2001 Chevy 6.0 ruined?? Help me!

p550iq · May 6, 2015

I am looking to buy my friend's dad's old work truck. It's a 2001 2500HD 4x4 Chevy crew cab with 269k. Rust is minimal and it looks in pretty good shape just well used. He said he has kept up on maintenance and it fires up no problem. His price is very reasonable and I would like to use it just as a farm runner. The only thing holding me back is there is a loud ticking in the motor. Now I've read many of these 6.0s have knocking but its just on start up and goes away after a bit. This knocking is constant and speeds up with the RPMs. What is wrong and how can I fix it? Here is a video. Thank you!

dewfpo · May 6, 2015

Where is the video?

DEWFPO

p550iq · May 6, 2015

Apparently video is too big to post but it's loud ting ting ting noise and the oil pressure sits about a 1/4 of the way up the gauge

dewfpo · May 6, 2015

Can you make out where the noise is coming from? A length of rubber hose held up to your ear or a cheap mechanic's stethoscope works really well at determining where it's coming from (or at least narrowing it down).

¼ way up the oil pressure gauge is normal for a hot idle.

DEWFPO

p550iq · May 6, 2015

Email me at [email protected] and I will send you the video. Thanks so much guys

p550iq · May 7, 2015

trim.132D15FB-0668-4E09-96CA-AA6D080823CE.MOV

ColoradoDave · May 7, 2015

Sounds like a broken piston skirt to me.

dewfpo · May 7, 2015

I am assuming it idles and drives fine? I would guess that the sound is coming from one cylinder. Sounds like it is coming from the driver's side but I can't be sure, your a better judge than I on that.

A couple of things come to mind…. A leaky exhaust manifold gasket, a spark plug that is so loose that it's allowing compression to get past it. If it's neither of those two things, I'd pull the valve cover and look for something obvious with a pushrod/spring/rocker arm.

If there's nothing obvious under the valve cover. Pull the spark plug(s) and stick a camera into the cylinder(s) and take a look at the piston and walls.

DEWFPO

avalonandl · May 7, 2015

Definitely needs a rebuild. The good news is longblocks are available cheap from Jasper etc.

269k in a work truck is respectable for lifespan.

p550iq · May 8, 2015

So will the engine blow up on me soon? Sorry I'm a novice

sahls01gmc · May 8, 2015

Blow up? Probably not.

Have more severe issues sooner rather than later....probably.

p550iq · May 8, 2015

How can I at least quiet the noise for now?

avalonandl · May 8, 2015

That sounds like a broken rocker arm to me but really tough to tell. Is it on the drivers side?

Take off a rocker cover and wiggle them- loose is bad.

That engine may run another month like that. May run a year.....

When she blows......????

dewfpo · May 9, 2015

I had a daily driver run for years with a broken pushrod making it a 7 cylinder engine. It didn't die, I finally figured it out after I pulled the valve cover (then it was obvious), replaced the pushrod and drove it for another few years before I sold it to someone else.

DEWFPO

beenaround · June 30, 2015

I am assuming it idles and drives fine? I would guess that the sound is coming from one cylinder. Sounds like it is coming from the driver's side but I can't be sure, your a better judge than I on that.

A couple of things come to mind…. A leaky exhaust manifold gasket, a spark plug that is so loose that it's allowing compression to get past it. If it's neither of those two things, I'd pull the valve cover and look for something obvious with a pushrod/spring/rocker arm.

If there's nothing obvious under the valve cover. Pull the spark plug(s) and stick a camera into the cylinder(s) and take a look at the piston and walls.

DEWFPO

Your the man. The other noise mentioned that's common is called piston slap. I suppose it could get bad enough to not go away. One way to see of it is it is to use a synthetic 0w30. The problem is the oil isn't there on startup. The 0w gets it there now. Down side of using it is if the motor leaks oil.

My 97 has that problem in winter. The 0w eliminates it.

A metal rod place on the motor and the other end in your ear will tell you exactly where it's coming from. Move it around till you pin point it. Upper is good, lower is bad.

People say they've kept up with things, doesn't make it so and the noise is saying it isn't so.