Engine sound - don't like what I am hearing - Help me diagnose

[m1010plowboy]

I'm thinking out-loud and you mentioned critters. Is it worth pulling the muffler and having a listen again?

The banana in the tail-pipe hasn't been looked at so maybe we check for too much back-pressure for the fun of it?

We need to put the grab bar to work without loosing our head.

 

[cattlerepairman]

I'm thinking out-loud and you mentioned critters. Is it worth pulling the muffler and having a listen again?

The banana in the tail-pipe hasn't been looked at so maybe we check for too much back-pressure for the fun of it?

We need to put the grab bar to work without loosing our head.

Pulled exhaust off - straight pipe and muffler. No change (well, louder!). Did not pull J-pipe but peered inside and it is sooty but otherwise looks un-obstructed. I have a flapper on the stack, so what I needed to check was whether some muffler innards had come loose and blocked the exhaust. It is unlikely that anything managed to get into and down the stack.

I'm itching to pull the oil pan. Before I do that, the truck needs to be in its final parking position where I can do whatever is needed, without having to move it again. Need to get a few things done and out of the way before I get there....