Ok, 2001 f350 drw 6 speed manual, 117k, DPtuner(always in stock mode, i really don't know why...), boost and pyro gauges, bellowed up-pipes, ats housing, afe stage 1 and mbrp 4", 50 cent mod..... with that being said, i have a pinging - tapping noise on the passenger side of the engine, it sounds like a ball ping hammer hitting the block, with a hollow like sound... i thought injector but i have no smoke whatsoever, only a little puff of white/blueish/ greyish on start-up of a morning and not every morning and no loss of power no miss just the pinging, i thought injector because i can get up to highway speed and let off the pedal, the engine bay will go quiet until i hit the go pedal or it slows down enough back to idle speed. the sound is there whether warm or cold engine or outside temps. it is driving me crazy!! i need to get it diagnosed but really have no reputable diesel mechanics here and i don't want to take it to the dealership. i am in TN about mid-way between nashville and knoxville, does anyone else have this pinging issue? or any ideas what it could be, also, thought about taking it to swamps diesel in lavergne and letting them look at it, are the reputable? really could use some help - thank you guys and gals....

 

Swamps is absolutely reputable, good group there.

As to the pinging...when you did the 50 cent mod did check torque on everything under the valve covers?

Have you done any of the in tank mods? Aerated fuel can sound nasty when it gets in the injectors.

Do you run any fuel treatments? I run the ford diesel fuel additive and I can tell by sound alone if I forget to treat 2 tanks in a row.

exhaust leak? The manifolds tend to get warped and the sound can be as you described.

Can you hear it idle? Maybe use a piece of garden hose as a stethoscope to locate the vicinity and take the diagnosis from there.

 

Honestly I won't want to guess at what a ball pin hammer sound would be other than a rod knock or wrist pin. But I hope that is not the case. I have heard good things about Swamps and I would trust them with my truck.

 

yes, i did re torque everything when i did the mod, i also took the valve cover off last weekend to check everything again - and to eliminate each injector at a time to see if it would quit, wouldn't you know it, the thing ran fine and i couldn't get it to make the noise, so that was 2 hours well spent....

I have no in-tank mods and i do run diesel kleen (the grey bottle), it almost does sound like an exhaust leak and i have looked for soot buildup around the manifolds and haven't noticed any, you can hear it at idle, i have tried to use a stethoscope and it sounds more prevalent in the #3 and #7 cylinder.

I am probably gonna take a day off work and go see the guys at swamps.

thanks

 

That has been my fear the whole time this has been going on.... something bad internally gone wrong, it frustrates the heck out of me because i take good care of my truck, religious about maintenance, others that don't... their truck runs forever without any issues...

I am going to call swamps and make an appointment.

Thanks

 

This has bad injector written all over it. The reason it behaved with the VC off is because people typically don't stand with their head under the hood and over an open engine... with it in gear. Slide from neutral to in gear with your foot on the brake... I'll bet that prairie dog pops up on command and starts-a-barkin'.

 

I was thinking the same as Tugly. Glad he had an audible example to compare with.

 

Thanks Tugly, I will try that.... i am going to try and borrow a good video camera and upload a video of the sound, i tried it with a cell phone but it doesn't do so good... my video camera is the old vhs-c type, so its pretty outdated.....