Excessive Diesel rattle

[RHeidbreder]

I have an 04 3500 automatic that the Diesel rattle sound has gotten louder. At times you can hear the engine above the radio & heater fan motor. First time it happened I thought the engine bearings had gone. It is every bit as loud or louder than my 91, 98 & 02. There are no codes listed. I took it to a dealer & their Diesel "expert" said it did not sound right, but had no idea what to do. The fuel mileage on interstate trips has also dropped by about 2 mpg. While I like the sound, I am concerned there has to be something wrong & don't want to damage the engine.

 

[macdaddy]

Try checking the number 4 injector clamp. I had a weird noise noticeable with the hood open for over a year. It' was the clamp rattling. Turns out it's a common problem. Try checking all of them with the motor running. As soon as I squeezed the number 4 inj clamp the noise went away.



Just a long shot!



Mac

 

[p-Bar]

Could have a injector going the tech can test those may be a good idea. How is your oil level ??

 

[RHeidbreder]

Thanks, but that is not the problem.

 

[RHeidbreder]

I feel it is an injector problem, that is why I took it to the dealership. But their expert technician does not have a clue. When I dropped it off he told me it was probably a plugged regenerative canister. Oil pressure remains at around 40-45 lbs at idle, the same as it has always been. Oil level never drops between 3000 mile changes.

 

[JJPage]

I feel it is an injector problem, that is why I took it to the dealership. But their expert technician does not have a clue. When I dropped it off he told me it was probably a plugged regenerative canister. Oil pressure remains at around 40-45 lbs at idle, the same as it has always been. Oil level never drops between 3000 mile changes.

you have an 04... . technician is an idiot.



Some people have had success with lessening the excessive rattle by re-phasing the CP3 injection pump to the motor. You need to pull it out and turn the shaft 120*, and re-install. (I am not absolutely sure on the degrees). You will need a small gear puller or fab one up.

 

[Wingate]

If its gotten louder, and fuel consumption is up, I would suspect diry/weak injectors or rail pressure falling off. Of course, thats assuming ALL normal maintenance has been performed. Pressure falling off and weak/dirty injectors can both cause noisy combustion.

Do you normally run any type of fuel conditioner... if not, you might try adding some and see if it temporarily goes away. Any mods? Recent work performed? Taking longer to start than normal? Smoke at startup?

 

[AABEN]

Try adding 1oz of out board motor oil to 1gal of fuel. This has help me. I bought it at WAL-MART by the gal super TECH TC-w3. you can go to this site Home Page of Mopar1973Man And Cloud 10 Computers

 

[thomasrmmr]

oil pressure gauge

I feel it is an injector problem, that is why I took it to the dealership. But their expert technician does not have a clue. When I dropped it off he told me it was probably a plugged regenerative canister. Oil pressure remains at around 40-45 lbs at idle, the same as it has always been. Oil level never drops between 3000 mile changes.

hi; dont beleave the oil pres , gauge on 2003 thru 2006 the dodge engineers thought we dont need an accurate gauge ! they put an on - off idiot light SENDER UNIT to tell the ecm , that theres oil pressure if you get lower than 45 lbs THE GAUGE STILL SHOWS IT IF YOUR ON THE HIWAY AND LOSE SOME PRESSURE THE GAUGE READS WHATit should be 65 to 70 not thae actual , they want you to blow your motor n pay them to fix it THE OIL PRESSURE GAUGE DOESNT WORK IN ACTUAL LBS ! dont breleave me take it out the resistance goes off as soon as it reads 10 or 5 psi ! you get a leak or WORSE A BAD INJECTOR ,LEAK IN THE OIL YOU DONT SEE ANY DROP IN PRESSURE TILL IT DOES ZERO LBS AND THE MIL LIGHT FLASHES THAT OOPS ITS TOO LATE -YOU SPUN A BEARING AND ATE A PISTON N CYLINDER BUT WE WONT GUARRANTEE IT BECAUSE YOU DIDNT KEEP OIL IN IT ! HOWS THAT FOR AN ANSWER the book says it has a derate in the ecm B. S. the book also says it has a oil pressure TEMPURATURE OVERHEAT LIGHT ?how do yhey do that with an single term , oil idiot light sender ? ask dodge then go n check it out wont you be surprised ! i wonder how many blew a motor n got rid of the truck because its too pricey to fix out of truck , or gave up trying to get them the wolf to guard the hen house ! tom

 

[RHeidbreder]

Have used Cummins conditioner in the past, will try again . Normal maintenace has been performed. Truck is stock, no work has been performed, starting is normal & I haven't seen any smoke upon start up, but willl look closer.

Now to find a place to have the pressure checked. The only dealer in the area that I know of that had the people & the knowledge was shut down by the brain trust at Chrysler.

 

[RHeidbreder]

Will check out the web site.

Thanks

 

[CKelley1]

i had a simular problem. at first it would not throw any codes, as it became worse it finally started to throw p0088 codes. we changed the fac and no change next we checked voltage on the fac, it was weird so we locked it solid, no change. next we changed the rail pressure sensor. no change. next we monitored the rail sensor voltage. it was all over the place. this meant the pump pressure was the same way. next we did a leak down test of the pump. it failed big time. a pump change fixed the problem. i now know why the fac voltage varied so much, the ecm was trying to control the pressure but the pump would not respond. if you think this may be your problem monitor the rail pressure while it is acting up

 

[Trophy Truck]

CKelley1... I have a similiar problem (06' 92,000 miles), rattle getting louder under slight load. Also changed the FAC and pressure sensor, and also took it to the dealer to drive (engine still under factory warranty)... no changes, when changed the FAC and sensor. Dealer said sounded normal therefore did not need to test pressure of do a leak down test.



I might just change the pump if the pump cost is not outrageous. Is it a big deal to change the pump? and did you find the pump on line or local, also curious about the pump cost... Last but not least, I will change the injectors some day.

 

[BIGNASTY]

dealership

This doesn't surprise me I will catch flack for this but I dont think Dodge tech's are up to the Cummins. At least not the one's at Moss or Fram Dodge. If I have any questions I go to Cal Pac. Cummins I buy filters from them ask questions and they seem to really care about the cust. and the reputation or their product and service.

 

[rbattelle]

I have an 04 3500 automatic that the Diesel rattle sound has gotten louder.

Would you describe it as a knocking?



I can "picture" the sound of an '02 24v - is it that same sound? If so, that seems like pilot injection isn't functioning, which would almost certainly be caused by a sticking injector.



Does it get louder just off idle, then quiet down as you accelerate?



Probably the "right" thing to do if it is a sticking injector is to pull the injectors and have them tested. However, as a stopgap, you *might* get away with running some good cleaner through the system. Valvoline makes one that's approved by Cummins. You may also try a tank or two of an ordinary fuel treatment like Stanadyne.



Ryan

 

[CoastyAV8R]

The Dodge tech you spoke with isn't the right person as he doesn't know the truck very well if he mention the re-gen system while talking about your truck. Most dealerships have a diagnostic tool that will shut off the injectors one at a time electrically so you can isolate the injectors if you do have one on it's way out. The fact that your losing mileage would point towards an injector problem.



Does the noise come and go or is it constant? Is it louder under a load? How long has it been happening? Any maintenance procedures done recently?

 

[DPashko]

I had a rattling problem for quite sometime, thought it was injectors, changed them out still a rattle. Finally valve seat dropped and that was the problem!

 

[RHeidbreder]

I own an automotive machine shop & will not do any work for any of the dealerships in the area. Most of the so called technicians should not be allowed to own tools, let alone use them. Unfortunately Cummins shut down the local branch & moved it quite a few miles away.

The engine is always louder than normal at idle & at times gets louder. There seems to be nothing I can pin point that creates the problem. The problem first appeared last winter after a 600 mile trip with no load. Stopped to get fuel & on start up I thought the rod bearings were going out, the noise was that loud. Stopped frequently, but the noise had lessened, so continued. Probably have put 8,000 miles on since that night & other than the noise & mileage decrease I can find nothing else wrong. There has been nothing but routine maintenance done to the truck.

 

[RHeidbreder]

I have had experiences with loose valve seats before & this does not sound like that. Not saying it isn't, anything is possible.

 

[KDubose]

Rattle Rattle Clunk Clunk

I own an automotive machine shop & will not do any work for any of the dealerships in the area. Most of the so called technicians should not be allowed to own tools, let alone use them. Unfortunately Cummins shut down the local branch & moved it quite a few miles away.

The engine is always louder than normal at idle & at times gets louder. There seems to be nothing I can pin point that creates the problem. The problem first appeared last winter after a 600 mile trip with no load. Stopped to get fuel & on start up I thought the rod bearings were going out, the noise was that loud. Stopped frequently, but the noise had lessened, so continued. Probably have put 8,000 miles on since that night & other than the noise & mileage decrease I can find nothing else wrong. There has been nothing but routine maintenance done to the truck.

This sounds Very similar to my recent experience. The sound was not present when I left on my trip and appeared near the end of my return (approx 1000 miles r/t). I noticed a profound "rattle" when I pulled up next to a building. It doesn't necessarily increase with proportion to engine-speed but when I open the hood it sounds like it's coming directly from the front of the engine (a 2007 5. 9L). Initially I thought a tensioner or maybe the fan clutch (sounds like something running without a bearing).



I felt around the engine while running checking for rattles but will investigate further before taking into the shop. Coincidentally this morning it seemed far less?