Replace cam as preventative maintenance?

[Garce421]

I usually drop in here once a week or so to see what’s new and have been noticing the cam and lifter threads popping up. I know this is a very small percentage of trucks that have this problem but I have a 2014 lone star Hemi, 8spd with 54k. I’ve owned it since new, tow a 6x10 trailer a few times a month, oil changes every 7500 miles with Pennzoil platinum etc.

Question is, has anyone gone ahead and replaced cam and lifters before there was a problem as a preventative measure? It seems like if you do get a truck that has the cam problem, once it goes there’s really no good/reasonable fix (more problems than just bad cam etc). If you get it before hand you could be out a few thousand but will it essentially bullet proof these components for the future? Is there such a package out there? I looked at moes but just saw a few cams on the site. Thanks.

 

[crackerjack1957]

Changing out cam & lifters in my 2014 Ram 1500 Sport 5.7 on 11/26.
Upgrading to Green performance cam & Hellcat lifters.
Issues others were having was 1 of the reasons I decided to change them out.

 

[PolarisCobra]

That's a big investment for a problem you may never have. There is always a risk that the job will be botched somehow, and cause other problems.

I would consider just spending the money on an extended warranty. Then, if the cam fails you are covered, but you are also covered for lots of other things.

The way things work for me, if I did the cam, it would have never been needed, then the trans (or something else) would fail two months later...

 

[chrisbh17]

Agreed on the MaxCare warranty. Even the lifetime version costs less than the cam/lifter fix...I know it will only be replaced with more stock "crap" but if you get 100K out of the originals, pay the 100.00 deductible and get another 100K out of the replacements, its well worth it IMHO.

 

[tidefan1967]

Yes Maxcare would have been the way to go but you have 54K miles so that’s not an option. I would start using Redline 5W30 and a good synthetic media filter and not worry about it.

 

[Burla]

Define preventative maintenance, prevent it from what? It's like getting a heart transplant because you are worried you have plaque build up and you want to avoid a heart transplant. No I wouldn't be changing cams just for the purpose of preventative maintenance.

 

[Garce421]

Changing out cam & lifters in my 2014 Ram 1500 Sport 5.7 on 11/26.
Upgrading to Green performance cam & Hellcat lifters.
Issues others were having was 1 of the reasons I decided to change them out.

Are you doing the work yourself and do you mind sharing what the estimated cost is? A lot of the cams I’ve seen online seem like performance cams does anyone make one that doesn’t require additional tuning mods. It looks like I may be a bit s.o.l with a factory extended warranty I think. I really like my truck and it’s almost paid off so I was hoping I could cruise this thing for another 100k before looking for something else. Obviously it may never have a problem but these threads on lifters or cams are a little too frequent for comfort

 

[BEAST19]

If it isn’t broke don’t fix it ! Unless you want to upgrade for performance purposes . If you start getting symptoms of lifter issues then think more seriously about it . Believe me I think along the same lines as you on preventative maintenance , but that job is not cheap and if not done properly it could cause other issues.. your truck is barely broken in . Enjoy it and like stated above start using redline and rp filter and hope for the best!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[chrisbh17]

I think one needs to also consider the model year of the truck. They are keeping some track over on the Z forum of count of failures per model year, and it seems much more prevalent around 2011 than now. Granted, 2014 trucks might not have the mileage of 2011s but by now you would think we would see a high failure rate of 2014+ models, and that doesnt seem to be the case.

I have a 2017 with 8K miles on it...by the time I get to 100K (which seems to be the magic loser number for cam/lifters), the truck will be about 12 years old at this rate. I guess Ill worry about it then! (or rather, MaxCare will)

 

[huntergreen]

This prevention maintenance would void your remaining drivetrain warranty.

 

[chrisbh17]

This prevention maintenance would void your remaining drivetrain warranty.

Don't you just love how we can void a warranty by doing a better job with better parts than the factory did?

 

[huntergreen]

Don't you just love how we can void a warranty by doing a better job with better parts than the factory did?

It's a strange way to do business.

 

[Garce421]

Yea I would definitely wait until the warranty is out. The 5 yr 100k powertrain warranty will be up in April of 2020 so I’ll make a decision then. I don’t see how it’s crazy when guys are doing it for performance anyway. How much is it costing them to do the swap before things go south just curious. I would not have factory do it most likely. My old man and his friends are old hot rod guys who build pretty high end cars and have engine builders they know and use. I mostly just posted this to see what others thought. Good info so far with good points.

 

[chrisbh17]

Its a lot of labor because the heads need to be removed. Just like a timing belt change, it's not HARD just time consuming. And since the heads need to be removed, while you're there you might as well do x,y,z while you're at it.

So not just lifters but the cam too. And maybe some head work. And why not headers.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Wild one]

Yea I would definitely wait until the warranty is out. The 5 yr 100k powertrain warranty will be up in April of 2020 so I’ll make a decision then. I don’t see how it’s crazy when guys are doing it for performance anyway. How much is it costing them to do the swap before things go south just curious. I would not have factory do it most likely. My old man and his friends are old hot rod guys who build pretty high end cars and have engine builders they know and use. I mostly just posted this to see what others thought. Good info so far with good points.

If you're in Canada you can kiss goodbye to $4,000.00 to do an aftermarket cam/hellcat lifters/upgraded springs/trend pushrods/mopar tie bars /gaskets etc. When we did the cam on my 14,i had about 40,000 miles on the truck,and it's been on Redline 5W-30 and RP filters since the truck had 150 miles on it,and the stock cam and lifters were still like new,and I beat the **** out of my truck weekly at the dragstrip.With the stock cam the shift points were set at 6200 rpm,and it had over 300 dragstrip passes on it,and you'd never know it by the inside of the engine,or the cam and lifters that came out of it.The shift points are now set at 6600 rpm with the aftermarket cam and good valve springs.Burla talked me into Redline on my old truck when it was new way back in early 2013,and this 14 got switched to Redline as soon as it made it home from the dealer,and I now swear by it,lol.

 

[Garce421]

I’ll have to check out redline. Keep seeing it but have never seen it or known anyone who’s used it. Is there a preferred vendor for it online?

 

[crazykid1994]

I’ll have to check out redline. Keep seeing it but have never seen it or known anyone who’s used it. Is there a preferred vendor for it online?

Nick at gotexhaust sells the redline along with the royal purple filters that a lot of us run as well.

 

[Garce421]

If you're in Canada you can kiss goodbye to $4,000.00 to do an aftermarket cam/hellcat lifters/upgraded springs/trend pushrods/mopar tie bars /gaskets etc. When we did the cam on my 14,i had about 40,000 miles on the truck,and it's been on Redline 5W-30 and RP filters since the truck had 150 miles on it,and the stock cam and lifters were still like new,and I beat the **** out of my truck weekly at the dragstrip.With the stock cam the shift points were set at 6200 rpm,and it had over 300 dragstrip passes on it,and you'd never know it by the inside of the engine,or the cam and lifters that came out of it.The shift points are now set at 6600 rpm with the aftermarket cam and good valve springs.Burla talked me into Redline on my old truck when it was new way back in early 2013,and this 14 got switched to Redline as soon as it made it home from the dealer,and I now swear by it,lol.

Seeing that gets me thinking haha. I’ve always owned lifted jeeps and trucks but I’ve never really had a hot rod before. Watching a few YouTube vids of cam swapped rams and high performance trucks looks like fun. I did have an 08 2500 with a deleted and tuned 6.7. It was fun but not nimble and was also running 35’s so I wouldn’t say it was too fun to drive. Would get going like sob in a straighline like a freight train but that’s about it.

 

[Wild one]

Seeing that gets me thinking haha. I’ve always owned lifted jeeps and trucks but I’ve never really had a hot rod before. Watching a few YouTube vids of cam swapped rams and high performance trucks looks like fun. I did have an 08 2500 with a deleted and tuned 6.7. It was fun but not nimble and was also running 35’s so I wouldn’t say it was too fun to drive. Would get going like sob in a straighline like a freight train but that’s about it.

There's some quick Rams around. If you're on facebook check out Nadodge and Tuned Rams,that's where it seems the majority of quicker trucks hang out. For awhile my little 4X4 was on the top 15 list of quick Rams ,but Gary's since shortened the list down to 5 now,aarrgghh,lol. The engine has been bulletproof so far,but i'm only hitting it with a 75 shot of nitrous,lol.

 

[Burla]

I’ll have to check out redline. Keep seeing it but have never seen it or known anyone who’s used it. Is there a preferred vendor for it online?

It is a top oil used here, if you read the poll it comes in about 4th as far as users behind pennzoil, m1, and amsoil. So nick doesn't post his prices, but it is way cheaper then even the redline website. PM nick from gotexhaust and let him know what you want. I could not find a lower price if I tried right now, and I have looked recently. Maybe he has free shipping if you get enough, I don't know ask him.

Just so you know it isn't about brand so much as formula. Redline oil is an ester based oil with pao and high additives such as molybdenum and zinc. It is very different from ground oil base oils you get off the shelf, it just costs more to make, and the performance is great. the argument against redline would be in an automobile engine is there benefit that out weighs the price. For most applications probably not, but it seams to be a good fit for the hemi. The long term wear numbers are coming back roses, really great numbers. Read the syn thread or ask some questions over there if you want to learn more. h395 and RLK would share their long term uoa's if you were interested. Ram owners helping each other, those dudes have a bunch of dyi threads.