2015 ram 1500 Lifter failure… dreaded

[Wild one]

Haha touché. My wife says I have selective listening.

Mine just says i'm deaf in 1 ear and can't hear out the other ear

 

[JHoward]

Mine just says i'm deaf in 1 ear and can't hear out the other ear

What? ... What did you say? Could you repeat that?

 

[Wild one]

What? ... What did you say? Could you repeat that?

Huh can you speak a little louder please

 

[Barr2255]

Did you guys say something?

Anyways, back to what you said Wildone, I’ve flushed plenty of ATV crankcases with diesel before but I get hesitant with “real” motors lol. Has anyone else here done that successfully? I originally just planned on “flushing” a bunch of cheap Wally World oil through it mixed with ATF. I have a transfer tank here on the farm though with about 300 gallons of red dye diesel so it’s tempting!!

The motor really has no varnish to speak of which could be contributed to either the redline or Mobil one combined with 5k miles or less oil changes… I’ve seen Pennzoil motors before and the red varnish is real… no one will ever convince me to run that garbage. Sorry if that offends anyone. also don’t turn this into an oil thread after that comment please! We can argue on a different thread

 

[cbt1976]

Zipped tied the chain off to the side with tension as not to slip teeth on the crankshaft pully.

This plus stuffing a shop rag between the crank gear/chain and windage tray keeps everything in place.

 

[Wild one]

Did you guys say something?

Anyways, back to what you said Wildone, I’ve flushed plenty of ATV crankcases with diesel before but I get hesitant with “real” motors lol. Has anyone else here done that successfully? I originally just planned on “flushing” a bunch of cheap Wally World oil through it mixed with ATF. I have a transfer tank here on the farm though with about 300 gallons of red dye diesel so it’s tempting!!

The motor really has no varnish to speak of which could be contributed to either the redline or Mobil one combined with 5k miles or less oil changes… I’ve seen Pennzoil motors before and the red varnish is real… no one will ever convince me to run that garbage. Sorry if that offends anyone. also don’t turn this into an oil thread after that comment please! We can argue on a different thread

Everything i take apart usually gets a diesal wash,lol. Hard to beat diesals abilitiies as a cleaning medium. I use my old syphon wash gun to give an engine internals a pressure wash with it. This is while it's still apart and the drain plug is out. The old school trick after it's back together is to mix in a quart of ATF with the oil and run it for a 1/2 hour,then drain the oil and change the filter,the diesal flush/wash is while it's apart

 

[Barr2255]

The guys that did their own rebuild or were a major part of it, how did you clean the block surface prior to head gasket install?

Obviously Roloc disk by 3m and scotch bright pads but those do have aluminum oxide as the abrasive and I’m not sure about it being entirely safe for a long term engine. Thoughts / experiance?

The times I’ve rebuilt engines I’ve had the whole motor out and put the bare block in a hot washer essentially. So not much experience prepping with engine in and not being able to thoroughly clean it after.

 

[Wild one]

The guys that did their own rebuild or were a major part of it, how did you clean the block surface prior to head gasket install?

Obviously Roloc disk by 3m and scotch bright pads but those do have aluminum oxide as the abrasive and I’m not sure about it being entirely safe for a long term engine. Thoughts / experiance?

The times I’ve rebuilt engines I’ve had the whole motor out and put the bare block in a hot washer essentially. So not much experience prepping with engine in and not being able to thoroughly clean it after.

Lots of rags and masking tape,followed up by a good wipe down with a rag soaked in diesal or transmission fluid,then i like to follow that up with either an acetone or laquar thinner wipe down,and don't be scared to vaccumn the hell out of things

 

[Barr2255]

Thanks for sharing! So you did no scraping at all on the block surface?

Lifters arrive today, will be interesting if they are genuine mopar or if I’m going to have to get on the phone with Ebay to get a refund. I will post pictures and let you guys see what you think. Supposedly they come in the original mopar packaging still sealed. (Fingers crossed)

 

[Barr2255]

Hemi brothers, do these look like the real genuine packaging?

 

[dchapma1957]

I also have a set of those lifters coming from E-Bay. Seller swears they are genuine - but how can they sell 2 fronts and 2 rears for under $400? That is less that half the cost from MOPAR.

I am into this repair on my 2011. 132,000 miles. Oil changed religiously after I bought the truck at 88,000 miles.

Took it to the dealer for the p0305 code, cylinder 5 misfire. After a week they came back and told me the following:
PSI in Cylinder 5 is 150 - probably a cracked head.
Exhaust manifolds are leaking / cracked.
Cam is likely bad and will need replaced along with lifters.

They did change the oil and filter and charged me $875 for the diagnostic work. Never again!

They quoted me $11,200.00 !! Eleven Grand? The truck Blue Book isn't even that! I picked it up and drover it home ~ 6 miles.

I am knee deep into the repair and here is what I have found. I am on day 4 of my efforts.

#5 Intake Lifter frozen and wiped the cam.
#5 cylinder has 200 PSI! Not 150 like they said.
#2 Cylinder has 135 PSI - more on that later.
#2 Intake lifter starting to fail - roller has significant movement but no cam damage yet.
Engine overall is very clean inside, light varnish on the oil pump surface. Crosshatch still visible in all cylinders, light carbon on the piston tops.
Both exhaust manifolds warped and multiple bolts broken off.

I drop the pan tmorrow so I can remove the oil pump and clean it all out.

I did the old gas in the combustion chamber on #4 and the gas leaked past the valves, slowly, but it leaked - so compression on #4 mystery solved I believe.

Ordered Genuine Mopar cam (and now lifters) I have supposedly genuine lifters coming from E-Bay but half the cost? That just doesn't sit right with me.

So I am going to:
Replace the cam/lifters with genuine MOPAR.
Repplace the oil pump with Melling High Volume and new pickup tube.
Replace the water pump and thermostat - may as well now that it apart.
Replace the mechanical fan thermo clutch - just for kicks.
New timing chain and VVT assembly.
All new head and manifold bolts.

Now what to do about the manifolds. I do not have access to any machine shops locally. I bought Dooman replacements from RockAuto BUT the downpipe flange is drilled and tapped for bolts - which I am not happy about. Factory used a nut and bolt. Also, the collector area seems a little larger - not in diameter but length.

Thinking about returning them and hand sanding my originals flat since they are already heat cycled and probably will not warp any more. I figure if I can get them within a few thousanths the gasket can do the rest -

Thoughts?

 

[Wild one]

I also have a set of those lifters coming from E-Bay. Seller swears they are genuine - but how can they sell 2 fronts and 2 rears for under $400? That is less that half the cost from MOPAR.

I am into this repair on my 2011. 132,000 miles. Oil changed religiously after I bought the truck at 88,000 miles.

Took it to the dealer for the p0305 code, cylinder 5 misfire. After a week they came back and told me the following:
PSI in Cylinder 5 is 150 - probably a cracked head.
Exhaust manifolds are leaking / cracked.
Cam is likely bad and will need replaced along with lifters.

They did change the oil and filter and charged me $875 for the diagnostic work. Never again!

They quoted me $11,200.00 !! Eleven Grand? The truck Blue Book isn't even that! I picked it up and drover it home ~ 6 miles.

I am knee deep into the repair and here is what I have found. I am on day 4 of my efforts.

#5 Intake Lifter frozen and wiped the cam.
#5 cylinder has 200 PSI! Not 150 like they said.
#2 Cylinder has 135 PSI - more on that later.
#2 Intake lifter starting to fail - roller has significant movement but no cam damage yet.
Engine overall is very clean inside, light varnish on the oil pump surface. Crosshatch still visible in all cylinders, light carbon on the piston tops.
Both exhaust manifolds warped and multiple bolts broken off.

I drop the pan tmorrow so I can remove the oil pump and clean it all out.

I did the old gas in the combustion chamber on #4 and the gas leaked past the valves, slowly, but it leaked - so compression on #4 mystery solved I believe.

Ordered Genuine Mopar cam (and now lifters) I have supposedly genuine lifters coming from E-Bay but half the cost? That just doesn't sit right with me.

So I am going to:
Replace the cam/lifters with genuine MOPAR.
Repplace the oil pump with Melling High Volume and new pickup tube.
Replace the water pump and thermostat - may as well now that it apart.
Replace the mechanical fan thermo clutch - just for kicks.
New timing chain and VVT assembly.
All new head and manifold bolts.

Now what to do about the manifolds. I do not have access to any machine shops locally. I bought Dooman replacements from RockAuto BUT the downpipe flange is drilled and tapped for bolts - which I am not happy about. Factory used a nut and bolt. Also, the collector area seems a little larger - not in diameter but length.

Thinking about returning them and hand sanding my originals flat since they are already heat cycled and probably will not warp any more. I figure if I can get them within a few thousanths the gasket can do the rest -

Thoughts?

Remflex 6022 gaskets will absorb some misalignment issues

 

[dchapma1957]

I don't want to lose the heat deflector that comes on the factory gaskets. The Remflex doesn't have that. I wonder if I can double them up and get the best of both worlds?

 

[Barr2255]

There’s a lot going on here… first off good on you to make these repairs yourself. It’s a big task.

Second of all screw the dealer quoting $11k you can buy a brand new hemi for $4k. I’m in Cali and thought the prices here were bad. Sheesh.

As far as lifters goes, I paid $500 after making an offer that was accepted.
The ones I recieved have the same laser etching as my originals and came in sealed boxes that appear to be the same boxes others get from Mopar. I believe mine are real but I’m just as astonished as you because the Mopar website wanted $1200 for the same set.

Why do you think you have a cracked head? Besides the dealer saying so? If you already have the heads off give them a good once over before buying a new one. You said no local machine shops, if that’s the case honestly having your heads checked / cleaned surfaced and pressure tested is worth a pretty lengthy drive to me personally… especially if you compression tested at 200 and hatching on cylinders looks good. These heads don’t tend to have issues unless you overheated it pretty darn bad.

I agree with you because I’m doing the same stuff. I have it apart so why not replace thermostat water pump, fan clutch hell I’m even replacing the radiator cap. Me personally I’m not replacing timing components but I have already inspected them. Worst case scenario pulling front timing cover isn’t really hard on these motors so if down the road there’s an issue I’ll address it.

As far as your exhaust manifolds go, I would take your originals, buy a straight edge off amazon and check them once you have them cleaned up. If they are off by more than a couple thousandths (check with feeler guage $5 at harbor freight) then buy a cheap 1’ sanding block off amazon and do it yourself. They will never break bolts again. Your new ones are likely more out of spec than the old ones I can go into detail about that if you want, just let me know. I say all this assuming a machine shop is totally out of the question.

My local machine shop surfaces exhaust manifolds for $50 each, I’m having both my heads cleaned, surfaced, pressure tested, new valve seals, and springs for $340. (Springs and seals supplied by me).

Also I’m sure remflex gaskets are great, lots of people swear by them. I put felpro on mine which have the heat deflectors and they work great. $50 for the set. $22 for Dorman bolts per side on amazon. Just my two cents definitely not the Bible.

 

[Wild one]

I don't want to lose the heat deflector that comes on the factory gaskets. The Remflex doesn't have that. I wonder if I can double them up and get the best of both worlds?

Give it a whirl and let us know how it works,as i've never tried that combo,but have wondered about it. I'd run the steel mutilayer gasket against the head ,but that's only my opinion

 

[dchapma1957]

There’s a lot going on here… first off good on you to make these repairs yourself. It’s a big task.

Second of all screw the dealer quoting $11k you can buy a brand new hemi for $4k. I’m in Cali and thought the prices here were bad. Sheesh.

As far as lifters goes, I paid $500 after making an offer that was accepted.
The ones I recieved have the same laser etching as my originals and came in sealed boxes that appear to be the same boxes others get from Mopar. I believe mine are real but I’m just as astonished as you because the Mopar website wanted $1200 for the same set.

Why do you think you have a cracked head? Besides the dealer saying so? If you already have the heads off give them a good once over before buying a new one. You said no local machine shops, if that’s the case honestly having your heads checked / cleaned surfaced and pressure tested is worth a pretty lengthy drive to me personally… especially if you compression tested at 200 and hatching on cylinders looks good. These heads don’t tend to have issues unless you overheated it pretty darn bad.

I agree with you because I’m doing the same stuff. I have it apart so why not replace thermostat water pump, fan clutch hell I’m even replacing the radiator cap. Me personally I’m not replacing timing components but I have already inspected them. Worst case scenario pulling front timing cover isn’t really hard on these motors so if down the road there’s an issue I’ll address it.

As far as your exhaust manifolds go, I would take your originals, buy a straight edge off amazon and check them once you have them cleaned up. If they are off by more than a couple thousandths (check with feeler guage $5 at harbor freight) then buy a cheap 1’ sanding block off amazon and do it yourself. They will never break bolts again. Your new ones are likely more out of spec than the old ones I can go into detail about that if you want, just let me know. I say all this assuming a machine shop is totally out of the question.

My local machine shop surfaces exhaust manifolds for $50 each, I’m having both my heads cleaned, surfaced, pressure tested, new valve seals, and springs for $340. (Springs and seals supplied by me).

Also I’m sure remflex gaskets are great, lots of people swear by them. I put felpro on mine which have the heat deflectors and they work great. $50 for the set. $22 for Dorman bolts per side on amazon. Just my two cents definitely not the Bible.

Thanks for the details. Yea, I am also doing the thermostat and cap and anything else I can think of!

I do not believe the head is cracked but I need to account for the 130 PSI in cylinder 4 when all the others were 200+ and the cylinders all look the same. I took the head and filled the chamber up with gas to cover both valves. The gas seeped past the valves indicating a bad seal - if it can leak gas, it can leak air under pressure. I bought a set of reconditioned replacements from a shop out of Miami, they arrived yesterday and look fantastic with a 2 year warranty.

Exhaust manifolds: I checked the originals with a straight edge and they are out as much a 1/16". I think I'll use the replacements. I have them here and they check true and flat - hopefully they stay that way! I am in Florida so they will not see really cold temps so less thermal shock? I am drilling out the threads in the collector tabs and using nut and bolt.

I've been around cars since High School but I haven't done work like this in 25 years - back then I restored a 1970 GTO Judge so wrenching is not foreign to me, it's just a lot harder at age 67 so it is taking me twice as long.

Got to go drop the pan. Ugh, crawling under the truck.

 

[dchapma1957]

Oil pan is down. This engine is astonishingly clean inside. Absolutely no sludge and no silver sparkles. If there are any I can'see them.

 

[cbt1976]

Cleaning the deck surface of the block, I use the 3M roloc plastic disc, razor blade and a carbide scraper.

Those lifters packages look legit. The lifters will have some didgets etched into them as well.

As for a dealer charging 11k we don't know what was included as for parts. Almost a 20 hour job, plus parts. Stuff adds up quick of they are adding water pumps, timing set, manifolds, spark plugs and so on.

 

[dchapma1957]

Cleaning the deck surface of the block, I use the 3M roloc plastic disc, razor blade and a carbide scraper.

Those lifters packages look legit. The lifters will have some didgets etched into them as well.

As for a dealer charging 11k we don't know what was included as for parts. Almost a 20 hour job, plus parts. Stuff adds up quick of they are adding water pumps, timing set, manifolds, spark plugs and so on.

The dealer quote was:
Replacement Head: $2,000
Replacement Exhaust Manifolds: $650
Replacement cam and lifters $2500
Labor: $4,800
And some other junk that totaled up to $11,200

The oil pan surface cleaned up easy - it looks great. Going to clean the deck surface and timing chain areas tomorrow. I have some roloc disks coming and will use the white, mild one.

Thanks

 

[Barr2255]

I’m still waiting on the camshaft, valve springs and pushrods. So not much of an update. I cleaned the block surface with an SOS pad, razor blade and acetone. Looks brand new and no I did not gouge it with the razor blade.
I also got the timing cover cleaned up and installed the new main seal.

I noticed on the front main seal that the original was set in about 1/4” deeper than flush. I had to break into my 3/4” drive socket set to get a 2 1/4” socket to drive it all the way. Has anyone else noticed this? Normally I would just use a piece of wood or thick steel and drive a seal flush.

I’m in the office the next two days so I’ll post pictures Friday

Thank you for reassuring the lifters appear to be real. The etching on the lifters matches the originals. I’m happy I only spent $500 vs the $1200 from the Mopar sites.