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I want to thank Yahiko and TooMany Toys and many others on this fine 6.0 folks who have helped me so much on Ford 6.0 Big White Van. It started chirping last June and I thought it was either a pulley bearing or belt misalignment. Yahiko enlightened me on diagnosing the problem. I took the van to a PowerStroke Diesel Master Mechanic in Utah last May and he could not figure out the problem. When Sean said to slip the belt off the alternator pulley, I kicked myself for not checking the obvious. The master mechanic had the belt off and yet he did not start the engine.
My son pulled the belt off as I let the tension off with a serpentine belt too. The engine was warmed up to operating temperature. We verified that the belt was not hanging up on anything. The chirp is still present. It's coming from the front passenger side of the engine. It's quiet until the engine warms up.
My story is a good news/bad news story. I got the van for free almost 4 years ago. It was not running. I fixed most of the problems myself with the exception of oil and EGR coolers. I don't have a shop. It's amazing how fast the parts add up...tires, shocks, ball joints, brake calipers, radiator, oil changes, transmission flushes.
This van drives like a dream. If you did not know that it had over 800,000 miles, you would think it has yet to hit 100,000.
The tick is driving me crazy. We have a big trip planned again. I have a "spare" van that can squeeze in our party of 9. I don't know if I want to drive the Big White Van in remote areas of Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, and Idaho. The only reason I heard the ticking in the first place is that I heard the chirping echo as we were driving through a narrow canyon in The Valley Of Fire State Park in Nevada. It may have chirped all the way to Alaska and back 2 years ago!
I started looking at gas vans today. I found a 2003 extended E350 with 53000 miles for $7k. It's a former Air Force shuttle van. Fleet maintained. Extensive service records.
A used complete engine from Diesel Redemption with 40k mile is $4k . I don't have the proper set up to install the engine. And I am a turtle. I am very good at repairing and replacing parts. But I am slow. A neighbor asked me if I could work on her vehicle. I said "You cannot afford to hire me because I am slow and my hourly rate is $50/hour." She never asked again when I mentioned that an oil change will set her back $200!
If at some point you are thinking of swapping in another motor, I would not do Diesel Redemption, or verify it's not a Reman and they can give you engine hours. I've looked at them, even Google Mapped the site and they do a lot of municipal ambulance vans and trucks, all will have long idle time. Not what you want. I'd prefer local yards so you can see the body it's coming out of. You can even do salvage yard searches on-line.
If at some point you are thinking of swapping in another motor, I would not do Diesel Redemption, or verify it's not a Reman and they can give you engine hours. I've looked at them, even Google Mapped the site and they do a lot of municipal ambulance vans and trucks, all will have long idle time. Not what you want. I'd prefer local yards so you can see the body it's coming out of. You can even do salvage yard searches on-line.
As much as I like the diesel, I don't think spending another $5 is a good return on my money. If I find a decent wrecked van, I will do it. I plan on keeping the truck as my daily driver until I find a motor or it dies.
I bought an alternator from Diesel Redemption that came from a low mileage van. It had the RM (remanufactured) stamp on it. I was a little disappointed. The alternator was starting to fail last year with voltage dipping below 12 volts. I replaced it on the road in Arkansas.
Million dollar question: The Blackstone oil analysis shows no sign of metal wear. If the noise is indeed a failed/failing lifter, will it suddenly die or will the engine start making horrible noises giving me enough warning to stop driving?
My wife likes the van so much and insists to drive it until it dies. The van is like an old family friend. She wants us to drive it on our next 5000-mile road trip.
If it is a lifter when they go they trash out the cam lobe too, lifter starts to come apart and needle bearings then end up trashing out the low-pressure oil pump. When all that happens, and it can happen quickly, you are dead where you are.
If it is a lifter, and only a lifter squealing because it hasn't come apart yet, you could potentially remove the heads and change all the eight front lifters. For the rears, the motor comes out. But at your mileage, I wouldn't be doing any of that. At 823,000 miles on the van, if the chassis is still good it deserves another motor.
LKQ has a lot of Powerstroke motors in storage and sells for around $3000-3500 for one that has 125-150k on them, and that would be a second choice if you are not hunting local salvage yards. It's more of a gamble since you can't see what the person did to the truck prior, and I would not buy one without the expectation of pulling it all down to check it out and re-gasket at least. Inventories on these motors are building up, people have moved on, like to a Transit (hint).
There would not be enough metal being shed in a lifter wheel that is starting to lose its rotating ability to show in an oil analysis.
Can you video the squeal? Not that I'm squeal literate, but the collective would have a better shot.
If it is a lifter when they go they trash out the cam lobe too, lifter starts to come apart and needle bearings then end up trashing out the low-pressure oil pump. When all that happens, and it can happen quickly, you are dead where you are.
If it is a lifter, and only a lifter squealing because it hasn't come apart yet, you could potentially remove the heads and change all the eight front lifters. For the rears, the motor comes out. But at your mileage, I wouldn't be doing any of that. At 823,000 miles on the van, if the chassis is still good it deserves another motor.
LKQ has a lot of Powerstroke motors in storage and sells for around $3000-3500 for one that has 125-150k on them, and that would be a second choice if you are not hunting local salvage yards. It's more of a gamble since you can't see what the person did to the truck prior, and I would not buy one without the expectation of pulling it all down to check it out and re-gasket at least. Inventories on these motors are building up, people have moved on, like to a Transit (hint).
There would not be enough metal being shed in a lifter wheel that is starting to lose its rotating ability to show in an oil analysis.
Can you video the squeal? Not that I'm squeal literate, but the collective would have a better shot.
I will take a video. I want to remove the dog house so I can isolate the noise to either the front or rear.
Everything on the van is clean. If I come across a crashed vehicle with good history, It's worth dropping another $5 into this.
Time is on my side. I will drive the underpowered V6 E150.
This might help or I am way off. I had an 04 F350 6.0 that used to “chirp”. I had belt replaced under warranty, and that fixed it for a while, but it came back. Turned out to be very light surface rust on the main pulley. Every time it rained, the clean shiny surface would flash rust where the belt wasn’t touching, and it would “chirp”. Eventually just went away after 30k miles or so. So probably not your problem, but an idea.
Who knows if it would help, but I put two rare-earth magnets on the bottom of the oil pan just to catch needle bearings if I were ever to have the lifter failure misfortune. Who knows if it would work, but they sure clamp on. You have to watch your fingers when you put them on!
coolfeet: didn't you have a diesel tech friend you have used who is very reasonable? Would you consider an Ashville Engine long block if your friend would help you install it? Give your van many more years of life that way... Just thinking out loud, hate to read about this...
Scott
Who knows if it would help, but I put two rare-earth magnets on the bottom of the oil pan just to catch needle bearings if I were ever to have the lifter failure misfortune. Who knows if it would work, but they sure clamp on. You have to watch your fingers when you put them on!
coolfeet: didn't you have a diesel tech friend you have used who is very reasonable? Would you consider an Ashville Engine long block if your friend would help you install it? Give your van many more years of life that way... Just thinking out loud, hate to read about this...
Scott
My buddy moved to Louisana to take care of his mother. We text and talk frequently. He would be all over this project!
I use rare earth magnets for holding the round metal plates for placing screws and other parts that get lost during repair. I thought about putting them on the bottom of the oil pan because they are strong!
This might help or I am way off. I had an 04 F350 6.0 that used to “chirp”. I had belt replaced under warranty, and that fixed it for a while, but it came back. Turned out to be very light surface rust on the main pulley. Every time it rained, the clean shiny surface would flash rust where the belt wasn’t touching, and it would “chirp”. Eventually just went away after 30k miles or so. So probably not your problem, but an idea.
Thanks for the idea. It chirps when the belt is off. I was really hopeful. My next move is to check for any exhaust leaks that chirp. If I can find the problem myself, it's like winning on a slot machine!
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