I have heard of people doing it many times but have never tried it myself. How hard is it to pull the fender liners on the front. Any pictures of what bolts have to be removed or opther tricks that might be helpful?

Reason for asking is i want to check my manifolds for loose bolts/ leaks...i have an awful sound and figured this would be the best/ easiest place to start.

 

Couple bolts and push pins front and back. Vacuum canistor has 3 bolts. ABS sensor push pin. Not hard to find the fasteners, but can seem like a puzzle to remove when loose.

 

no help chief, but if you have a way, to post up the "noise", man, that be great. I know diesels make noises, but think i got 4-5 different noises going on.

 

I may try to get at it tonight....this noise is driving me nuts.

As for recording it...i cant hear it at idle so it make is harder to record. The mic on my phone wont pick up the noise for all the other "normal" noises.

It sounds like a tick, or a chi, chi, chi while driving....hoping it's just an exhaust leak.

Any other tips on removing the liner? I'm guessing the tire has to be removed to get it out.

 

I've only removed the left (driver's side), but I've done it both ways (tire installed and tire removed). With the tire on, you'll have to unbolt the liner and drop it down so it rests on the tire and then do your work. If you need more room to reach what you are working on, then you might want to remove the wheel just to have more elbow room. I was only working on the IDM, so it was easier to just leave the tire installed since I was able to access the connections easily. For what you are doing, it might be best to remove the wheel as well.

From what I remember, there are four 8mm head bolts with large fender washers and four really small hex head sheet metal screws to remove the liner.
The first two long bolts with large fender washers are up towards the front, right behind the front bumper. They come up from the bottom. Then there is one more long bolt at the 12 o'clock position just inside the lip of the fender. You'll have to peek your head in there to see it. The last bolt will be towards the back of the liner, around the 3 o'clock position. The 4 or 5 little hex head screws are on the fender lip as it follows the wheel well.

I don't remember needing to remove anything from the engine compartment side....I think I was able to access all the fasteners from the wheel well side.

I have no clue on the passenger side.

 

Thanks Greg....

Dean, so there are a few things to pull from under the hood to get the pass side off?

 

Shawn, the way you described the noise, it sounds like you are on the right track.

 

If memorie serves me right you dont have to pull anything under the hood, you can gain access to what you need to unbolt from the liner. Sounds like your on the right track check to make sure your up-pipes are still tight at the back of the manifold while your there too

 

Don't have to pull anything from underhood, but there are 3 bolts from the vacuum canistor(?) that stick through the liner on pass side, you'll see 'em. Just remove the nuts. I remember the fender washers and the fender lip hex screws Greg mentioned. There was a large plastic push pin below the door hinges, and the wiring for the ABS was on a push pin on the liner. I left my wheel attached, and this probably made removal more difficult.

 

well after i fianally got home last night i had enough time to pull the passenger side liner. like you guys said....about 6 screws, three nuts, and three plastic push pins and it was loose.

After talking to it nicely i got it out but the whole time i was thinking to myself...i aint getting this back in.

upon first inspection it didnt seem like the manifolds were leaking or the bolts were loose. I put a socket on the bolts for #7 and #5...they seemed tight but i didnt want to try too hard. I'll put my torque wrench on it today.

I figure the next step is to presurize the system to check for boost leaks. Now that i can see the manifold and the bottom of the valve covers it should be easier to check.

Speaking of valve covers....it appeared there is a little bit of oil coming out of the bottom rear side of the valve covers???? could be left over from the cup replacement???

 

While your there clean up the oil and make sure thats where its coming form. Have you checked to make sure the VC were tight?

 

Will do....i was gonna check the valve covers for tightness but figured i'd wait until i hook up my boost leak checker....i already mixed up some soapy water to check it all tonight.

 

I didnt get a chance to mess with it today....but i did a little yesterday.

i checked for boost leaks and could hear air escaping from somewhere on the rear passenger side. couldnt really make out where it was coming from....soap didnt help. from sticking my head up in the wheel well (tire and liner removed) it sounded like it was coming from the valve cover?

Question....when checking for boost leaks shoould i see a reading on my boost guage in the truck? granted all i have is a small pancake compressor but the gauge barley moved when i could hear the air escaping.

I went ahead and pulled the passer side valve cover....checked all the rocker bolts and injector hold down....can they be too tight?

 

Which system are you pressurizing? Intake or Exhaust.
If you are checking the intake side then you need to connect post CCV or you will be pressurizing the crank case as well as the IC tubes. Removing the oil fill cap will tell you real quick if the crank case is pressurized.

If you are looking for exhaust manifold leaks, I presume the method would be to pressurize the exhaust at the back of the truck. The OEM mufflers have a drain hole so you will have to plug it for the test. You should be able to check your up pipes as well as the manifolds with this test. Although, I really don't know if it works or not but I've been wanting to try and see if pressurizing the exhaust tip would show if the up pipes are leaking. Perhaps someone has tried it and will chime in with their results.

 

i was initially pressurising post CCV but the air noise escaping the CCV was preventing me from hearing the other air noise so i rigged up my checker to test pre CCV. I assumed as long as i dodnt go over 20 psi it would be fine.

checking this way would not allow me to see/hear leaks from the mainfolds or up-pipes?