so what exactly will need to be done to drop the pan? it doesnt look theres enough clearence. and what exactly will i be looking for? if it is the bearing, how hard is it to replace? if left alone what will happen as it gets worse, more noise? or will something come apart or seize up or what? and if its the bearing will there be metal visible in the oil? is this like a main bearing or is it a different kind of bearing? what other signs could i look for?

 

btw, its been 2 weeks since the accident and i have been driving the truck everyday since and towing 5k 10 of those days. the noise has only gotten a slight bit louder if at all. its barely noticable when not towing, and its more clear after letting off the throttle. its most noticable when towing w/ a load. but i still wouldnt say its a very loud noise, more like a subtle tapping.

 

An injector? Loosening rocker arm? Maybe what the service guy at the dealer said holds true..............

 

i cant see a rocker loosening up w/ only 10k miles on the truck, but it does sound like a valvetrain noise. what would a bad injector sound like and how loud would it be? how loud would a bad thrust bearing be? the windows have to be up and the radio has to be off to hear this noise. its coming through the firewall on the drivers side.

 

Can you hear it at idle, while standing next to it with the hood open? Short of having the right tool, use a large long screwdriver as a listening device. Put the handle end up to your ear and the other end on the block, head and so on. You should be able to pin-point or narrow down where the sound is coming from. WELL, hopefully narrow it down that is. You might be able to figure out if it's coming from the bottem end or the top side.

 

If in doubt have the overhead run [set valves ] if still there after that then remove pan . look for bits that look like aluminium. & drop # 6 main check bearing , If it is the thrust bearing & not fixed it will sooner or later mess up the crank $ block

 

I think if you were rear-ended hard enough with a TAG hitched up to cause internal engine damage you'd need someone else to drop off your truck at the local DC repair facility, since you'd be busy recovering in the local hospital's IC unit!

 

thats exactly what i thought at first, but this noise started right after being hit.

sandspur what do you mean have the overhead run set valves??

jprram yes i can hear it at idle while standing next to the truck but it sounds more like an inconsistant ticking from outside the truck. its more noticable inside the truck. i have actually used a stethascope to listen w/ and i started up top w/ the head and i/m and i can hear what sounds like the same noise in the i/m but when i got under the truck and listened to the oil pan i found another noise that could also be what im hearing inside the truck. from the pan it sounds like a rod knock but its not that loud unless im under the truck listening w/ a stethascope and of course the bottom end is probably pretty loud w/o anything wrong.

 

Not really I have seen 855's [350, 400 big cam III ] break the thrust bearing from drivers backing under trailers just a bit hard, the sudden jolt will slap the crank end to end & bust the bearing, In some cases it has even cracked the crank

 

Is it possible that subsequent to the accident your heightened concern for the mechanical well-being of your truck enabled you to notice something new?

... of course, there's always coincidence!

I'm curious as to what the tech said when (if) you mentioned this driveline shock to him?

 

If you have the overhead set = valve adjustment , & its as dealer said the noise will be less, = engine break-in or mileage , If not & its still there you have a problem in the bottom end

 

i didnt want to mention the accident, but i did say that before the noise started i was loading up a bobcat and it got hung up and smacked the trailer into the truck pretty hard. i asked if that could cause any damage from the driveshaft being pushed into the trans/engine. the service writer said no, but then again when i asked him if i would have any problem w/ warranty since i removed my muffler (using delete pipe now, havent installed my mbrp yet) he said he couldnt even tell i had removed it. im not to sure they are very familiar w/ the cummins. he also told me the valves need to be adjusted every 50k. he also said that removing the muffler will damage the engine over time due to some sort of flow numbers that the engine needs to keep. he said to go to cummins website and look for the flow numbers required for that engine and not to have any more or less flow or the engine internals will be damaged over the long run, ***????

 

PM sent Feel free If you'd like I'm not good at typing

 

sorry for being slow, but im still not following you. do you mean checking my fuel mileage?

 

No if it is as the dealer said , By having the valves set what you are hearing will quiet down . If it doesn't & you still hear it as bad then you go to the bottom . bearings