2001 4.7 Dodge Durrango ticking sound in engine

[MoparFreak1988]

Hey guys got a question I'm throwing out here for my pops he has a 2001 dodge durrango with the 4.7v8 shortly after he bought the truck in fall 2004 there has been a tick on start up (btw he doesnt use his block heater in the winter and he lives in central wisconsin so I think he should on real cold ones my ) when the problem started it would go way in about 30 seconds and has gradualy stayed on longer as the miles racked up two years ago he took it to a dealer and they thought it was the timing chain tensioner, they replaced that and the chain with no results, they then went out onto the lot and found two other 4.7s a dakota and a durango both had the same sound but both went away twice as fast as my pops truck did and so the tech worked out a deal for not fixing his car and here we are now. It has gotten worse and in the winter it can take 5-10 minutes to go away, in this upcoming week hes going to bring it by and I plan to check all of the valvetrain and exhaust manifolds cuz those seemed to be the common problem with these trucks any other ideas or input or someone that has one that did this I would love any and all advice you can give me hes pretty much a travling field engineer so hes getting paranoid that his engine is going to fail when hes 700 miles from home. Thanks as always the information is always greatly apprechiated.

[Mopar1973Man]

Error codes? Exhaust gasket leak? Bad lifter or colapsed lifter? Weak oil pressure? Carbon track in the distributor? (if equipted with it) Crossfiring plug wires?

[MoparFreak1988]

Thanks for the quick response Mike but there are no error codes and the ignition system is coil on plug so unless there is a communication error in one of the coils I dont know what would be ticking and I would think power and fuel effiecency would have been hampered by this point and that is why my plan was to check all the exhaust manifold seals/gaskets and hardware for any loose or stripped out ones and if that wasnt the cause I was going to pull the valve covers and start hunting for anything out of spec the hard part is I cant quite make out where it is exactly coming from so just blind hunting may take quite some time lol thanks for the tips what I dont get is why most Dodge techs say this is normal and btw three friends of mine have a simmilar noise tho less frequent and doesnt stay on as long and they also have less milage on theres so this problem seems to be occuring often in dodge vehicles with the 4.7 well the digging begins tomorrow I will keep you guys up to date, if anyone has a dodge truck or suv with a 4.7 I'd like to hear what you think and if you've ever experienced it or not Thanks again and as always it is much appreichiated

[Mopar1973Man]

what I dont get is why most Dodge techs say this is normal

I don't agree with this... If the engine didn't have the ticking noise when it was new then it not normal. But I do understand that as things wear they get play and ticking noise start to occur...

[LiveOak]

My call would be for a weak or bad valve lifter. What grade and viscosity of oil does your father use. I would also pay close attention to the brand and type of oil filter he uses. Could be the anti-drain back valve in the oil filters he is or was using were not working well. A good quality oil filter and correct grade and viscosity oil can make a difference. On another note, it is not uncommon of this to gradually occure as more mileage, wear, and age gets put on an engine.

[guesswho512]

My call would be for a weak or bad valve lifter.

that is my bet.

What grade and viscosity of oil does your father use. I would also pay close attention to the brand and type of oil filter he uses. Could be the anti-drain back valve in the oil filters he is or was using were not working well. A good quality oil filter and correct grade and viscosity oil can make a difference.

:iagree:although a lot of people say that a heavier oil(marvel mystery oil) will help quiet a noisy lifter. i don't put anything in my crankcase that the manufacture does say to use:2cents:

[MoparFreak1988]

sorry for the delay I just started a new company and I have been running ragged for a few months now but back to the discussion he is using ams 5w-30 and a napa gold brand filter, oil changed once a year filter every 2500 miles thinking back on it now for awhile ther the dodge techs about 4 or 5 years ago now had him running 10w-30 mopar brand diesel oil claiming ther was a benifit after finding it was out of range viscosity wise for winter he went to ams aafter seeing me using it in everything from powersports to cars byond the point he did run that oil for one winter and I am wondering if ther is an issue therealso not trying to hyjack my own thread but if ther is anyone familar with a 1999 ram 1500 gas 5.9 2wd I have the weirdest idleing issue and there are no codes and unless you touch the gas it dies thought is fuel starvation weird thing is one of my scanners wolnt talk to the computer but the other will :ahhh:its an associates car so I dont care to much but I dont need a call at 7:00 am saying come pick me up my truck died