It's time for an update. I tried every suggestion for tracking down the noise and checking EVERYTHING under the hood and under the truck that could have been loose/rattling/vibrating. I came up empty handed. I put the truck in the air and held another session with two different friends that have good hearing. They both said the noise was coming from the oil pan, towards the rear. I did a listening session and I agreed. So I started the painful process of pulling the engine.
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Much to my surprise, this beeyotch came out pretty easy using a standard cherry picker. I used a forklift last time and wasn't sure a picker would have enough reach but with the trans removed first it came out easy-peasy. Yay for me. The good news is after pulling the pan I checked the torque on the rods and mains, they were good. So at least the assembly was good and I didn't leave any bolts loose. However, the bad news is the #4 rod bearing was pretty well thrashed. No wonder this was making a lot of noise.
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Oh, and lotsa flakes and crap in the bottom of the pan.
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A trip to the machine shop shows I got lucky and shut this down at the right time. I only had to polish the crank and do the teeniest clean up work on two rods. Otherwise no serious damage done. Consensus at the MS was too much timing for detonation. Lots of things to get right the second time around, to be revisited in
Mission Creep on a D-150. Sadly, sometimes I learn by thinking I know what I'm doing, only to find out the hard way, I don't. :BangHead::BangHead::BangHead:
