to every tank also. I will take the doghouse off and see what I can see.
I was thinking (hoping) exhaust since it got noticeably louder the more I drove. From me being barely able to hear it on the way up north to being very easy to hear by the time I got back.

 

Give it a shot, and see what happens. Let us know.

 

I have had similar issues and here is what I have run into...

Once I had an exhaust leak...the sound of an exhaust leak is much "softer" than a lifter or valve tick...so try to determine which one you have...
I did have a lifter lock up on my when I had the 3.9 in my van. Replacing the lifters is not that hard...
But normally when I hear a tick, it is because the doghouse had been kicked by either me or my wife. In this situation, the doghouse is still mounted, but moves enough to unseal its self. When I first had my van, it only had 2 of the 4 brackets to hold the doghouse down...as an close as you are to the valvetrain (think about it, your ear is only 6ft away from the heads) you will hear normal valvetrain noise...

Check out your doghouse first...

 

Turned out to be a warped manifold. 8 hours labor for my mechanic . Sounds great now. I noticed a lot of AC condensation today. Is that normal ? It leaks all over the frame where there is already some rust. Seems like a bad place to be saturated by water ! The AC system is brand new from soups to nuts.

Thanks ,
Josh

 

Sweet!

It sounds like your AC is running right...that is where the evaporator case drains...