So I had what appeared to be a head gasket leak (exhaust smell from coolant, rough start up, huge loss of coolant with no visual leaks). I went ahead and changed the gaskets out with all the other gaskets. It starts but there is a ticking sound which seems to be coming from the timing area. I have read that this is usual until the engine is ran for awhile and the books say to run it for hundreds of mile 30MPH and below.

So my question is this usual? What are some concerns I should have about this sound and where / what do I need to do to make sure this isn't a serous issue?

Everything runs ok there is a rough idle that is appearing to go away as I let the truck run. Although I have only let it run for about an hour after I put it all together (this morning).

Any thoughts and ideas would be great. Thanks

 

When you say timing area do you mean the top of the engine under the cam covers or are you refering to behind the front cover and top or bottom of front cover?
Not sure why a book would claim that running the engine for hundreds of miles at low speed would solve a tick or any other noise. It needs a few minutes sometimes to get the lash adjusters etc. pumped up but not hundreds of miles. The rough idle could be the ECM/PCM retraining its self but I think it might be something else, have you rechecked all vacuum connections?. Are you sure the sparkplugs are tight?

Are you positive that you reinstalled the HDR wheel (large 4" wheel on the crankshaft) in the correct direction, there is only one way it can go on without the teeth rubbing against the timing chains making a fast ticking noise. Same thing with the crankshaft timing gears on the 97 they are a two piece set but they have to be installed in the correct fashion or the chains will hit each other. Something is not right if you have a ticking noise so first thing you have to do is locate that noise and then we can determine what component is causing it.

 

DYNOTECH-

I cant really pin point the noise it just sounds more prevalent in the front/top area. I have ran the truck for a few more hours and the noise has quieted a lot. I'm thinking its a a squeaky pulley. I made sure everything was put together correctly. My only worry was from the timing chains. On one side when I removing it I had to apply a lot of pressure to it so I could remove the slack adjuster, there was a lot of loose chain on the opposite side. When I reinstalled the chains that one side didn't seem as tight. However I did not see this being a problem since 1. I used the cam lock tools, 2. I used the crank tool to hold its position.

I'm thinking the roughness is from one of the plug wires not being pushed in all the way. As I let the truck sit and run it seems to be running smoother so Ill be looking at the wires later.

As for the book I think it meant to run the truck many miles at low mph to make sure the gaskets seal and set in. I also think it was to run oil through the system since the manuals and online sources say to clean surfaces with acetone or gasket remover. Since I had the battery disconnected for a long period of time shouldn't the ECM/PCM have reset itself? If not what is a way to accomplish this?

 

I checked all my plug wires and found one that seemed to be a little loose on a coil so I put it on right. Now the truck runs great except a constant rough idle. Its not terrible but its there. I used a screw driver to try to narrow down the "clicking" noise and it seems to be coming from the drivers side fuel rail. The valve cover sounds like a kind of turning noise and at a clean unobstructed spot on the head I don't hear anything. Has anyone had an issue like this with the problem being something along the fuel line? I double checked that the injectors were seated right, changed the o-rings on them when I had them off, the vacuum line going to the fuel rail on that side has suction.
Any ideas?