Got one of those situations where I am having a hard time deciding do I fix my truck, trade-it while it has no CEL and otherwise drives decent, or Sell it and just wait and be patient?
I have a 2011 Ram 1500 with 165k miles on it. I just bought it recently and never had a CEL and still doesn't but i know for sure something is broken or seized (lifter) at cylinder 1 or 3. Yes, i know i should at least remove the valve covers and inspect it. The noise seriously developed shortly after purchasing. I will probably at least get the intake off to look at the VVT solenoid and check the screen for metal shavings because the oil was new when I got the truck so nothing showed in the oil change that I did when putting fresh PUP oil in. If there are shavings present, I will take a loss to avoid being the one to fork out for a new engine. Also the transmission is smooth when manually shifting and has fresh fluid but when auto shifting it's a bit rough. Assuming line pressure due to clogged filters could be the issue causing solenoids to shift inconsistently.
Anyways, i'm just wondering if I should opt for trading for maybe a newer 15/16/17 Ram or perhaps just being patient and getting a 5th Gen when I can find a really great deal. What would you do? I enjoy reading others opinions. This 2011 is my favorite body style and love the console shifter on these. I do wish i paid more attention to avoid the 5 speed but it does shift damn good in manual mode when I'm in control of shift points.
The main reason I am hesitant on paying to fix it is the truck has the 5 speed and I definitely wish it had the 6 speed. Stupid me. Secondly, i would be pissed if I replace the engine and then something happens adn I have to now address the transmission issue. You can see the 11,500 ive spent on this will quickly turn into a $20k+ truck with lots of miles.