Timmaay

Yep. They are all tight. I don't know about properly torqued but they definitely aren't loose. I am going to run the engine a bit with no belt and listen.

What about the fact that this engine has close to 130,000 miles on it? I will give Delo a try next oil change, I've heard others say that it is of quality as well.

So I finally got a mechanical oil pressure gauge and here is what I found: Temp RPM Pressure 120°ish 900-950 rpm 50-60 psi 210° 900-950 rpm 40-45 psi 210° 750 rpm 35 psi 210° 2000 rpm 60 psi 210° 3000 rpm 62 psi Oil: Rotella T6 Synthetic 5w-40 These numbers are fairly consistent with the readings the gauge gives on the dash. The mechanical one reads just slightly lower across the board. What do you guys think? The noise is still apparent and these readings seem high to me :dunno: Clogged oil passage? -What I don't like about that theory is that I am pretty sure that this truck has had the oil changed religiously every 3,000 miles for it's entire life and when I pulled the rocker cover it looked absolutely mint.

This engine was professionally rebuilt 1 year ago under previous ownership. Would the harmonic balancer have been part of that process? I saw a DIY on that so I think I'll try to inspect it when I replace the damaged pulley. All this "mechanical" stuff is somewhat new to me but with help from CC I think I can venture in past my comfort zone. :bowdown: I don't know if that's part of the process. Does the balancer pulley look new? The two halves of the pulley should be flush with each other and the rubber in between should be in good condition. The pulley should not wobble while the engine is running.

I had a similar problem and it turned out that the harmonic balancer was separating and causing the belt to be pulled sideways across the water pump pulley. Creating and extremely annoying whine that I didn't diagnose correctly for two water pump replacements. :thwak:

Where did you find that picture?? That is my truck...

I likey, maybe I can get a sign shop to duplicate it. Do you have a full size pic and maybe some dimensions you'd be willing to share with me? Sadly, that's the best I can do for now. I know I have seen a bigger picture on here somewhere. Edit: here is a thread on it. Cwlongshot has a nice picture in there and I put up some on third page viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12474&hilit=timmaay&start=15

Mine came with a window sticker. There was nothing on the tailgate. See avatar for pic.

Also, I forgot to mention that the noise is only apparent after the engine warms up. Is that a typical lifter noise symptom?

Update. I pulled the valve cover off and the gasket was in perfect shape, the inside of the valve cover looked absolutely brand new no sludge what so ever. All rocker arms appeared to be functioning properly. No blocked oil passages, oil flowing nicely, no broken springs, no bent push rods, etc. I now think the noise is from a lifter or two. Other wise I don't know. :dunno: I did not take a video because I think it would have had too poor of audio quality to really here the noise. The noise is not really that loud it just kind of annoying. It looks like you need to remove the head to get to the lifters. Is that the case? I think I will live with it for a while. Maybe I'll try synthetic rotella next oil change.

Roger that. RTV not needed correct?

Oil pressure reads high. 75psi at cold idle 40 psi hot idle. 70psi at highway speeds. I have not verified with mechanical gauge. PS: The new diode and rewired aux fan are working great. It's not sporadic like the hard drive, it just makes similar sound. Valve cover is coming off. I will probably do it this weekend when I drive home. I might be able to work on it sometime earlier this week but the school my will probably get a little irritated if I leave an oil slick in their parking lot. We'll see. What is the best valve cover gasket to get? RTV needed?

What I mean by marbley is that it is more of a rattle or tapping sound than a tick or knock. Sounds sorta like marbles contacting each other. You know the sound a computer hard drive make when it's loading something, it's kinda like that. It's hard to describe, hopefully a video will help. It's not the idler pulley bearing, water pump, power steering, alternator or ac. I already checked those trying to diagnose something else. I am really thinking it's valve train related. When I put my ear right above the valve cover over cylinder one you could a regular tick tick tick, cylinder number 2: much louder and more marble like. Cylinders 3 and 4, same regular tick tick tick. Cylinder 5 or 6, it's hard to tell, is also loud like number 2. But if you stick the screwdriver one the valve cover above the different cylinders they all sound the same, just like a constant engine hum. :???:

Ok, I did some poking around with a screwdriver. It didn't really help locate the noise but, by putting my ear around various locations, I think the noise is coming from a couple different locations. I think it is originating from the rocker arm area of cylinder number 2 and like cylinders 5 and 6. It's really hard to pin point it. When you put the screwdriver on say the valve cover, you just hear a constant vibration from the engine running. You can't hear the marbely noise (is that even a word) . Put when you put on the injectors you can hear them ticking away. Cool! So what kind of noise can the rocker arms produce? And why? What kind of damage/ wear could this cause?

I have not. I don't have a stethoscope, but I'll try the large screwdriver tomorrow.

I need some help in trying to identify the cause of an engine/valvetrain noise. The engine has made the the noise for as long as I have owned it (I have put about ~2,000mi on it) but I think it's getting worse now that I am driving the truck a lot more. It's beginning to irritate me that my valve train is louder than the flowmaster. The truck runs very good otherwise and does not burn any oil! 89 Renix 4.0L 127,000mi close to 1,000 miles on 15w40 rotella t Wix filter oil change. Symptoms: It sounds kind of marble like, definitely not a knock or tick. Varies directly with engine speed. Most evident around 1200-1500rpm. Not as noticeable at idle or above 2000rpm. I am sure it is still there but it's being drowned out by the exhaust. Does not go away under load. Sometimes although it hasn't done it for a while, when you start it up first thing in the morning, it'll make a loud chuh chuh chuh sound for a second or two. Related? :hmm: :help: Lifter(s)? Not getting oil to a certain part of head? Piston slap? I can try to take a video of it tomorrow but I don't know how good of audio quality it'll be.

Yeah. Remember you still need new oil pressure and temp sensors.

Looks awesome so far! I like the idea of getting yourself certified to work on your own truck. Be sure to document your progress with lots of pictures. Pretty soon this will be you

I think your belt is too loose. Try one of these. http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Detail ... 0006447252 Takes out all the guess work. Is this gauge for a serpentine belt? Technically, is a serpentine belt called a "V-ribbed belt"? the ribs are v shaped...So I assume so. I still don't think he needs it but here is the part number anyway. NAPA Part number: NBH KR2

I had a similar problem (belt squealing, glazed on smooth side) and it turned out that the harmonic balancer was separating causing the belt to be pulled sideways on the water pump pulley. I also bought the tension gauge from NAPA (~$20) and i didn't find it all that useful. My belt doesn't squeal at all and I have it much looser than the suggested tension. Why put extra stress on the bearings?

Hmm, that's weird. My truck is an 89 and it is labeled as a big ton. Maybe 89 was the swap over year from metric ton to big ton?

Too bad there isn't a jeep tailgate decal.

How about you dimple it like a golf ball. Start watching at about 2:20. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nufXpDBELdQ

This is just a clear lexan body for an R/C vehicle. So yes, it is remote controlled but you need an actual chassis to put it on.

Woohoo! Should go perfectly with my modifed wheely king rock crawler!