Preemptively replacing cam and lifters on a 5.7 Hemi *before* tick?

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Bearded Lion

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Hi all,

I know this is discussed multiple times per day in Hemi world, but almost everything I read is about either rebuilding the top end after failure or bad ticking starts, or for a high performance street truck.

My question is: does it make sense to replace cam, lifters, rockers, etc. on an otherwise fine 5.7 to avoid future problems? Would this be an effective strategy?

My situation:
- 2012 Sport 5.7 4x4 Crew
- approx 120k miles soon
- 3.92 rear end, 6spd auto, jba shorties, corsa exhaust, s&b intake, hemifever tune on diablosport trinity
- daily(ish) driver in heavy city traffic with expected mild occasional offroading for camping on fire roads, beach, etc.


My logic is that the truck is perfect for me except for two main gripes... the six speed sucks and I wish I had the 8 (can swap when it dies), and I worry the truck will leave me and my family stranded at some point when it eats a cam. I know it's not the majority of hemis that die catastrophically, but when they do, I'd hate for it to be far from home, offroad, or to grenade the rest of the engine with tiny metal shards of death. Putting in an upgraded cam and lifters and associated goodies, doing proper maintenance, maybe I could expect another 100k or so out of this engine and have peace of mind. There's a school of thought that you can just toss another engine in when it fails and that might be cost neutral, but then you don't know what you're getting unless you buy new, in which case it might have the same Achilles heel.

So, do people do this? If so, any recommendations on a trustworthy installer not too far from NoVA? I am probably capable of doing myself, but as the truck is mostly a daily and I'd probably not do as well on my first attempt as an experienced mechanic, I'd likely have someone do it for me. I know it would be expensive, but so is an engine replacement or buying a Tundra or something.
 

Burla

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What makes you think a new cam and lifters would stop hemi tick? It often does not and then dudes are out thousands.

The 6 speed rfe is incredible and buildable, can improve and fix psi and tune shift points. if you want more info let me know, or swap your 8 speed.

Look up redline lubrication strategy, redline 5w30 and royal purple 20-820, look at poll results.
 
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Bearded Lion

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Do what you like, I have 2 2012's. One with 225,000 miles and one with 145,000 miles. Both run great and I'll never change anything on them before it goes bad. Who knows, the new cam and lifters you put in could be defective early. Wish I had a crystal ball too! Good luck in whatever you choose.

I go back and forth on that philosophy. Viewing risk as likelihood x consequence, it's the high consequence of breaking down somewhere very difficult to get out of, on family vacation, or killing the other parts of an otherwise solid engine that drives my consideration. True, don't fix what ain't broke is logical too... I could make it worse with defective parts or a poor install.

If your going to upgrade to an aftermarket cam and lifters I would say it’s absolutely worth it since you’re going to be gaining some extra power as well as removing that variable completely from the equation.

That's another thing I wonder about. The truck really has all the power I need, and I definitely don't want to lose low end, so I'm assuming a mild upgrade would be appropriate. It's the "removing that variable completely from the equation" that I like... rather than driving a ticking time bomb, NPI.
What makes you think a new cam and lifters would stop hemi tick? It often does not and then dudes are out thousands.

The 6 speed rfe is incredible and buildable, can improve and fix psi and tune shift points. if you want more info let me know, or swap your 8 speed.

Look up redline lubrication strategy, redline 5w30 and royal purple 20-820, look at poll results.

Well, it's not the tick that bothers me at all. I had the manifold bolt failures and replaced with headers and quality hardware of my own sourcing, and my engine is relatively quiet. I'd want to go after all the parts that are most likely to lead to catastrophic engine failure in the top end... I've read about plenty of ways to reduce or eliminate the noise, but if the thing ticked like a metronome for a million miles I'm sure no one would complain. I just want to address supposed inferior parts in the drive train, and although no one can agree on the exact cause(s) of the cam failures, it sure seems like the roller bearings in the rockers, the cam itself, or some combination thereof are likely culprits. I've read the idle hours and oil pressure and flow rate discussions, and I can't get past the fact that people run all combinations of oil, filter, interval, pumps, and yet it still seems like the failures are unpredictable. That points more to a mechanical defeat imo.

I'm convinced to switch to RL at next change at least. Have seen your polls and the feedback, and I have RL fluids going in the diffs and xfer case soon, so it makes sense.

That's good to hear about the rfe... maybe I'd go that route instead of a swap. I am mostly after reliability (mechanical engineer, a bit fanatical about redundancy and reliability), but the shift points and lugging with the six speed tuning drive me nuts sometimes.
 

Burla

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Yeah, my 545 shift points with the 3,55 are horrible as well. You can tune them out, or drive in tow haul which changes the low rpm garbage. with 3.92's and a 6 speed, just a tweek on a tuner is all youll need.
 
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Bearded Lion

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Yeah, my 545 shift points with the 3,55 are horrible as well. You can tune them out, or drive in tow haul which changes the low rpm garbage. with 3.92's and a 6 speed, just a tweek on a tuner is all youll need.

I'm a total noob when it comes to transmission tuning... how would I go about that? Take to a reputable tuner or buy HP Tuners and mess with it myself or?

The 3.92 is great, but I might bump up to 35s at some point and that'll just exacerbate the problem.
 

HEMIMANN

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I switched from PUP to RedLine at mid-20k miles. Why wouldn't you want to? It's a $9,000 engine, not including loss of use if it fails.
 

Burla

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68, 66, or 65 the upgrades will be the same. If you want to go big, you get a plate instead of a gasket, will never leak, increases costs a couple hundred. Get a metal thread and synthetic filter upgrades. I dont have a tuner, but I know guys who do, changing shift points is very easy. You need a plate or gasket to increase psi, which will help a lot changing gears.

 

tron67j

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I had the 5.7 with with the 5 speed transmission in a 2003. Never wished I had 8, ran great. I come from the school of 1) maintenance is critical, and 2) it it ain't broke don't fix it. My two cents, run and enjoy it until it is time to fix something.
 

Wild one

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I go back and forth on that philosophy. Viewing risk as likelihood x consequence, it's the high consequence of breaking down somewhere very difficult to get out of, on family vacation, or killing the other parts of an otherwise solid engine that drives my consideration. True, don't fix what ain't broke is logical too... I could make it worse with defective parts or a poor install.



That's another thing I wonder about. The truck really has all the power I need, and I definitely don't want to lose low end, so I'm assuming a mild upgrade would be appropriate. It's the "removing that variable completely from the equation" that I like... rather than driving a ticking time bomb, NPI.


Well, it's not the tick that bothers me at all. I had the manifold bolt failures and replaced with headers and quality hardware of my own sourcing, and my engine is relatively quiet. I'd want to go after all the parts that are most likely to lead to catastrophic engine failure in the top end... I've read about plenty of ways to reduce or eliminate the noise, but if the thing ticked like a metronome for a million miles I'm sure no one would complain. I just want to address supposed inferior parts in the drive train, and although no one can agree on the exact cause(s) of the cam failures, it sure seems like the roller bearings in the rockers, the cam itself, or some combination thereof are likely culprits. I've read the idle hours and oil pressure and flow rate discussions, and I can't get past the fact that people run all combinations of oil, filter, interval, pumps, and yet it still seems like the failures are unpredictable. That points more to a mechanical defeat imo.

I'm convinced to switch to RL at next change at least. Have seen your polls and the feedback, and I have RL fluids going in the diffs and xfer case soon, so it makes sense.

That's good to hear about the rfe... maybe I'd go that route instead of a swap. I am mostly after reliability (mechanical engineer, a bit fanatical about redundancy and reliability), but the shift points and lugging with the six speed tuning drive me nuts sometimes.
One of the theories floating around these days,and it makes more sense then the other theories,and that's the weak valve springs in the 5.7's. The stock springs don't generate enough seat pressure,and therefore allow the lifters to bounce off the cam lobe,and when they smash back down into the lobe,it eventually causes issues with the lifter rollers. Personally it makes more sense then all the other theories combined if you want my opinion,and that's why Redlines moly plating is as successful as it it,as it gives a bit of cushion to the roller and lobe face,to absorb lifter bounce.
 

NOV87

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... how would I go about that? Take to a reputable tuner or buy HP Tuners and mess with it myself or?
.

I have 2014 6sp w/3.55. Ended up getting HP tuner and paid someone from HP tuners forum to do transmission tune. He did locked shifts for me. Really happy with it. As Burla mentioned in one of his posts, there's a fine balance. On one hand locked (hard) shifts will prevent overdrive clutches from pre-maturely wearing. On the other hand it may put extra wear on the drivetrain. But the truck drives so much better with all 6 speed activated. Been driving with the tune for just over 30k
 

2012RAM1500RT

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I have 2014 6sp w/3.55. Ended up getting HP tuner and paid someone from HP tuners forum to do transmission tune. He did locked shifts for me. Really happy with it. As Burla mentioned in one of his posts, there's a fine balance. On one hand locked (hard) shifts will prevent overdrive clutches from pre-maturely wearing. On the other hand it may put extra wear on the drivetrain. But the truck drives so much better with all 6 speed activated. Been driving with the tune for just .
 
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DILLIGAF

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No need to pay for 6 speed tunes , I got all 3 of them Soft ****, Hard shift and Track day :)

Will upload them and share the links when I have time.

I got them on the RFE FB group. Great bunch of guys. They all use HP tuners as well since diablo cant tune trans at all.
 

KoboldTaco

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Some guys might say to prevent a situation in the future due to a known engine issue. I say you don’t fix something that's not broken.

Whenever I buy a used anything, I go through a series of checks to make it mine from a maintenance perspective. That includes:

- all fluids changed
- all serviceable grease points inspected for play and greased
- stored code ECM read
- review and document the work done against a service schedule
- review oil condition in 1K mikes. If dark in color, change again
- pull plugs and inspect - change components after inspected for wear, and wear items reviewed
 

NOV87

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No need to pay for 6 speed tunes , I got all 3 of them Soft ****, Hard shift and Track day :)
That'd be nice of you. I saw your posts on HP tuners a while ago. I ended up paying for my tune and it came locked (can't see or change anything). But, that was the deal. So, not complaining. Quality tune though.
 

Ramagain

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Even with a freshly chewed lobe your truck will not leave you stranded. You'll have plenty of warning before it becomes stranded. Get an oil analysis with your oil changes, it'll keep you appraised of your engines general health. There's a ton of these 5.7s out there that have never been cracked open and this issue isn't unique to Mopar V8s alone. Hanging around here you'd think it was a time bomb. None of my 4 5.7's failed me (3 had 100k plus on em), yet my BILs only one did. Ya never know, but unlike yours his was noisy from day one (bought used 80k miles failed around 110k). So, unless you like blowing money and want to wrench on it yourself, hang tight.
 

jws123

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If it aint broke dont fix it! Just make sure you do your oil changes and use good synthetic oil over 200k on mine cam/lifters didn't go til 180k and sometimes they never do.
 

Burn2k12Ram

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Even with a new cam/lifter swap that will not guarantee no issue even sooner than later. Get an oil analysis done to see if you even have an issue. And if you really want to fix the overall issue what many feel is then switch out the oil pump with at least a melling or even a hellcat oil pump. Many feel the lack of lubrication especially at idle is usually what causes the failures. By ensuring you have good oil flow to all the parts you are greatly reducing most likely more so than just swapping parts. Does not matter how strong or good a part is if by design that part does not get sufficient lubrication then there is going to be issue.
 

DiabloThunder

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Im with Burn2k on this...I think oil flow/press at low rpm idle/cruise is significant. Coking of passages, ultra fine filtration, and a low pressure oil pump all oil starve the top end.

Adittionally, check out "Project Farm" and "Banks" on youtube. They do some interesting oil analysis. As a result I switched to Amsoil.

My engineering brain always wanted to improve things and learn. My 2005 5.7 545 Ram is my baby. I swapped my oe cam for a comp cam with springs and lifters; didnt do cam barings. Also did Melling high volume pump and timing set. Ran awesome for almost a year. Then a lifter seized and sheared the cam bolt. I subsequently had it built out to 400 ci all forged and big valve cnc heads. I reused lifters :/ dumb again. One failed after a year and a half. I had a shop rebuild it so I was out of the equasion. Expensive and not impressed but its running great.

Moral to the story: use the highest quality oil and change often. Change the filter when it darkens. Don't change any internals until you are prepared for the financial rabbit hole. Get a tuner and have fun!

Remember, people only post when they have a problem. We never hear about the 99.999% that are happy motoring!
 
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