Pronounced "TICK" on very front injector

[MegaJeff]

I thank all of you members who have been around here for a long time supplying me with enough knowledge to be dangerous!

I, however, totalled my last 06 Mega (a 17yr old pulled a left turn right as I entered the intersection an put my Cummins right between his wheels thus t-boning him and totalling my baby) and now am driving a new-to-me 06 Mega with 89K on the clock.

My question for you guys is this truck has a pronounced "TICKING" that is there most of the time... especially at idle. I have felt each injector line and the one closest to the front (#1?) seems to pulse really hard as compared to the rest of them. I don't have the history of this truck as I bought it out of San Antonio from a dealer there. Prices for same truck here in AZ are a good $3-4K more. Anyway, I have tried using several tanks of Diesel Kleen or Power Service and it does not seem to disappear.

My question is should I be worried about it? My last 06 never did this. Should I take it to the dealer and have them listen to it?

Thanks again guys!

Jeff

 

[Prairie Dog]

The front injector always has a much more pronounced tick to it. It's especially evident over all the others if you use mechanics stethoscope. Even just putting your hand on it you can feel it much stronger than any of the others.
How loud is it? Can you hear it with the hood closed?

 

[George Cameron]

Cylinder 1's injector line doesn't have a clamp to stabilize it. Maybe that is why it clicks more. Also, it feed off the end of the fuel rail rather than from the side. Some of the reflected pressure waves in the pressurized fuel (about 7500 psi at idle) could be intensified in this orientation. What you are hearing is like water hammer in a pipe. Some folks go to an oversized rail assembly to minimize the hammer effect - or at lease move it to a different spot in the RPM band.



My 06 clicks a little. I never paid a great deal of attention to it. I did make sure that all the line clamps on 2-6 are tightened well because they are a known source of clicking noises. A loose clamp on #4 can lead to early line failure.



What would really quiet down the entire injector system would be a small accumulator that would function over the 7500 - 30000 psi range and provide a small amount of compliance in the system to absorb the pressure impulse shock waves. Not trivial (or cheap) to design one that will last a long time...

 

[LNaugle]

Lose the ps and try standadyne fuel treatment. has lube in it and will probably quiet it down a lil but main noise is because of no isolator... if never had valve adjust you might try that too... . if you start your truck and open the door and can see it shake prob need valve adjust... I think sevice is supposed to be every 50,000 miles

 

[Mhannink]

best fuel additive for lube is canola oil. go fill up and add a quart, it will probably quiet it down a lot. however its sort of a band aid "fix" a rubber damper clamped on the line would be the best solution and would quiet it down.