I got my head gasket in, Figured out the smoking it was doing and now I have yet another problem. When the truck is idling the engine sounds great. but as soon as I drive it out of the drive way and theres a little load on it, i get a noise out of the engine. I was attributing it to valve tick, but it could be knock or pinging (I dont know what the difference is between the names. its what causes them?) I doesnt happen when the RPMs are steady. I can cruse at 45 and the engine sounds great but as soon as I go slightly up hill or accelerate, the noise comes back.

I tried the easiest ways of fixing it. I retarded the timing as much as could so its not igniting to early, and I though since they milled the head maybe I need to run a higher grade of gas for an increased compression ratio. There is probably 100+ octane in it now. no luck

Not sure what it could be. Im going to check the exhaust manifold for leaks, but its new as are all the gaskets and hard ware. would adjusting the valves have any effect?

 

Does it ever go away after you have driven it for awhile? Can you post a video so we can hear it?

 

Ill try to post a video tomorrow but its going to be from my iPhone, dont know if thats going to be good enough. I've driven it about ten miles and cold or hot the noise is a constant

 

Sounds a LOT like you're getting pinging from pre-detonation (timing advanced too high). Try retarding the timing & see what happens.

 

I retarded the timing to the point it barley ran. still had the noise on acceleration

 

make sure your valve cover isnt over torqued,finger tight then quarter to half a turn more...or 12 inch lbs.it will sit right on the valve train and make a rattling,pinging noise.

 

Is the knock sensor functioning? Any codes stored?

 

Still havent hand enough time to work on it, I didnt know that about the valve cover, Ill try that, I haven'd hear of that before but that would be something I need to try.

The check engine light isnt on but that doesnt mean anything really. Im behin the times with trouble codes. Not sure how to retrieve them. There is a disconnect somewhere between the ECU and the OBD port. I've tried several different OBD readers and non of them will connect.

 

This is the only "reader" you need:

 

Straighten the paper clip, put one end in TE1 & the other end in E1, then turn the key to the ON position & count the blinks of the CEL. They will be two digit codes, i.e., 5 blinks followed by a pause, then 2 blinks would be a code 52. There can be multiple codes, so it will continue repeating when it's done.

 

Id put my $ on a vacuum leak! Any jumping in rpm's at idle? Even the smallest vacuum leak will become a larger leak when the skinny pedal is pushed. The motor needs air, and will get it from the path of least resistance.

Id start by checking the tps is correctly adjusted, and start searching for vacuum leaks. Theres about a million miles of vacuum lines in these rihs, so its quite likely there is a small leak somewhere.

 

Injectors, or an exhaust valve out of whack?

My truck does the same as you describe. I recently ate an exhaust gasket just upstream of the cat, and it got a lot louder. I think I can barely hear it at idle, but it definitely gets louder directly in proportion to the load on the engine. Kinda like a chainsaw with a loose chain?

All I know is power and MPG haven't been affected... so I'm not really concerned. Might replace the exhaust gasket to quiet it down a bit, but that's it. If you figure it out though, I would love to know!

 

I finally got the truck to work right. It was pinging. I had set the timing one tooth oo high on the distributor. I had it backwards. ever time I though I was retarding the throttle I was actually advancing it more. I admit it, that was stupid. turning a simple fix into a complex issue.

 

YYYEEESSSSSSSSSSAHHH!!!

I love short threads with resolutions!

 

How did you find you were one tooth to high? Just take the cap off, put the mark on 0, and noticed the rotor was off by a hair? I think I'm having a similar issue