ratat98

I noticed an unusual tick coming from under my hood yesterday so i got on to the DTR chat and got some advice. I ended up taking off the valve cover and found that there is some slack in the mechanisms. Im assuming this is normal for a truck with 123k on it and that the slack is what is causing the ticking, whats the easiest way to go about fixing this? New Rockers? or is there just an adjustment? Ive never worked on the valves on a 24v diesel


Thanks,
Ratatat

oestreich84

You can adjust the valve lash. Go here for instructions https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...n&onlynewfaq=1

The tech facts section has a bunch of things to help with general maintenance on our trucks. Look at the top of the DTR page next to the classifieds button. Hope this helps

ratat98

Thanks oestreich, i didnt know that section was on this site, it will help a lot!

Rat

jrs_dodge_diesel

I would also say the valves are due for adjustment. The procedure in the Tech facts section of the site is a good set of step by step instructions on valve adjustments. The only thing the instructions lack is pictures. Check out my gallery for pictures I took when I did my valves. I put good descriptions with each photo, and if the photo shows a tool I put the size I used, and the photos themselves are nice, large, and good quality.

If this is your first time doing a valve adjustment take your time and be careful and watch your adjustments, especially when tightening it back up as it can be tricky keeping it where you set it as you tighten it.

A good technique I I want to share here is the way I measured the gap with my feeler guages. For example for an intake valve, the valve lash (gap) is supposed to be set at .010 in. Now you are supposed to use a .010 feeler guage and tighten the lash until you feel a "slight" drag when sliding the feeler guage back and forth. Now a slight drag feels different to different people. A surefire way to know you are on the money is to use the over and under method. Use a feeler guage that is one up and one down from .010. So you use a .009 and a .011 feeler guage. The .009 should fit in the gap without dragging and the .011 should not fit at all. Then you know you are at .010 for that valve. This also works on the exhaust valves too which are set at .020 in. You would use .019 and .021 in feeler guages.

Hope this helps.

ratat98

Thanks again for all the help, one more question...is there a trick to getting the valve cover off? I couldnt get the rear bolt out, and it kept getting hung up on everything...took me 20 minutes just to get the stupid thing off

jrs_dodge_diesel

Undo all five bolts. That was the easy part for me. A 3/8 ratchet and a 10 mm (i think) socket. After all five were popped up (you don't completley remove them), pivot the front of the cover toward the passenger side about 30°. Then twist the cover off toward the exhaust manifold.

ratat98

Ok, so ive adjusted the valve lash, changed the air filter, changed the fuel filter, changed the oil and oil filter, and done all the normal maintenance to this engine, but I still hear a distinctive ticking from the engine, it sounds like its coming from just one cylinder by the frequency of the tick, but I dont think it is missing because I havent noticed a change in the power. I can feel the vibration of the tick on the floor of the truck though...anyone have any more ideas as to what i could be dealing with? Am I just hearing things?

Thanks,
Patrick

oestreich84

Does the truck idle smooth, or does it fluctuate a little bit? When I installed my injector nozzles I didnt have them pop tested or flow tested. I noticed almost right away that the truck didnt idle as smooth as before and I had a "tick." I took my truck in recently and had the injectors pop tested and adjusted and it cured my problems. No more rough idle and the tick is gone. It could be that your injectors are getting a little worn and need to be adjusted or cleaned. Or it could be just in your head

ratat98

Haha i think its in my head No, really, I havent done anything with the injectors yet, I was wondering about cleaning them, whats the best way to clean them? just use a fuel additive? It does Idle smooth and starts right up every time..I thought about getting new injectors till i saw the price

Patrick Campbell

Hey guys,

I am hearing a tick also. Truck has 181k miles on it. Valves were adjusted at 161k. I put in new RV275 injectors at 170K. It is most audible just chugging along at 1600 or 1800 RPMs with low boost. Any thoughts?

ratat98

mine happens about about 1600-1800 low boost also...is it just a cummins thing? Or maybe a timing issue?

dodge250

mine has done that since the day i have bought it, i didnt know if it was normal or not. any ideas?