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1QWIKBIRD · 01-02-2006, 04:50 PM

I took the car out Saturday night for a quick run to 7-11 and noticed a "rattle" at idle....I thought nothing of it, maybe a band clamp on the exhaust loosened or something, I am going to change the oil on Sunday anyway so I check it out then. Sunday morning run out to get some bagels and the "rattle" isn't there right away, but once the car warms up it becomes noticable again, only at idle. I put the car up on ramps and start to drain the oil and there is a whole bunch of **** on the end of the drain plug

!!! After close inspection and screening the oil and cutting the filter open, it looks like a roller lifter let go or a rocker arm let go??? Not good. I'm sure this condition didn't exist for long, how could it without doing major damage? I am hoping I got lucky and caught it early. After thinking it over I see a few options, but want some opinions on how to proceed after I pop the valve covers and determine if its a rocker arm (are they roller from the factory?) or a lifter (the more likely suspect) and on which cylinder.

1) Replace rockers and/or lifters, check pushrods and inspect the cam for damage (which I would think there is some), and replace as necessary....

or

2) Pull the motor and go through it and freshen it while I'm at it??

Motor currently has 59,000 on it and runs great except for this. At the time this happened I wasn't beating on it (new years eve so ya gotta behave for the police), but I have missed my share of shifts and the shift lite is at 6200 so the motor has seen some RPM in its life.

How difficult is it to pull the motor without a lift, i.e. can the motor come out the top or does it have to drop out the bottom???

I'll follow up with some pics and the remedy once I figure things out, ouch $$$

Thanks
Chris

01-02-2006, 04:50 PM	#1
1QWIKBIRD 11 Second Club Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Hamilton Twp, NJ Posts: 855 iTrader: (5)	Engine problems......Opinions.... I took the car out Saturday night for a quick run to 7-11 and noticed a "rattle" at idle....I thought nothing of it, maybe a band clamp on the exhaust loosened or something, I am going to change the oil on Sunday anyway so I check it out then. Sunday morning run out to get some bagels and the "rattle" isn't there right away, but once the car warms up it becomes noticable again, only at idle. I put the car up on ramps and start to drain the oil and there is a whole bunch of **** on the end of the drain plug !!! After close inspection and screening the oil and cutting the filter open, it looks like a roller lifter let go or a rocker arm let go??? Not good. I'm sure this condition didn't exist for long, how could it without doing major damage? I am hoping I got lucky and caught it early. After thinking it over I see a few options, but want some opinions on how to proceed after I pop the valve covers and determine if its a rocker arm (are they roller from the factory?) or a lifter (the more likely suspect) and on which cylinder. 1) Replace rockers and/or lifters, check pushrods and inspect the cam for damage (which I would think there is some), and replace as necessary.... or 2) Pull the motor and go through it and freshen it while I'm at it?? Motor currently has 59,000 on it and runs great except for this. At the time this happened I wasn't beating on it (new years eve so ya gotta behave for the police), but I have missed my share of shifts and the shift lite is at 6200 so the motor has seen some RPM in its life. How difficult is it to pull the motor without a lift, i.e. can the motor come out the top or does it have to drop out the bottom??? I'll follow up with some pics and the remedy once I figure things out, ouch $$$ Thanks Chris __________________ 1999 Formula 6spd (The driver) 1997 2500 Ext. Cab Dodge 4x4 CTD 5spd (The Earth Mover) 1970 Nova 5spd (The toy)