Perkins t6.3544 tapping noise, injector pump?

Hi all. I just noticed a tapping/ticking noise coming from the front of my engine. This noise was not there a few weeks ago. The noise seems to be there through the entire rpm range. It seems that maybe it is coming from the injector pump. The boat is pretty new to me so I don't know much as far as maintenance history but according to the gauges it is around 2500 hours. If they are accurate. I tried an oil and fuel filter change and that didn't help. I plan to adjust the valves but I don't think this sound is valves. Does anyone have any ideas what this sound may be? Any maintenance or troubleshooting that I can do on the injector pump? Engine starts and performs just fine. Just has this noise which I am concerned about.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Let's hope for the best. After you check your valve clearance, get yourself a mechanics stethoscope. Injection pumps make quite a racket but usually not a tap-tap.
Could also be a bad injector causing "nailing" on one cylinder. So that may be the next thing to check. Loosen one injector line at a time with the engine running and see if the tapping goes away, that may be your bad injector but it could also be something else on that cylinder like a wrist pin.

Definitely want to check the valve clearance. Check them cold.

I had a rocker adjuster locknut back way off one time and it beat the rocker arm and end of the push rod up to where they had to be replaced.

The 6.354 is kind of a noisy engine anyway. Check the raw water pump and drive shaft under the CAV injector pump, if it's not the rockers.


Hopefully it's nothing

If you can't lay your hands on a stethoscope, cut a length of wooden brush handle and obviously hold one end on the affected part of the engine, and the other lightly against your ear.


Then as my better half suggested get a ??? pygmy to sweep the floor !

Thanks all. I have put 100 gallons of fresh fuel in as the tank was getting pretty low and some Lucas upper cylinder lube. I've had great luck with that stuff in the past. I am not completely convinced that this is not some sort of fuel issue as both engines seem to have this going on. I hope to get the valves done this weekend and if it continues I will try cracking the fuel lines and possibly also the stethoscope if nothing above highlights the problem. Will let you all know how it goes. Thank you.