03 Ram 1500 4.7 Engine Tick

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MarkV

MarkV

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The manifolds are not loose in anyway. The bolts are all there. And rusted right up. The manifold is right tight as far as i can tell. I have not changed the gaskets. I know i will break the bolts off.....

This engine ticks from start up to shut off. It does seem to go away or get quieter around 2'200 rpm. I am not sure if it goes away completely or if the engine nose overpowers the tick.
 

buckeyexx

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Man you are describing exactly what I'm dealing with. Mine sounds as if it is coming from around the bell housing from as far as I can tell. It will tick at start up then go away after about a minute then comes back after about five minutes of driving and ticks till I shut it down. My truck runs excellent other than the damn ticking how about yours? Does it idle smooth or idle rough?


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MarkV

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That makes me feel better lol. Same here, but if i hold my ear up to the exhaust pipe that crosses underneath i can hear it from inside the pipe.

Mine ticks from start to stop.....it never misses a beat. The performance is fine. You cant tell on the performance that there is a problem. It idles very smooth....yours?

My Tick
 
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buckeyexx

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It also never misses a beat. Idles perfect. One thing I never mentioned before is that it has been doing this for over three years so I'm not to concerned but it annoys me. It does have over 200 thousand on it so I'm sure a rebuild is in the near future.


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According to the previous owner it has mine has being ticking for about 2 and a half years. It is extremely annoying!!
 

Neilct

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Oh man! Your experience sounds just like mine in my 01 4.7L dakota...We had a noise that was more of a knock than a tick, similar to the video. It came and went with rpm while driving, does it often at idle and coasting to a stop. Turns out it was the driver side catalytic converter. It has come apart inside and sounds just like a knocking rod when the piece starts rolling around. started at about 180k and it the same at 245k.

Probably worth a listen if you have cats near the manifolds like the dakota.
 

Neilct

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I just saw your video...Doesn't look like you have cats near the engine. sorry that sounds pretty bad...when my 5.4L knocked like that it was a rod and the oil system was full of metal shavings.
 
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Yea, i dont think it is the cats.....sniff sniff. I think it is a rod or valve or lash adjuster some how...... I did replace them all though. Going to run some sea foam through it and see if that cleans out the oil pipe in the head....other wise i might drop the oil pan and check the rods...... But you would think that it would change over 7'000 clicks.
 

Aries Rising

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Hoping for Good News on Your "Ticking" Sound....

Yea, i dont think it is the cats.....sniff sniff. I think it is a rod or valve or lash adjuster some how...... I did replace them all though. Going to run some sea foam through it and see if that cleans out the oil pipe in the head....other wise i might drop the oil pan and check the rods...... But you would think that it would change over 7'000 clicks.

MarkV,

Recovering Ford fan here, and official Dodge noob, so go easy on me. :)

And I hope I'm not breaking any forum rules here, by holding a "seance" for your (older) thread, but I'm curious as to how you made out with the "tick."

But first, I'd like to commend you on just jumping right in there, and going deeper and deeper, as needed. You got skills, Dude! And "No Fear," as they used to say. LOL

Secondly, the reason I'm interested, personally, is I'm about to travel 3 hours, to go look at a 3rd Gen. Ram 1500, with the same 1st Gen. 4.7.

And with this ticking issue seemingly being so common to the 4.7, and the multiple reasons people actually find out that seem to cause very similar noises, I'm a bit spooked on the 4.7L--especially given it's propensity to "sludge up," starve out and suffer catastrophic failure. (In fact, I'm thinking this truck probably does have a tick, as it seems to have been for sale for a longish-while, now.)

Also--no offense, and maybe it's just that your phone is more sensitive than the others, but of the three videos you posted, your "tick" sounded not only the loudest (IMO) but also the heaviest. Now, I'm just a recovering Ford guy, but I had a number of Ford's "Big Sixes," i.e., the 4.9L/300 cu. in. truck engine (GREAT engine, btw...--made from about 1966 to 1996).

And when I worked at the Ford garage, I had the techs come out and listen to one "Big Six" I had that had a "tick," and they, to a man, all felt it was a bad wrist pin. I drove the truck another 20,000 miles after that (though I did no towing) and it never got any worse.

I blather on about this because my (Ford) wrist pin noise (IF that's what it was--I never did anything about it) sounded noticeably less "heavy" than your "tick." No offense, but your "tick" sounds, to my (untrained, hobbyist-ear) to be heavy enough to be a big-end rod knock, or a bottom-end bearing knock.

But, as I said, I'm a noob to Dodge, and these new, OHC engines, the 4.7 included.


Also, I'm so unfamiliar with the specifics of the 4.7's architecture, I was unable to identify the actual part that broke in the "self-explanatory" pics you posted, in your #17 post. Is that a cam "hold-down"/journal-end, some sort of "rocker," or...?

And, as was suggested, did a machine shop (apparently) weld it up? It looked like a small enough part that I would have thought replacement would have been cheaper--obviously, it wasn't, but I'm just curious here, as I'm trying to learn as much about the 4.7 before I decide whether or not to take the plunge.

FYI--the mileage on the truck I'm looking at is low (for the year) like yours was.

Thanks again, and I'm hoping (for everyone's sake) to hear a happy ending to your story.


Oh! And to anyone attempting to diagnose such noises: when I worked at the Ford garage, they had a system of remote microphones they could attach, and swtich channels on, while driving, to attempt to identify various types of "NVH" (Noise, Vibration and Harshness).

Not being able to afford that system, I bought a simple Mechanic's Stethascope, and that thing has saved me more time and grief than I can even recall:

KD Tools Mechanics Stethoscope
Sears.com

I didn't get a KD-brand, but I probably spent about $20. (in the '90's) and got a good one, very similar to the one I linked to, above.

Old timers will (correctly) tell you you can do the same thing with a long screwdriver/bar/broomstick shoved in your ear, but the fine rod on the stethascope makes things so much easier to pinpoint--especially around hot/greasy/MOVING engine/drivetrain parts. (I've even used it to identify bad bearings in heating boilers' circulation pumps, driveshaft carrier bearings, you name it.) LOL I can't recommend buying one strongly enough, if anyone hasn't already.

Thanks,

Aries Rising
 
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MarkV

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Hey! I'll do my best to answer the questions you have! Also here is a post when i found the problem. http://www.ramforum.com/f50/4_7_engine_tick_fixed-76721/

So first the common 4.7 tick: There is a couple of issues that lead to it, One is that if you run it short trips it does not warm up all the way and builds moisture up in the engine. Which builds up sludge. Also the time between oil changes and the quality of the oil.

As for the loudness of my video. It was recorded inside our garage. So the sounds is probably bouncing around in there a bit. Also the tick was echoing down the exhaust pipe very loudly. Which also probably made it have more bass to the tick.

As for the noise being a rod nock or a bottom end bearing it see link above. It was the piston.

The "self explanatory" pictures are of the driver side engine head. See attached picture. It is the mount for the upper timing chain rail.

To replace that would be replacing the entire head. This was free (my uncle is a machinist)

A side note the heads are aluminum. Do not ever over heat the engine or the will crack.

Another thread on my adventure: http://www.ramforum.com/f44/4_7_engine_tick-73071/

The ending of my story: http://www.ramforum.com/f50/4_7_engine_tick_fixed-76721/

I did use a stethoscope to help pin point the noise. It really helped.

All told i think the 4.7 is decent engine. It is not a bad engine. It has enough power and will last if you take care of it.

If you have any other question or i missed one just let me know. :happy107:
 

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PapaGrune

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Well this seems to be a updated thread so I will post here, not that I want to steal or hijack someones thread..

I have a 2004 Quad Cab 1500 with a 4.7 too. 216K miles on it. It makes a ticking sound when I cold start it... It quiets down in a minute or so.. Depending on how long it sits.. Several hours a fresh startup and it might do it again... Short waits of a hour or less, it is not noticeable.

I use Castrol 20w-50w high mileage oil, and have it changed regularly. I did add a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil, last oil change, which seemed to help some.... OK I am not loosing my mind... I have used it in a lot of things before... It quiets lifters down... I used Gulf Pride Top Oil many years ago, and GM made something similar to top oil that I used when I worked for a Pontiac Dealer.

Do I need to see about timing chains? Something else?

Thanks folks
PG
 
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MarkV

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Sounds like it is oil and temp related.... It might be a gunked up lash adjuster.... or a low oil supply getting to somewhere. Have you tried run SeaFoam through it?
 
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