Another lifter/cam Question. Any PM options?

[Bob C350]

Newbie here, I just sold my first ever Dodge (2004 1500 with a 5.7 hemi) and I liked it so well I'm looking for a nearly new one but all these lifter/cam stories about the newer ones have me worried.

I'm getting close to retirement and I tend to keep my cars/trucks for a long time. I've had several with over 300,000 miles. I know there are no guarantees but if I can be proactive and avoid a $10-$15 engine replacement in my early retirement years that would be great.

Anyway, it does not sound like there is any real consensus on the root cause of the issue so my question is about preventative measures. Anybody have any luck with replacing the lifters maybe every 40,000 or 50,000 miles? I know it would be expensive but maybe it's better then waiting till the cam goes bad and the motor gets littered with shavings?

Any thoughts?
Bob

 

[GsRAM]

Hi Bob,

My personal opinion and nothing more. If you want another ram, go test drive several and be present for the cold start, ensure there are no unusual
Noises present. Walk out with the salesman, dont let him go get it for you and bring it to the showroom area.

Find one you like and maintain it well. I do my PMs every 5k or annually. Use a good quality oil filter like royal purple and a good quality full synthetic oil of your choice. Many members here run redline 5w30 in the 5.7.

Run it and don't worry about it. These things are hit and miss, I would venture to say the majority are trouble free. I would avoid excessive idling, but that's true of any engine really, however important of the hemi.

These are great trucks overall. Good luck.

 

[Burla]

There are many causes, replacing lifters early would only help bad rollers. Many guys with hemi tick have replaced lifters to still have hemi tick, don't touch them, if they fail they fail, and it could be closer to 5 grand then 10 to replace cam/lifters, just avoid dealer.

Two proven lubrication strategies below, read the stories of random ram forum members, look at poll results they are public. Redline will have a higher success rate as it has more base oil more additives then 15 ounces lubegard treated oil, but both are solid and do address the issues with cam wear. Google coefficient of friction and molybdenum or moly basics and read. You want oil soluble moly and lots of it, poe base stocks, pao base stocks and high zinc, which all happen to be in redline 5w30. Mind you this, everyone who voted in the poll expect for a couple of trollers, actually had hemi tick, so their engine would be much more prone to fail then yours. My hemi tick has now officially been silent more then a decade redline 5w30 and rp filter.

Redline

Lubegard

 

[zogg]

So, according to Steve, keep your oil clean, use a super hi-grade oil, and it’s still could be a crap shoot. Ugh

 

[Burla]

Gotta play the %'s, at worse your hemi has a 90% this wont happen, that is what I go with. Play the strategies, it likely would even make that % better.

 

[zogg]

Agreed. I like my Ram well enough to take the chance. My prior Silverado sucked a cam at 54,000 miles. My last f150 fried a turbo. So I’m prepared for whatever happens. Ha

 

[huntergreen]

Agreed. I like my Ram well enough to take the chance. My prior Silverado sucked a cam at 54,000 miles. My last f150 fried a turbo. So I’m prepared for whatever happens. Ha

How much was that turbo replacement?

 

[zogg]

Ford wanted over $2000 but I got it done at an independent shop for about $1400.

 

[TommyTwoRams]

Well I guess I’ll throw my two cents in on this also. Yes definitely regular oil changes, yes definitely a good filter. None of that Fram junk. I use WIX and a full synthetic on both my Rams, my ‘13 has 144k miles and it’s had a Dutch side rear lifter “chirp” for 35k miles and I don’t let up one bit on that ugly step child. It’s got the power and I use it regularly. It is hit or miss

 

[GsRAM]

It's a crap shoot with any new vehicle purchase. You can weed out some problem children with a through test drive if you know what to listen for, but even then, it could be great on the test drive and break down the next week.

Stuff is a whole lot better now than it used to be...but they make a lemon now and then.

They are man made products...and nothing made by man is perfect.

 

[NOV87]

...my ‘13 has 144k miles and it’s had a Dutch side rear lifter “chirp” for 35k miles...

That is interesting. My 2014 at just under 100k, started a random "chirp" on cold start and lasts until fully warmed up (not exhaust manifold). The engine is pretty quiet otherwise (no tick). I have already replaced serpentine belt, tensioner and idle pulley. Checked all other pulleys by hand and all seem smooth. Thinking maybe water pump is dying. Never thought that cam/lifter could do that. Not trying to hijack the thread...

 

[Mister Luck]

I refer to this article link

Rebuilding the 5.7L HEMI - Engine Builder Magazine

Back in the early ’90s, when Chrysler realized that it would need a new truck motor to replace its 318/360 Magnum engines to meet the coming emissions standards, the company considered two pushrod engines along with one SOHC design and concluded that a pushrod motor with a pair of Hemi heads...

www.enginebuildermag.com

 

[TommyTwoRams]

No worries on hijacking the thread Nov. I’m glad I’m not the only one with a birds nest under the hood. To be honest, it’s the reason I bought the truck. My boss had purchased it to help a fellow employee from a friend that owns a small used car dealership. The employee drove it for a couple weeks and then the chirping started. At first he decided to have it checked out, after the 11th mechanic scratched his head and said “huh I don’t know”, they took it to a local transmission shop (Harolds Transmission in Hamden Maine). I had to name drop because they are awsome. They suspected it was the T/C, they tore it apart, replaced the T/C, and it still continued. Other shops had changed almost every component on the front of the block and it made no difference. At this point the employee had been paying for it every week but refused to drive it. After 7 months of paying and not playing, my Silver Bullet Beast blew another rear carrier. I picked up the ‘13 Laramie for an amount that I dare not put in writing but we’ll just say it was a “great deal”. I do change the oil every 5K using only WIX oil filter. I do so because they are comprised of the best materials. When I change the oil the noise stops for the first 2500/3000 miles. Most of the time the decibels change while idling but it goes away as soon as the Rpm’s increase. I honestly don’t know if the noise is a lifter, rocker or anything else. I was thinking it could be the oil pump, but really I’m not sure. I do know it hasn’t gotten worse. It is a little sluggish on the checkered flag but it definitely isn’t lacking on go juice. Have a good day

 

[Bob C350]

Thank you all for the great responses. It was very informative and helpful.

I may regret it but the dealer I was working with kept dragging their feet, in their defense they are short handed and very busy, and before they got my deal finalized a great deal on a 2019 F150 Lariat with 38,000 miles and a 5.0 v8 fell in my lap and I went that direction.

I still like the look of the RAM better and I'll miss the 3.92 gear but it's a done deal now.

You all have a good group on this site, thanks for letting me join and I learned a ton just lurking around.

Bob

 

[JimEd]

Since this discussion is about oil filters, I have a question. I have been using Royal Purple 5-20 since I purchased my Ram 1500 Sport. I only have 42,000 miles on it and I plan on keeping it for the long haul. I have been using Fram oil filters but will be switching to RP filters from now on. I went on the RP web site to determine the correct filter. They say the 10-48 is the correct filter. When I went the Summit web site to order the filter, they say it is not the correct filter for my application. I also have a 2016 Charger with 88k miles. The RP web site lists 20-820 as the correct filter for my Charger. Summit also states that this is not correct for my application. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to go from here?

 

[crackerjack1957]

Since this discussion is about oil filters, I have a question. I have been using Royal Purple 5-20 since I purchased my Ram 1500 Sport. I only have 42,000 miles on it and I plan on keeping it for the long haul. I have been using Fram oil filters but will be switching to RP filters from now on. I went on the RP web site to determine the correct filter. They say the 10-48 is the correct filter. When I went the Summit web site to order the filter, they say it is not the correct filter for my application. I also have a 2016 Charger with 88k miles. The RP web site lists 20-820 as the correct filter for my Charger. Summit also states that this is not correct for my application. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to go from here?

All the RP filters below will work......
10-48 (stock size)
20-820 (larger diameter)
20-500 (longer length)

 

[AJNY]

Thank you BURLA for posting that memo from Steve Machine Shop.
I was looking around for a Machine Shop where I live in Orange County NY and thought my only option was to go to my hometown in the Bronx. There are several machine shops in the Bronx I used these past 50 years before moving north. Steve is a stones throw from where I live now.

The Service Manager advised me that for 2021 MOPAR corrected the 5.7 Hemi Tick by forcing greater flow of oil to the top of the engine. My 5.7 was the first 2021 in the shop for the Hemi Lifter Tick. I had them keep the truck for three weeks and told them not to start the truck before three weeks. They did start the truck three weeks later and low and behold the lifter ticked. The dealer said upon startup that is normal. I told them ********. I have a 70 340 I crank up every six months and it’s quiet as a mouse. Well we left it as it has been documented.
The dealer advised the 6.4 is a better engine. They hardly see any coming in with lifter issues. Can anyone advise about the 6.4?
My friend who is a huge MOPAR guy just ordered a 2022 Ram with a 6.4. He works for a town as a mechanic and seen the 5.7 failures in police vehicles. Not so with the 6.4 police vehicles.
If I were going to buy a 2022 try and find a 6.4 Hemi.
Seems Chrysler is following Dementia Joe’s call for EV’s. Seems like the 5.7 is DOA. Coming out with a turbo 6. Talk is the 6.4 is gone too.
Toyota is fighting the DEMORATS call to go EV’s. This is my third 5.7. My 09 was a charm. My 2018 RAM REBEL ticked at 17000 miles. So I traded it in for a 2021 Ram 5.7. Tick started at 900 miles. Next truck is a Toyota Tundra V 8.

 

[AJNY]

JIM call SUMMIT.
Do not rely on the website.
I learned the hard way with a Eldebrock intake manifold. Just as the guy at Summit told me what part to use he said hold on and found a caption from Edelbrock. Seems my year manifold requires an OEM Thermostat housing and I bought a Billet housing which kept leaking. The OEM solved the problem.

 

[DC Tradesman]

My thought on the subject is everything I have read about the problem is that most of the failures occur on trucks that have long idle times or high milage. I have around 33000 miles on mine & I tow a travel trailer. Owning mine since new I have had a soft lifter. On start up it clatters until the oil pressure builds up. I rectified the situation by using Arch oil additive. It has high levels of Boron. Within 2 minutes of adding the Archoil the engine was noticeably quieter & smoother. The tappet tick totally stopped.
I believe all the problems occur due to insufficient lubrication on the top end. Boron gives the added protection needed in the top end.

 

[JimEd]

DC, are you using the Archoil AR9100 oil additive?