I have a friend with an '05 3500 4x4 auto trans and he had me come look at his truck because it was missing. There was white smoke and a definate miss but no knock so i figured it was an injector and proceeded to order ddp nozzles. They came in yesterday so I took the injectors out and the outside exhaust valve wasn't as far up as the other exhaust valve. I have a camera that you can look inside tight places and I went in the the injector hole and you can see that the piston is all beat up. I know the #3 piston is going to have to come out. I looked under the truck and the clearence between the oil pan and the crossmember is nonexistent. I was wondering if it is possible to get the pan off with the engine still in the truck so i can repolace the piston. any help here is greatly appreciated.

 

Removing the pan in truck is possible as I remember. However the engine might need to be lifted up in the frame.

Either way your going to have to pull the head and that is what I would do first to get a real good look at the damage.

 

Yeah, the head isn't really a big deal except that if i have to pull the engine out i probably won't do the job. All this depending of course what my friend wants to do. If i can pick the engine up I might take the job. If i have to evacuate the A/C and pull out the engine I might step down and let him take it elsewhere. Thanks Pourin Diesel.

 

ive pulled a couple oil pans. not and easy job but doable. you have to loosen all the rad bolts and anything connecting to the engine in the front.then loosen your motor mounts. there slotted so you can pick up but it wont go down. then with a jack and a engine lift pick the engine up and the trans. the engine has to come up about 4-6 inches for the oil pan to clear.. i would for sure pull the head first because if the cylinder walls are beat up than the engine needs to come out. good luck with it.

 

it is going to be a real pain to get the connecting rod to be torqued correctly that close to the cross member.pul the front end and the block and do it right on a stand.

 

The head will have to come off regardless to repair the valve and seat. Chances are the piston is toast and requires replacement. If the cylinder has any damage... rebuild time.

 

How many miles does this 05 have??

 

Mine just did the same thing... good times. make sure that head isn't cracked!!

 

The truck has 103,000 miles. B**ch huh? I am going to pull the head this weekend and acess the damage. If I've got to pull it(the engine), I'll pull it, but I will work extra hard not to have to. I'll keep you guys posted as I go along. I talked to my buddy yesterday and he wants me to help him with it so I am going to move ahead. By the way the truck is all stock! Thanks guys!

 

Yep... b!tch to say the least. I have 140k on mine, still too early for this crap. Did he run it hot within the last couple months?

 

No he didnt. He said he was running high rpms when it happened. Find out what exactly happened this weekend.