Idiggplants

ok, so my 06 is pretty darn new to me... got it with 109k on it... it now has 111k. thats over 6 months. i dont drive it a lot.

its got the tell tail diesel sound.... im not sure how to go about diagnosing it. i hear it can be the cam phasers, or the vct, or an exhaust leak, or a myriad of other things. so... basically i want to figure out what it is... or at least rule out some things. so im coming to you guys... i did a bit of searching, but honestly there is so much out there it is hard to process... 90% of what i find are posts from 2006ish... people with new trucks... and the answer is to just take them in and get warranty work done.

another thing to mention, is i did an oil change shortly after i got the truck. went from whatever was in it, to 5w30 that i had laying around from the jeep it replaced. someone here told me to just run it... was that a bad idea? is there something else i should run, like... an ideal weight to hopefully stop this sound? it did seem to get worse after the oil change, but ive driven it 20k over 6 months, so its hard to tell.

so what is the order of diagnosis easy to hard... i heard the vct test is real easy? an exhaust manifold leak id just feal for, right? and maybe look for exhaust? is there anywhere they are known to leak? anything else?

BadFish523

For starters do the sound happen when the truck is cold, warm, or both? Is it more during cold, warm, or both? Where can you hear the sound coming from the most, passenger side? Driver side? Wheel well? Front of motor? Can you upload a video to youtube and post a link here? A sound can be difficult to diagnose with words. A diesel sound to you might be a tick or a knock to someone else. Manifolds can leak on both sides, sometimes its a crack, sometimes its broken studs. Give us absolutely as much descriptive information to go by.

Archangel72

Best of luck. I'd say take it to a qualified place if your not too familiar with it and have them check it. Worst that can happen is they don't get it right then they are involved with making it right.

Idiggplants

it doesnt happen when i first start it. ive never sat there and waited for it to begin making the noise, but i dont hear it till i drive it and come to a stop. so id say it doesnt do it till it is warm.

ill try to get a video of it tonight. reason i say diesel sound is because ive had a few friends say that it sounds like a diesel as well, upon taking a ride in the truck. ill also see where it is loudest while walking around the truck. i know you can hear it all the way around the truck, but havent taken notice to it being louder anywhere in particular.

SCORGE

For exhaust leaks, look for black soot or cracks/missing bolts on the manifold.
If it's a deep bass sounding "clonk clonk clonk", I'd bet phasers/gummed up VCT's
Just my .02, I'm no expert lol

BadFish523

If it doesn't do it when cold then it could very well be the phasers. Another telling sign is can you hear it above 800 to 1200 RPM? Basically does it go away above idle? Try to pinpoint the sound a little better and maybe do a video and report back.

Idiggplants

yeah, it is only at idle. well, at least from inside the cab i cant hear it when im driving around. ill have to check what it sounds like at revs in park.

ill post a vid as soon as i can... now im nervous.

BadFish523

Sounds more and more like timing. I just had mine done for around $3300 and the truck runs like new!

Idiggplants

christ that sucks. 2000 miles after owning it, at 111k. thats over 1/3 of what i bought it for.

BadFish523

Lol mine was less miles than that after I bought it but I paid more. Blue book your truck and see if it's worth it to you.