Disaster!!

[csuder99]

Back on topic ... I'd say the trouble shooting at the dealer is questionable. I'm betting on 'service 4wd' and MIL being caused by P0882 or similar which pops up when the voltage drops below a certain threshold. The battery is likely toast, and while charging might appear to work it doesn't really as the voltage drops like a stone once some current is drawn.
For the engine not turning over, if there weren't any strange noises I doubt there is a catastrophic failure. Given that there are some coinciding power issues I'd check if the alternator is seized. That would make it hard to turn over the engine.

 

[huntergreen]

Agree with above. First warning sign is they said battery was fully charged and it wasn't. Amy chance you can use s different dealer?

 

[Gamester]

Great oil and yes it has moly, look at link. If your truck gets the tick, you may opt for higher moly like many guys around here are doing, but I dig mobil 1. The manufacturer made an oil with Penzoil that has over 200ppm moly specifically for the hemi, and m1 usually runs around 70ppm, but m1 has the industry average for moly.

I really doubt the brand of oil he uses has anything to do with a flywheel failure, but yea I run full synthetic Mobil 1 and it is great stuff for sure.

 

[powderbrad]

What would the fly seize to? Crank end bearing or journal?

 

[Burla]

I didn't know it was a flywheel failure, I missed that, my bad. But the 11's also have cheaper oil in the tranny that could have been serviced as well. The 8 speeds seam to be bullet proof as far as lubrication goes.

 

[sandawilliams]

Details: My Truck
2011 Ram 1500 SB/Quad Cab 4x4/5.7L Hemi
114000 km/70320 mi. Just off warranty by 14000km.
Used Lucas Synth 5-30 + Stabilizer since new.
Shell gas 99% of the time.
Oil/filter change was overdue by a few thousand miles but was to be done this week prior to a long trip.
Other than this issue, I've had exactly zero problems with this truck since I bought it new other than a couple of minor issues under warranty.

Last saturday, I was just getting started on what was to be about 120 mile round trip. Truck started and ran fine for about 5 miles.

I'm embarrassed to admit I got distracted and forgot to upshift due to distraction, but, here's the scenario.

I usually drive through town with the (5 speed auto) tranny in 3rd/4th gear ... when I got to the highway, I accelerated to about 75 mph (120km) ...my usual highway cruising speed...something felt amiss and I looked down to see it was in 3rd gear and the rpms were somewhere between 3000-4000 rpm ...i'm not sure, really... I immediately upshifted to normal (5th).

That's when all the fun started....the oil light came on, so, I slowed and moved to the right shoulder of the road. At about 25-30 mph the engine stopped running and I coasted to a stop. When stopped, a warning light came on saying I should 'Service 4WD' , the MIL light came on and when I tried to restart it just clicked!!
I waited about 15 minutes and tried to start again and got nothing.
After a half hour I checked the oil level and it was well into the safe zone.

The battery gauge needle is now at 1/4 ...which, after having it checked indicated that my six year old, 700 amp battery was now at 240 amps!!

I had it towed (flatbed) to the nearest dealer and left it there from sat. afternoon til now.
Monday, the dealer mechanics put it on a charger for an hour, told me it was charged up and tried to start it.... No dice!
When I came out to see what was up, one mechanic was underneath trying to move the crankshaft by hand while another was up top doing who knows what.
Mechanic then tells me he believes the crank is seized...other options... could be seized tranny pump, seized bell housing, torque converter??

I asked if the battery was fully charged. Yep.
When nobody was looking I turned the key on and lo and behold the gauge was still sitting at 1/4 and not showing any more of a charge than it was before it went on the charger!!

Solutions offered:
Pull oil filter and see if there's any scrap metal in it. ;(
Pull tranny and check front pump and bell housing/torque convertor.
Worst case scenario, replace motor. (C$9500) !!

Personally, I'm thinking the battery has crapped out (bad cell/dead short?)and they should at least try putting in a new battery to see if anything changes...after all, it is over 6 years old!!

If anyone could please posit another possible cause of this no start issue, it'd be appreciated. I'm a pensioner and only recently paid of the loan for this truck... a $10,000 bill to get my truck back on the road is near impossible for me!

Thanks in advance,
Roaddawg aka Cliff

You can have voltage in the battery but no amperage. Try a new battery first.

 

[Roaddawg]

Fourth gear is maximum non-overdrive gear. If you want zoom and no MDS that's where you'd hang on a 2011.

Third gear is going to be higher revving at lower speeds, but not suitable for highway speeds.

Exactly ....running with shifter in D at lower speeds seems to make it feel like it can't make up it's mind whcih gear it wants to be in ...kinda bounces back n forth between 4th & 5th and gets annoying after a while.

 

[Roaddawg]

''You can have voltage in the battery but no amperage. Try a new battery first.''

They tested it with some kind of equipment... 700 CCA battery tested 240 CCA ... it started fine 15 minutes before shutting down on the highway and worked up til the automatic shut down .... gauge sits at 1/4 mark since failure ... just get a click when the key is turned ... after failure the 'service 4wd' and MIL lights came on ... other than diff fluids the manual doesn't show the 1500 4WD needs to be serviced

 

[ronheater70]

So whats the update? Flywheel still stuck?

 

[Johnnymac2k6]

Can we all stop calling a FLEXPLATE a FLYWHEEL please. lol

I have never seen a diagnosis go from..."well maybe it needs a battery" to "well maybe the engine is seized" if you don't have the mechanical know-how to tell the difference, get it out of the shop that also, has no idea.

flexplate failure? a flexplate is a solid plate of metal that attaches the crankshaft to the torque converter in an automatic...to fail...it would have to physically break.

 

[69GWC]

Seen them break many a time.

But to me if they can not turn the motor over they are either stupid or its locked up.

People have called the flexplate flywheels for years and years dont think its going to stop now.

 

[Rupert]

lets explore possibilities, discuss troubleshooting.

I understand the truck is at the dealer, I am just relating what I would do in alogical ( to me) order.


Battery. as stated try another battery . maybe just maybe the battery failed, two plates touched, which would drop the voltage instantaneously, and the truck freaked out. Your reported CCA are way to low, and your battery is 6 years old.

if still no start, check the starter, If may be hung up and fried and that could be why the motor wont turn/bar over.

either way I would remove starter and try to bar over the engine before I start freakin out and removing everything.

Did they say if the flex plate was broken cracked etc?

Also remove the spark plugs and see if it can be barred over, check for hydralock.


I suspect that the service 4WD lite may be due to speeds of the engine vs the tranny not matching what is should be. like if the flexplate broke.

If the above works then they can rotate the engine to remove the bolts at the bottom access and then remove the tranny. If they still need to.

If not they will have to drop the engine/ tranny out the bottom of the truck and then remove the tranny via the mount bolts. the TC/ flex will stay on the engine, unless the flexplate is complexly shattered, in which case the TC will fall on the floor.

If its still connected then the bolts will be accessible, although some may be hard to get to due to the engine block overhang.

maybe its the starter and its hung up

maybe its the flexplate and its hung up

if not its either the engine or the tranny.

I think and hope for you its the starter/ flexplate
Hope this helps

 

[Roaddawg]

thanks for the info ... not looking good for Lucas products now nor my engine at this point ...i will say i've used it since the first oil change and haven't had any issues, but, then, I didn't do any 'research'...s'pose I should have in hindsight. Looked for Mobil1 synth at the local walmart yesterday, but, they had none ...did have Pennzoil Platinum. Opinion?
RD/Cliff

 

[adrianp89]

Has Alternator been discussed? If that died then the truck would have ran for a little then the battery would have died.... as the battery is going out certain systems shut down and yield weird lights (4wd). Does the truck run operate normal in "on"? Can you turn on headlights, blast the radio, and get brake lights?

 

[Will Ram 2500]

Has Alternator been discussed? If that died then the truck would have ran for a little then the battery would have died.... as the battery is going out certain systems shut down and yield weird lights (4wd). Does the truck run operate normal in "on"? Can you turn on headlights, blast the radio, and get brake lights?

That was my first thought when I read the original post, then it started going down a rabbit hole so I kept my mouth shut. Only time I was ever stranded was a bad alternator in an F250 and different dash lights went on and off before the battery died.

 

[Burla]

Looked for Mobil1 synth at the local walmart yesterday, but, they had none ...did have Pennzoil Platinum. Opinion?

We have a synthetic oil thread where we have a lot of experiences with oil and the hemi, a ton of info if you can screen through the 75% oil cooler talk. Bottom line you are headed in the right direction, Penzoil and Mobil 1 are great oils. Get you a synthetic filter as well, wix xp, napa platinum, fram ultra or what I use Royal purple filters (not their oil for sure). Look into esters for transmissions and gearing. Most boutique oils are gimmicks, but there are a couple that are hemi honey (Amsoil & Redline), and Penzoil made an oil specifically for the hemi it is Penzoil Ultra Platinum 0w40, guys mix it down for the 5.7.

 

[Roaddawg]

Thanks for all that!!

''maybe its the starter and its hung up

maybe its the flexplate and its hung up

if not its either the engine or the tranny.

I think and hope for you its the starter/ flexplate
Hope this helps''

Starter has been pulled and still can't turn it over

Flexplate=flywheel? ...if so, then, definitely hung up.

They dropped the oil pan and found metallic bits in the filter.
Not a good sign. ;(

Now fingers crossed that tranny didn't sustain any damage!

Advised that due to the guck clogging the oil pickup filter it's probable there may have been no oil available to the engine, causing it to seize, which makes more sense than my theory that it possibly sucked up all the oil and then started pulling sludge off the bottom of the pan, got plugged up and no oil return to pan. Just guessing here.
Update:
Oil pan off, small metallic particles found in oil filter...but, not shown to me ...mechanic has told service adviser to not get my hopes up ...still unable to rotate the crank .... apparently can't get enough torque on whatever it is he needs to get torque on to rotate it ...engine needs to be out to do that and if it still won't go it indicates the engine is toast! Pistons welded to cylinders! ... sludge in pan is my bad...should have done oil/filter a while ago, but, I've been sick all winter and it was all I could do to get my donkey out for a coffee at the local coffee shop! That being said, it wasn't driven very much all winter and I'm pretty sure the oil wasn't old enough to cause failure.

Asked the service adviser ...'if I put a new engine in, will it increase the value of my trade-in? ' ...He said, 'Well it will t somebody!' I'm guessing it won't to a dealer!

 

[Roaddawg]

''Penzoil Ultra Platinum 0w40, guys mix it down for the 5.7.''

I think i saw that yesterday .... what's the mix being used?

cliff

 

[Burla]

That Lucas is real bad man, make sure you get a new PCV valve whatever you get. I'd get a catch can as well, that way you can verify your pcv is working correctly, plus you will keep crud out of your engine. Sometimes even with a new pcv you can have blockage, especially when you use an oil thickener. Clogged PCV number one cause of sludge. Live and learn bud.

0w40 PUP is a great formula and belongs to a small group of oils that are thin for their weight, good feature when talking about 40 weight oil. So 3 qrts of PUP 0w40 mixed with 4 qrts 5w20, gives you a good working viscosity. If you fix it and you probably should, just keep the truck? The dealer will **** you on an engine swap, I'm sure many local shops will take that on 1/2 price and you will likely get the same warranty, anywhere from 12 to 36 months if you get a crate versus reman'd.

I personally run redline oil, a lot of protection from dry starts with the highest moly available. At least research that, but PUP mix is just as good in my opinion. Just have different formulations but achieve the same thing.

 

[powderbrad]

Starter would t prevent the flex/ fly turning over. I don't think ive ever seen a starter lock up. When they fail they still turn.

Can't turn crank with a breaker bar (with or without spark) plugs... thinking MDS failure leading to valve train / timing seizure. A loose chain makes it impossible to turn if it's bound up on itself. Though if tensioner went and chain is slack engines done anyways.

Pop a valve cover. Pop the timing cover.

Whether it's getting oil now doesn't matter.