5.7 Hemi Help!!

[croaker567]

Hey guys bought a 2003 ram 1500 today with the 5.7. Though the problem was either with the computer or battery connections because when you turned the key it would click and then the dash would reset. Got it home hooked a good battery up and now it still clicks when you turn the key but it actually trues to turn over. So fixed that first problem. But now the engine won't turn over... I've got a 4 foot breaker bar on the flywheel and I'm bumping the starter and I'm barely getting it to do anything so I took spark plugs out no progress so I put marvel mystery oil in it and I'm going to try in the morning. I don't think the pistons have frozen up because no water could have gotten in unless there was a blown head gasket. So my question is if it doesn't free in the morning what could it be? Rob bearing came off? Camshaft broke? I'll end up pulling the oil pan off just wondering what all y'all thought. Thanks in advance!

 

[croaker567]

Nobody?

 

[PCA4208]

Bad starter? Just in case, pull the passenger side valve cover and inspect the valve springs. Just maybe one broke, let a valve drop, and now it's not letting the piston move. But I kinda doubt that option.

 

[croaker567]

Yeah I have the valve cover off now I'm thinking either the timing chain broke or the camshaft broke

 

[FlaglerMegacab4x4]

ok this may seem pretty simple but I had a similar issue and it was the terminals on the battery the leads were cracked from corrosion and weren't staying tight it would click and reset the gauges and wouldn't start check your terminals

 

[croaker567]

Yeah that was my first problem but I fixed that. Now either my camshaft or timing chain has broken

 

[PCA4208]

I doubt the cam broke. That's pretty hard haha. But timing chain is a possibility.

 

[Redtruck-VA]

A very rough guess, if the engine is stuck, I would look at a broken valve spring and a dropped valve. Have you tried rotating the engine backwards using the breaker bar?
Welcome to the forum...

 

[croaker567]

Yes I have as far as I can tell valves look good and are opened. I've tried spinning both ways with no success. It's still a possibility that a rod bearing came off. These year trucks have the nylon coated gears for timing chain right? If so I'm hoping that's the problem. If I jumped timing would it be holding me this hard?

 

[Redtruck-VA]

I don't believe nylon gears were used in any of the hemi engines, If a valve is dropped then the spring should be easy to see. Do you have all the spark plugs out? Inspect the plugs for damage, often with broken pieces the spark plug will be mashed. A bad cam bearing will weld to a cam shaft, but will usually spin in the block which in itself is a bad thing. But as you say it could have a bad lower bearing. How does the engine look? Is it cruded up? The 03 weakness is mostly valve springs, pistons and on a rare occasion a tone ring.

 

[CKH]

Prior to the starting issue, did you hear any strange noises the last time the truck actually started?

I agree with Redtruck and would also add the following:

The problems with the timing chains in the 5.7 were tensioner springs/nylon guides breaking to pieces. The timing set from the 6.1 is a direct swap into the 5.7 and has 4 springs on the tensioner instead of 2 and is higher quality. A tensioner failure is a good possibility, could be a piece of debris caught in the gear/chain not allowing it to rotate. Unfortunately, taking stuff apart will be the only way to find out for sure.

 

[croaker567]

Yeah i tore down to the timing chain this morning... All the gear, chain, and tensioners look fine. The engine looks clean there's no crud or corrosion and no oil leaks. I've never heard it run. I bought it the way it is. What should I do next. Pull the oil pan or heads? I've got the valve covers off and the only thing that doesn't look right is 2 of the valve springs are slightly lower than the others. Would it being out that far make a big deal? Thank you guys for all the input. It's awesome and really helping!

 

[Redtruck-VA]

Do you have the spark plugs pulled? That would give you a chance to look for damage on the plugs and eliminate any kind of hydro lock.

 

[croaker567]

No hydro lock and yeah thats the first thing I did was pull the plugs and pour marvel mystery oil down all the cylinders. I'm trying to pull the oil pan down right now. Any tricks to getting to some of the bolts?

 

[Redtruck-VA]

I don't remember doing anything special, it's all straight forward with if something is in the way, remove it. With the cam chain exposed did you see any movement while trying to rock the engine back and forth indicating whether the cam or crank is frozen?

 

[croaker567]

I tore the heads off today and unbolted the oil pan. Valves and pushrods are good. Pistons are good. No cracks or anything. From the looks of what I can see all rod bearings are good. I'm gonna pull the engine up in the morning so I can completely pull the oil pan and look at everything. I dont think any of the rods are broken otherwise you.could spin it back another way. So crank might be frozen?

 

[Redtruck-VA]

Do you still have the cam chain installed? Maybe try removing the chain and see if the cam is seized?

 

[PCA4208]

How's the main bearings? That's really odd for it to look fine and not move. But I guess nows a good time to do a stroker build. Haha

 

[croaker567]

Haha thats very true. And yeah thats a really good idea I didn't think of. Tomorrow I'll remove the chain and see if the crank moves