I currently own a 99 F150 supercab 4x4 with the 4.6L and bought a travel trailer weighing 6300#. Add in clothing, food, and 4 adults, it's easily over it's GVW of 6600#. Anyways, went to local ford dealership and they have two superduty supercab 4x4 diesels for sale. a 99 with 60,000 on it, and a 00 with 40,000 on it. I started them up, and let them warm up, but they are LOUD as can be. I expected them to be somewhat louder then a gas motor, but these trucks prevented a person from having a normal conversation in the truck under acceleration. Is this normal?? Also, when going 50 and cruising, the motor sounded alot quieter, but when you would slow down to stop or turn a corner, it would get loud again like it's downshifting and the knocking would get loud again. Is this also normal?

Also, what can be done to quiet the motor down and does it get worse after purchasing the standard power chip from mike?

Any suggestions or help to set my mind at ease before i get discouraged about diesels is appreciated.


THanks

 

our 350 and 550 were both quite running down the road, when you would let off the gas (or shall i say diesel) you could hear a different sound, like the turbo spinning with no exhast to push. You will get used to the sound, everyone will envy the sound also. Our new Freightliner FL-60 is also loud, but with this truck, people forget about the noise, becouse they have never seen a truck like this.

 

something that is neat to do with the exhast is to turn it down a notch, so it points to the ground, (white line) when you get on the Diesel, the moving air will stir up the dirt, Its awsome to see, although with a travel trailer, it might be kind-of annoying.

You will love the diesel to pull with, What kind of trailer did you buy, is it a 5th wheel or a pull behind.

 

msujon71: I would suggest that you also test drive a couple of new diesels to listen to how they sound. The milage on either truck isn't an issue as they are both very low. What I would be concerned about is the way you described how the engine sounds while driving. With my truck, I have no problem what so ever of not being able to talk with people inside the cab with me while I'm driving, shifting gears, slowing down or sitting at a light. With the windows down, I do get a lot more noise but not enough to not be able to hear people talking to me. Now if they are outside the truck, then we do have to "speak-up" quite a bit. If you're hearing a very loud knocking noise, then those trucks may have the dreaded cackle problems. Hence, the reason why they are on the used lot!! This is usually associated with the 99 and early 00 engines and the fix (so called but only sometimes worked) was to replace the #8 injector. Also running additive in your fuel helped. Some said that changing to synthetic oil helped too. International's postion is that the cackle will not do any damage to the engine, that it's just louder than the average PSD. If you can determine that these engines do have the cackle, then see if you can get them to drop their price for it. And check to see if the injector has been replaced.
Adding a chip will not change the noise levels of the engine. If you've got an injector that's making a racket, the chip will not change how it's firing.

 

Aren't all diesels loud and smelly???

 

the diesel is smelly. i drove one for almost a year and i like to stop at the truck stop to fill up because it pumped A LOT faster than a normal pump and i splashed on my feet one day and i smelled the rest of the day. i personally liked the noise. pulling up in the HS parking lot and people stoped talking in the middle of the lanes(whole nother story why i liked that)

tina the 99 and 00 are the new deisels, they are a little bit queiter than the 94-98 models.

 

Yes, I know that, I've got a Y2K and my brother has a much louder 97 But if you have a newer PSD and it sounds like the older ones then the chances of you having a cackler problem is greater.


What I want to know is what you all mean by "SMELLY"???? Of course I may just be used to that aroma because of being married to a diesel mechanic

 

oh i did not realize thats what you ment about the new ones sounding like an older model. by smelly i was responding to one of the other comments about how they smell. i also got used to the smell now that i drive a gas eng. when i smell the diesel i think it smells kinda good brings back good memories sorry for the misunderstanding

 

I was just kidding!!! Whenever I tell somebody what I do and where I work, the comment is 'diesels are all loud and smelly'.

 

just the way i like'em

 

ahhh--i LOVE THE SMELL OF DIESEL EARLY IN THE MORNING...

Smells like..........Napalm...

 

Hey Tina,
How do you know if your truck has the cackle problem?? I noticed last week, when my truck was idling, I heard a single knocking noise that would last for approximately three to four seconds and then would stop. It did it a few times over the next few days. I drove the truck today and it did not make the noise. My truck was built in November 1999. Any suggestions on what it could be?? Thanks alot. Bugman.

 

Bugman: my truck too has made a bit of a racket a few times. Usually when cranking up and when the weather was colder. But only a few times. I attribute this to it just being a diesel. Mine does not continue to do this. I've also changed out my oil to synthetic. The cackle problem is basicly all the time, sometimes quiter than at other times but it's always there. It will sound like you've got a real bad rod knock. (or kind of like a cummins ) How's your fuel milage??? do you see any droping of milage when your engine is making more noise?? And when's the last time you changed your oil?? And checked your fuel filter and drained it?? Do you add any additive to your fuel??

 

Tina,
Thanks for responding. The noise that I hear is probably just the normal diesel sound. I was a little concerned because, I went through alot of grief when I owned my last F-250 with thew 5.4 engine when it got the piston slap sound. So, I was just making sure that this engine was ok. This is my first diesel truck.
Anyway, I have been averaging between 17 to 19 miles per gallon which is great for me because, my old truck used to get 8 to 10 miles per gallon. I bought my 2000 F-250 two wheel drive crew cab in August when it had 13,600 miles on it. The person that I purchased it from, changed the oil before I bought it. I changed the fuel filter when it had 15,500 miles. I changed the oil at 18,000 miles. It now has 23,000 miles on it. I will plan on changing the oil and filter this coming weekend. I used the Shell Rotella 15W-40 oil. It costs $34.00 plus tax for 6 one gallon containers. Everyone that I know uses this oil. How often do you change your oil and filter? and what type of oil and filter do you use? Bugman.

 

The rotella is not the prefered oil of choice--delo, delvac, amsoil, etc. is..

If you are going to go extended intervals, then use a good filter(mobil 1)..

I change at 5k, looking for 6k...

Oil analysis is highly recomended...

I saw the over day Mart has syn rotella..Thinking about using...

Oil deformers work..

You can tell the performance difference when you change oil...