600 Cummins "cackle"

[FParlee]

Hey guys,

I'm not sure if this is the right forum, (possible 911?) but my new 600 is making noise and it is getting louder.



The only way to discribe it is it sounds like a gasser with bad pinging going up a hill. It only happens when asking for a slight increase in power. Now it is louder at speed, and I can just barely hear it at idle when hot. Poked around under the hood tonight with a screw-driver (stethescope) feeling for noise. Couldn't pin point it but what I did find scared me. Injector feed tubes 2 through 6 have no feel to them, meaning the fuel pulse is barely perceptable. The tube that feeds injector 1 feels like someone is on the inside beating it with a hammer!!!!!!!!



I don't drive it hard and it has 3500 miles on it. It is bone stock and has not had the March reflash. It exibits the 2000 rpm hesitation and start up studder/hesitation. Mostly hiway miles commute and getting 14 mpg hand calculated.



Anyone heard similar noise? I think I should get the dealer to look/listen, but they won't do anything instantainiously, need to make an appointment. I would like to get some idea if these things are normal or cause for alarm.



Thanks for any help!



Fred Parlee

 

[rbattelle]

Hmmmm. Well, it could be a fuel system problem, although for 5 out of 6 injectors to be having problems I would suspect it's back in the rail somewhere, rather than at the injectors.



Could be a lift pump or CP-3 on it's way out. Or a bad load of fuel that clogged up the filter enough to make it run poorly.



I'd say step 1 is to change the filter. Let us know what happens!

 

[mberry]

I noticed something similar when I drove a new "600" the other day. It bothered me but if I had been able to buy it I would have mentioned it to the dealer.



The worst part was it sounded a little like a powerstroke.

 

[klenger]

My 600 has a pinging sound at low power levels. Many other 600 owners have also reaported it. Speculation is that it is normal and caused by the additional injection events. Don't worry, be happy.

 

[sag2]

The extra pulsation on #1 fuel tube seems to be normal. It was that way on both my 03 and the 04. Have also noticed it on my partners truck. The "pinging" sound is just the pilot injection coming in and out.

 

[FlyFisha']

I hear the same thing in my '04... but I also hear the exact same "ping" type sound in my dads '96 12 Valve.



I believe it's a characteristic of the Cummins engine. -- that is, if we're talking about the same noise.



Jeff

 

[klenger]

If the pre-3rd gens made the noise, you would never have heard it becasue the injection pump made so much noise you couldn't hear anything else. Now people are complaning about transmission noise, axle noise, ... that we could never hear before.

 

[RobertBolinger]

Originally posted by klenger

If the pre-3rd gens made the noise, you would never have heard it becasue the injection pump made so much noise you couldn't hear anything else. Now people are complaning about transmission noise, axle noise, ... that we could never hear before.

You forgot to mention the people complaing that the radios are no good.

 

[Ken F]

Cackle !!!! Now THERE'S a word I never wanted to hear again. I rid my self of that when I sold my 7. 3's. I threw it in, no extra charge.



Boy, talk about something that sparked a lot of :-{} .



Ken.

 

[AFacey]

Taken from a reliable source the Ping or clatter is normal and it really is only at lower RPM. The clatter is a result from changing the calibration for better fuel economy and smoke control.

 

[rbattelle]

If it makes anyone feel any better, I just had my truck running and I felt the fuel lines to the injector. Sure enough, #1 was banging away while the others I felt little or nothing.



I think this may have to do with the distance from #1 to the fuel rail. That #1 line doesn't have a lot of bends in it. Bends tend to make the line more rigid, which is why we don't feel much pulsation in #2-6 (these have lots of bends in them).

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

FParlee, a number of members have had a knocking sound when their 3rd Gen engines were new which went away over time. Some others have had success with these remedies:



• Quality fuel additive such as Stanadyne or Howes.

• Try getting fuel somewhere else, preferably a truck stop or any place that is high volume.





Good luck, Vaughn

 

[FParlee]

Thanks guys,



From what I am hearing, these things are normal and I'm not hurting anything. That's great!



I will try the Howes as I can get it locally where I buy fuel.



Thanks again.



One more thing, I have heard here and on other nets, that the ping or cackle is a lean fuel condition to make the EPA numbers. Would a fuel box possibly do the 2 birds/one stone thing?



Fred

 

[Blakers]

Originally posted by FParlee

One more thing, I have heard here and on other nets, that the ping or cackle is a lean fuel condition to make the EPA numbers.

All diesels run lean all the time, unless they're smoking. They always run with excess air. Not like a gas engine that requires a specific air/fuel ratio to operate.



Blake

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

I read that at full throttle it was still no more than 20 to 1 for a diesel. Compared to a gas engines 14 to 1.

Excluding us over fuelers of course.