ticking noise??

[KAIMIKAZEE]

anyone know what could be causing the ticking noise on my cat motor...

besides valves....

to make a long story short as some of you have read along....
http://www.classadrivers.com/phpBB2/...ic.php?t=22468

after everything has been put back together i get a lot of ticking noise which wasn't noticeable before the rebuild...

could it be the rod bearings too, or does the valve just need to be readjusted???

the ticking seems louder on the passenger side of the motor...where the manifold is...i know the shop took off the manifold to troubleshoot what was causing the blow-by from previous mishap...

anyone experience any ticking noise due to crack manifold or manifold not being put back right i.e. torqueing of the manifold???

[mrpersons]

I see you got your CAT back together, been wondering how you made out on that.

If a valve is "ticking" the noise will be constant no matter the load on the engine. If you have an exhaust leak, the "ticking" will incerase/decrease according to load on the engine.

If you <u>even</u> think you have a problem, I'd contact the dealer that just did the work for advise ASAP. If he's done something wrong, it's his baby!

[tracer]

I have a similar problem on my 2004 Cat C15 Acert. It can be described as ticking/tapping sound, sort of like something you could hear if you grabbed a couple of pencils and started rattling them inside an empty mug. I did valve lash adjustment in June 2007 (it's Jan-2008 now) and it seems too early for valves to go out of adjustment. Cat checked the oil filter for debris but couldn't find anything... The noise is clearly heard when the engine is cold in the morning and I put it on high idle. When the engine warms up, the noise gets much softer. However when I run on the highway, the noise gets real annoying at around 1300 rpm and it constantly changes in volume: if I go uphill it gets louder, when I go over the crest of the hill and start down, the noise dies down. Somewhere here said it might be an exhaust leak, but I just did a Dyno at CAT where they checked everything and nothign unusual was found. They tuned fuel and horse power settings and the truck pulls okay... I understand the noise can be caused by practically anything - valves, pistons, bad bearings, lifters, exhaust leaks you name it.

I booked an appointment at Toromont CAT (I'm in Ontario, Canada) for tomorrow so that they checked this. I'll report here if the CAT guys find anything.

The truck is a 2004 International 9400 with 224,000 miles only. The engine has extended warranty till 500,000 miles.

[KAIMIKAZEE]

I have a similar problem on my 2004 Cat C15 Acert. It can be described as ticking/tapping sound, sort of like something you could hear if you grabbed a couple of pencils and started rattling them inside an empty mug. I did valve lash adjustment in June 2007 (it's Jan-2008 now) and it seems too early for valves to go out of adjustment. Cat checked the oil filter for debris but couldn't find anything... The noise is clearly heard when the engine is cold in the morning and I put it on high idle. When the engine warms up, the noise gets much softer. However when I run on the highway, the noise gets real annoying at around 1300 rpm and it constantly changes in volume: if I go uphill it gets louder, when I go over the crest of the hill and start down, the noise dies down. Somewhere here said it might be an exhaust leak, but I just did a Dyno at CAT where they checked everything and nothign unusual was found. They tuned fuel and horse power settings and the truck pulls okay... I understand the noise can be caused by practically anything - valves, pistons, bad bearings, lifters, exhaust leaks you name it.

I booked an appointment at Toromont CAT (I'm in Ontario, Canada) for tomorrow so that they checked this. I'll report here if the CAT guys find anything.

The truck is a 2004 International 9400 with 224,000 miles only. The engine has extended warranty till 500,000 miles.

yeah just a month ago another injector went out and this time wasted not time and money i went to a Cat dealer to get the injector replaced...

they told me i needed an overhead that some things were loose...
having not the time i told them i would come back shortly...

but funny thing is when i got the injector replaced the ticking noise died down to where you can hardly hear it....

i guess from now on i will not ever have small shops do my engine work never again...

[Them Other Truckrz]

That happened to us earlier in '07, did the check engine light test with CAT over the phone after the truck started running rough going up Elk in Wyoming, counted the flashes, delay then more flashes- that code told them we had a bad exhaust acuator, they said ok to run and by the time we were going up sherman on our way to Wyoming Machinery Cat Dealer we messed up the head, needed to replace 3 injectors, and replaced the head when all was said and done. It all started with a ticking sound several days earlier heading towards Seatttle, so the check engine light/ using cruise control switch might give you some information that could save you a major breakdown. Good Luck!

[heavyhaulerss]

anyone know what could be causing the ticking noise on my cat motor...

a ticking sound sometimes indicates a bomb has been activated.. you havent pissed anyone off have ya ? hey just a lil humor to break the monotony... have a great wknd everyone..

[/code]

[tracer]

My visit to CAT produced no results ... They did top set again (valves and injectors adjustment), replaced a defective actuator under the warranty and the ticking/tapping is still coming from the engine. I later found a loose clamp on the exhaust manifold and they promised to fix it under warranty (you have to take the turbo off in order to get to it). I did a temporary solution in a way of sticking a metal piece under the clamp to make it tight again. Ticking/tapping in the engine remained, but the metallic tone I heard before is gone. Now if only I could find the culprit causing this ... The suspects are: the A/C compressor (ticking inside); another clamp on the exhaust, the damper, or maybe something is wrong with bearings inside the turbo?

I don't know ... I'm going to CAT again to have them fix the clamp. Will ask them to look into the noise again

[bob h]

[quote="tracer"]My visit to CAT produced no results ... They did top set again (valves and injectors adjustment),


valve/injector adjustment has to be pretty far out of wack to cause a ticking noise...

replaced a defective actuator under the warranty and the ticking/tapping is still coming from the engine. I later found a loose clamp on the exhaust manifold and they promised to fix it under warranty (you have to take the turbo off in order to get to it). I did a temporary solution in a way of sticking a metal piece under the clamp to make it tight again. Ticking/tapping in the engine remained, but the metallic tone I heard before is gone. Now if only I could find the culprit causing this ... The suspects are: the A/C compressor (ticking inside);


A/C compressor is NOT the culprit, the pump does not rotate unless the magnetic clutch is engaged

another clamp on the exhaust, the damper, or maybe something is wrong with bearings inside the turbo?

I don't know ... I'm going to CAT again to have them fix the clamp. Will ask them to look into the noise again [/quote

[Fredog]

[quote="bob h"]

My visit to CAT produced no results ... They did top set again (valves and injectors adjustment),


valve/injector adjustment has to be pretty far out of wack to cause a ticking noise...

replaced a defective actuator under the warranty and the ticking/tapping is still coming from the engine. I later found a loose clamp on the exhaust manifold and they promised to fix it under warranty (you have to take the turbo off in order to get to it). I did a temporary solution in a way of sticking a metal piece under the clamp to make it tight again. Ticking/tapping in the engine remained, but the metallic tone I heard before is gone. Now if only I could find the culprit causing this ... The suspects are: the A/C compressor (ticking inside);


A/C compressor is NOT the culprit, the pump does not rotate unless the magnetic clutch is engaged

another clamp on the exhaust, the damper, or maybe something is wrong with bearings inside the turbo?

check the crossover for the engine brake, cats are famous for having them break
I don't know ... I'm going to CAT again to have them fix the clamp. Will ask them to look into the noise again [/quote

[tracer]

well, i'm back from the cambridge (ont.) cat ... they fixed the loose clamp on the exhaust manifold and said they had to replace the seal UNDER the clamp ... it was a big job because you have to dismantle the turbo to get to the clamp. evidently there was an exhaust leak because of all these loose connections and they fixed that. i only drove about 15 miles (back to the yard) with the new clamp but the ticking noise seems to be gone. i will have to see if it's gone totally (like when I'm pulling a fully loaded trailer) ... cat charged me only around 300 bucks because i have an extended warranty on this 2004 engine so, what i learned from this is: when you hear any weird sounds from the engine compartment, first check to see if there are anything loose near the exhaust.

[tracer]

another clamp on the exhaust, the damper, or maybe something is wrong with bearings inside the turbo..

I'm back on the road after CAT fixed the broken clamp on the exhaust manifold. The truck pulls like crazy (475 hp legal; tuned to 500 hp at 1,600 rpm) but the ticking/tapping/clanking in the engine compartment persists. Believe it or not I'm wearing ear plugs! Can't stand this noise...

Bob, thanks for the suggestions: so it can be a damper, another clamp or bearings ... Can I check the damper myself somehow? Or can it only be done at the dealer?

The noise I'm hearing is the strongest when the engine is under load (going uphill, for example) and it dies down when I cruise down the hill. If I put the engine on high idle (1,000 rpm) and squat near the exhaust under the right side of the sleeper (I have only one stack) I can clearly hear this metalling "ringing" on top of the regular engine noise. I'm sure that's the sound that becomes much louder when I'm driving at 1,350 rpm on the highway. Checked the clamps on the manifold - they seem okay. What else the heck can it be? I recently received the oil sampel results - everything is "normal", no metal found.[/quote]

[tracer]

check the crossover for the engine brake, cats are famous for having them break

Thanks, Fredog. I'm compiling a list of possible culprits. Just added "engine break crossover" to it.

[9200IH]

Hi Tracer Here is a shade tree idea. Find a place that is very dark and bump your idle up and have all the lights off and look around the exhaust manifold for a little fire. And take a small flash light and if any exhaust is leaking out you should be able to see (little bit of smoke) it and find where it is coming from. Truck should probably be at operating temp for this.

I am "not" a mechanic at all but I have been reading your posts and my brain just keeps saying exhaust manifold problems.

You say it is quite now at idle but when you pour the coal to it it gets real loud. When the motor is under load it is burning more fuel and the exhaust manifold gets hotter. Maybe there is a crack in it somewhere that you can't see or hear when it's at idle but when it hot it opens up and starts making noise.

Or maybe the exhaust manifold is warped and it is letting the exhaust leak out between the head and manifold even if you have new gaskets.

The exhaust manifold is in two or three pieces and it is made to slip inside it's self to compinsate for the growth from the heating and cooling. Is there allot of black soot around any of the joints?

Cats like to break exhaust manifold studs, are all yours still there?

Like I said just a few shade tree ideas.

Mike

[tracer]

Hi Tracer Here is a shade tree idea. Find a place that is very dark and bump your idle up and have all the lights off and look around the exhaust manifold for a little fire. And take a small flash light and if any exhaust is leaking out you should be able to see (little bit of smoke) it and find where it is coming from.

mike, i think now it's an exhaust too ... thanks for the great tip. i'll check the manifold out. i've been doing some thinking of my own and i have this stethoscope... i found that the sound becomes different when i touch the exhaust on both sides of one clamp. left of the clamp the sound is very shrill metallic in quality; while when i touch the pipe to the right of this clamp - the sound is much quiter. the clamp itself looks ok and i couldn't move it with my hand. so, it's not loose. but i'm going to take it off and see what's underneath. i'll try the trick with the light too. thanks again.

[tracer]

I'm still living on the road with my tapping/ticking/clanking noise too. I now discovered that the noise is tied to ENGINE SPEED and is not effected by the road speed. I tried idling at 1,200 rpm and heard nothing. However when I start moving - especially with a trailer, better yet, a loaded trailer - the noise becomes very clear. As I accelerate through the gears the clanking starts at 1,200 RPM every time ... When I change gears and the RPM drop, the noise disappears. As soon as I reach 1,200 RPM in this higher hear, the noise comes back. I hear it all the time when cruising in top gear... If I push "brakes" to cancel the cruise control and the truck starts slowing down, the clanking noise stops as the engine speed touches 1,200 rpm. If I depress the clutch and move the shifter to Neutral while cruising, the noise dissappears (the engine rpm falls to 550).

I checked the exhaust itself but couldn't find any holes or leaks. It cannot be the valves or injectors because I have already done the "top set" twice since April 2007. Also, my oil analysis in January 2008 came back clean - "no metals". The truck seems to perform okay (I just came back from New Jersey with a 41,000 lb load on a 20,000 lb dry van trailer); but the engine sounds a bit rough when I accelerate.

Does anyone have any more ideas? Vibration damper? Loose/missing fasteners on the fly-wheel? Bad bearings inside the turbo?

[Bandit102]

You are describing, perfectly, a single cylinder exhaust leak.

When your engine is cold and the hood is up start check for the leak by looking for the smoke and also look for soot on the block. Also check for the leak by putting your hand on each spot of the exhaust manifold were the gases come into it. The one that is leaking will be COLDER than the rest since it is leaking at first then warm up or use a infared gun if you do not feel like risking a burn. Sorry that is how we had to fgure out which ones were missing on the old manuals was see which one was colder.

[tracer]

When your engine is cold and the hood is up start check for the leak by looking for the smoke and also look for soot on the block.

I tried this at night and didn't see any smoke or sparks.

Also check for the leak by putting your hand on each spot of the exhaust manifold were the gases come into it.

Ironeagle, are you referring to the part of the manifold that goes INSIDE the cylinder block? What I understand by 'exhaust manifold' is the pipe that goes parallel to the cylinder block on the passenger side of the engine. It has a couple of slip joints and 3 or 4 'forks' that branch out into the cylinder block. That's what I should be touching?

[tracer]

a single cylinder exhaust leak.

If I find which cylinder is the culprit, any idea how it gets fixed? I mean is it expensive to repair or is it just a matter of replacing a gasket or something - you know the usual routine of 10 hours labour plus 40 bucks for the gasket

[pdm]

Has anyone thats worked on the noise problem actually heard it first hand?