Constant knock. All else fine

[keroseneburner]

Diesel gods. Searched awhile but no luck so sorry if I missed the obvious.
03 F450 w/ 91K. 6.0. runs good. Heavy truck but powerful. Starts fine. No smoke. Drove it 800 miles and got almost 15mpg-mainly highway 65-70mph. Big damn truck! No funny engine shaking. Revs good. Smells like, a diesel.
Problem-Constant knock. There on idle, more when it revs. Other than that it doesn't change. Only fix I have found is to turn the left nob on the radio.
New turbo recently installed. Dealer says #5 lost compression and truck needs new motor. Really? What do I do? Not as familiar as I would like with this engine. Run it till it dies? Don't want to do that but they quoted almost $19K for a replacement. ROTFL! Options? HELP!

[Rob]

19K seems way high. im sure you can find a replacement motor, or have that one overhauled for a lot less.

[shu873]

Hell you could pay a shop to swap in a slightly used CR 5.9L for far less than $19k. You could also have the 6.0 rebuilt by a reputable diesel shop for far less than half of what Ford quoted you. It's not going to be cheap either way but depending on how trashed your current motor is you could be looking at $4-8k range on a rebuilt 6.0 and the labor.

on edit: I think you're located in Santa Rosa? Check out diesel nut motorsports in Sacremento. I know a few people who have had work done there and been very satisfied.

[dannyboy950]

Man somebody is trying to get in your pocket. We buy brand new crate motors ready to plug in for less than 12k with freight included.

[keroseneburner]

Well, I believe it. I will take the advice above but should I just drive it? It drives great! Noise is a bit annoying if the radio is off but only cause I know is shouldn't be there. Sounds like a cummins so I can get used to it. 800 miles and no change. will it blow up? COuld it just be a head issue?

[keroseneburner]

Oh, and thanks for the replies.

[keroseneburner]

Drove it -somewhat- loaded this weekend. 5 dirtbikes and 5 people. Drove it easy, hard hills and flats. Ran great! Noise there. Thinking i drive it until it blows? But then I'm on the side of the road. Not great situation. Could this noise be a head issue? Lifter? valve. What else taps constantly?

[tkpatter]

All of the above and more. The more you drive it the more damage you are doing. That iritating little tapping noise is most likly a hammer slamming away at your head or block. The most economical thing you could do is stop driving it and take it to a qualified diesel tech as soon as possible.you are doing more damage everytime you crank it.

[keroseneburner]

New shop. Similar estimate but suggest radiator recored and some upgrades mainly egr cooler. Think it's the lifter on cylinder 5. I guess the lifters are under the head. They informed me that a common problem is that when a lifter goes, it drops needle bearings into the engine which end up in the pan and get pulled into the oil pump, destroying the gears and blowing the front cover off. Suggest new motor as just the labor alone would make the process of rebuilding null. They feel that to pull the motor apart and see all that is damaged would be so many hours and then might find it is not rebuildable. This guy is a former Ford mechanic
So I have some questions. IS this common? Is this even true? Since a core is a core for these engines, couldn't I pull that head only, fix the lifter and just drive the damn thing? I'd put a big ole magnet on the pan to try to keep the pieces-assuming they are there-from getting into the pump. Any thoughts?

[greasltn]

you don't have to pull the head to change a rocker. I would take the valve over off and look for a broken rocker or bent pushrod. You can replace them pretty easily. If the noise is coming from the bottom end this will not fix the noise. If planning on rebuild, this would be the time, if planning on replacing, drive it till it stops running.