2018 lemon, HELP!!? Literally everything has gone wrong on this thing.

[Ritchie_Rich]

Got this truck in February. Had 68K miles. EVERYTHING has gone wrong with it.
Obstructed / deformed gas tank - new tank & pump ( It would take over 10 minutes to fill)
passenger hub bearing - new ( it was wobbly and pulled right worse and worse after the test drive)
passenger manifold gasket - new (it was leaking to the point of smelling, again worse and worse after the test drive)
screen delaminating - replaced (sporadic, but I finally acquiesced because it was dialing 911 / SOS on me multiple times a day)

This all in the first 6 months / 20K miles.

NOW I sprung an exterior coolant leak in the passenger side head. I obviously need a new head & gasket etc.. Question is;
Do I do only the one side, or do I do both to keep things "balanced" or just get a new engine? It would dump an entire radiator in about 15 minutes, so I stopped driving it once I noticed and made it home.

NO warranty, dealer has given me the finger, considering a lawyer but I am wondering whether to do repairs first then pursue that avenue, or set the thing on fire for the insurance payment (not really, but I'm exasperated) or what say you?

You bought a used vehicle with no warranty, as-is. Buyer beware. It’s on you, unfortunately.
Replace both head gaskets together. Might be worth replacing the whole engine if you plan on keeping it. Otherwise try to sell it.

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

I know all that. It was as-is, however CT has a few laws like lemon laws... In this case, for example, they paid for the bearing hub because it could be deemed as "unsafe" and regardless of warranty status, no dealers (at any level) may sell something "unsafe" to drive. I got them to admit that they never inspected the truck afterwards - they got it in as a trade, and just cleaned it up and let it sit... Waiting for auction.

Anyways, I am hoping to get some advice on whether to do just the one side head or replace the engine... As I need a truck and am obviously all-in on this one...

“Lemon laws” apply to new vehicles, not used.

 

[CanuckRam1313]

They want to do both heads complete w/ lifters etc etc... I am not cheap - per se - but I am getting fatigued at the constant issues. So I want this to be over with. That said, I'm not sold that both sides would need doing, but if I did then it is almost the same $$ as a new engine. I know they want to sell, and I do trust the shop (its a dodge dealer and I built his uncle's house) but I don't like playing that "do me a favor" card. plus he is in Europe through August and I can't wait.

If you are at near new engine costs...don't spend a dime on any more diagnostics and/or repairs whatsoever, is my opinion and recommendation.

Get a new engine with a new warranty, have the Dealership install it so they own it, per se, and then enjoy your vehicle ownership experience.

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

I would do the heads and exhaust manifolds like the shop recommended. I would replace the lifters with stock MDS and inspect the can at that point. You seem to like the truck except for the repairs, but you did buy used and sometimes the bear gets you. My $ 0.02. Good luck

Lifters and cam should be replaced together.

 

[tacotalker]

Lifters and cam should be replaced together.

Should I even do the lifters or cams period? Should I do the damaged side only? If both to "keep balance" then it approaches new engine cost...

 

[Bmags]

Should I even do the lifters or cams period? Should I do the damaged side only? If both to "keep balance" then it approaches new engine cost...

If it was me on the cheap, I'd replace ONLY what is bad. I'd pop the head off, have a shop resurface it... and as long as there was no prior valvetrain noise slap it back together.

On my last Ram I dropped a valve in the cylinder and locked it up at idle backing out of my driveway. Took the head off and the oil pan in the driveway, slid in a used piston/connecting rod from ebay, put it all back together and ran it. Didn't bother me one bit.

On a forum you're going to get lots of responses from folks that really like to mess with stuff ("enthusiasts" they would call themselves)... but ultimately it's not going to the moon... it's taking you back and forth to work. It's fine.

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

Should I even do the lifters or cams period? Should I do the damaged side only? If both to "keep balance" then it approaches new engine cost...

Personally, I wouldn’t mess with the cam and lifters unless they look worn somehow. I recommend doing both head gaskets, along with checking/machining heads for straightness. Not for “balance”, but just good repair practice.
Only doing one side is like only replacing one shock.

 

[Wild one]

For 10G you could drop a new crate longblock in the truck,and be farther ahead

 

[CanuckRam1313]

For 10G you could drop a new crate longblock in the truck,and be farther ahead

^^^^ THIS!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bmags]

Personally, I wouldn’t mess with the cam and lifters unless they look worn somehow. I recommend doing both head gaskets, along with checking/machining heads for straightness. Not for “balance”, but just good repair practice.
Only doing one side is like only replacing one shock.

I have often replaced just one shock or just one wheel bearing haha.

People seem to have the mindset when working on a car like they are going to run it 500,000 miles and keep it 50 years, when in reality it will likely be sold or traded within 5 anyways.

That being said I kept my last Ram to 300,000… and will try to do the same for this one… and I’ll still only ever replace what’s wrong.

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

I have often replaced just one shock or just one wheel bearing haha.

People seem to have the mindset when working on a car like they are going to run it 500,000 miles and keep it 50 years, when in reality it will likely be sold or traded within 5 anyways.

That being said I kept my last Ram to 300,000… and will try to do the same for this one… and I’ll still only ever replace what’s wrong.

Hey, it’s your truck. Good luck….
Not implying it’s wrong, just not my repair philosophy after doing it professionally for decades. And seeing the results of “just fix the broken part”.

 

[nlambert182]

View attachment 569747

Why do they want to replace both heads, the PCV, the exhaust manifold, and the lifters and rocker arms?

Unless they could prove to me that the heads themselves are bad with those low of miles I would 100% get a second opinion. There's potentially $7,900 that you may not need to spend. You may have an issue with the water jacket from the bolt drill out, so before I touched a single thing I'd check that first.

This estimate doesn't smell remotely right unless there's a lot of info that we don't know.

What kind of warranty will they give you on their repairs? If it's still leaking and determined that the water jacket was breached, will they give you your money back for replacing the heads, etc if they figure out later it wasn't needed?

There's a local shop around here that does something similar, and then once it's in and they figure out their quoted repair isn't the problem they'll come back and say "While we were in there we found another problem that ALSO needs to be fixed" instead of "We didn't properly and thoroughly diagnose your actual issue".

 

[Yardbird]

I would want to see inside the hole that stud came out of. If they drilled into the water jacket, it should be on them to repair what has messed up since as a result of their repair.

Have them prove it's a head gasket and not leaking from the stud area.

 

[EdGs]

^^^^THIS^^^^

 

[Dodge 1500 4X4]

Conveniently, they replaced passenger side exhaust gasket and now a leak on the same side, my moneys on they went to deep on drilling out a broken exhaust manifold stud, have cooling system pressurized and see if it holds pressure the leak should increase.

 

[zrock]

They want to do both heads complete w/ lifters etc etc... I am not cheap - per se - but I am getting fatigued at the constant issues. So I want this to be over with. That said, I'm not sold that both sides would need doing, but if I did then it is almost the same $$ as a new engine. I know they want to sell, and I do trust the shop (its a dodge dealer and I built his uncle's house) but I don't like playing that "do me a favor" card. plus he is in Europe through August and I can't wait.

Ahhh the famous i did some work for them so they would not screw me.. Such a misconception..
Well to me the first clue they screwed up and drilled to far in replacing a stud is they want to replace the heads. Most shops with just doing head gaskets will send the heads to a machine shop and have them machined flat for a few hundred. I will stand behind my previous statement find yourself a mom and pop shop. 70% of dealers screw you somewhere or another the owner does not know exactly what is going on in each department and usually only focus on the sames dept and does not care about the rest of the place until some customer comes in screaming and yelling.

 

[Markw]

When my 2012 had a lifter go bad at 165,000 miles I had a remanufactured engine put in. By the time I bought a cam and lifters and anything else that I could replace when it was apart separately the cost was over half of what a remanufactured engine cost having it done by a shop. Besides with the cam and lifter grinding itself down there was metal shavings circulated through the engine. It only had 29 psi oil pressure at idle. I replaced the MDS engine with a non MDS. The new engine has a warranty and everything that I was going to replace when it was apart was replaced.

 

[tron67j]

Going to chime and also vote for new engine. Do I have cash lying around to do one, nope. But my vehicle is critical to me getting to work and everything else and I would have to cut stuff out for a year or two to avoid one myself. If you are opening up anything on the engine you really need to do a full diagnostic on the entire unit. Spending money on a partial fix to not know if something else is coming is badly spent money even though it is cheaper at first. Having had so many problems, that truck might have been a bit abused.

Have the dealer do it, get a warranty, and keep the truck a few years to spread the cost out.

Sorry to hear of your problems, hope you get past all this soon.

 

[Stever68]

You bought a used vehicle. Did the dealer advertise it with a warranty or as-is? What did the buyer's guide sticker say on the window? If no warranty was advertised or offered, you are probably on your own unfortunately.

The gas tank is a fairly common issue. Exhaust manifold bolts are common, and the screen delam is really common on 2018s.

I bought my 2018 in 2020 and made sure I bought the factory extended warranty. It's paid off in spades. Already replaced the driver's side manifold bolts, lower control arms and sway bar. Replaced the front struts. Replaced delaminated head unit, rear view camera, humidity sensor and a leaky HVAC exchanger. It's also covered rental vehicles twice.
I shudder to think what this would have cost me out of pocket. The warranty expires in April 2026, when that happens I think the truck is going as well. I don't want another payment but the reliability has me worried.

 

[Bmags]

Going to chime and also vote for new engine. Do I have cash lying around to do one, nope. But my vehicle is critical to me getting to work and everything else and I would have to cut stuff out for a year or two to avoid one myself. If you are opening up anything on the engine you really need to do a full diagnostic on the entire unit. Spending money on a partial fix to not know if something else is coming is badly spent money even though it is cheaper at first. Having had so many problems, that truck might have been a bit abused.

Have the dealer do it, get a warranty, and keep the truck a few years to spread the cost out.

Sorry to hear of your problems, hope you get past all this soon.

A new engine because the guy has a coolant leak!?!?! Comeon... seems a bit dramatic. Maybe next time I have a tire blow I'll search for a new truck