Any and all advice welcomed …

[JoeBurreaux]

Greeting fellas

Ran across this forum multiple times (unfortunately and thankfully) here recently. Just looking for tips and advice, it will be greatly appreciated. I have searched multiple threads on here and gathered great information on how to move forward so TIA for that.

Here’s the back story:

I have a 2015 ram 1500. Just a good ol SLT base model. I bought it about four years ago from an H&E equipment company. Purchased with a little over 100,000 miles on it, had great maintenance records. It was mostly used to travel in between site locations.

I’m approaching 200,000 miles, and recently got a misfire code. Specifically on cylinder five. Naturally, I replaced the coil first still to have the code show up. And no, I have not replaced the Plug’s yet. I have purchased them just not have had the time.

However, today, I’m now throwing a cylinder one misfire. Never had any issues with the truck and now all the sudden I have a cylinder five misfire, and two days later a cylinder one misfire.

It did start the notorious Hemi tick at approximately 150k miles, which is when I first discovered the whole issue these trucks have with the cams and lifters.

Overall, the truck really has been great, I really do not want to get rid of it for financial reasons, and somewhat of an attachment to the ol truck. I’m beginning to think however I will soon be replacing a cam and lifters. Even at this point for preventive reasons (even though I’m 99% sure that’s why I’m misfiring on 5&1). I’ve seen multiple videos and read multiple threads on here about people who decided to tackle it on their own. I am a machinist by trade, so I do feel comfortable (somewhat) Tearing into it. But I have a few questions it if y’all would be so thankful to help me out.

Generally speaking, how hard is the repair?
What is the best parts, gaskets etc. to go with?
Should I replace anything else while I’m in there?
What’s the off chance is it’s just the spark plugs or the injectors? I do plan on changing those tomorrow (the plugs).

Any and all advice, experiences, do’s and don’ts welcomed. Hopefully me and my 7 year old son can tear into it.

Look forward to the replies fellas, God bless and cheers.

 

[Dean2]

Start simple work up. Exactly what codes is it throwing, track those down first of all. Replace plugs, throw in two cans of seafoam as many misfires are cuased by gunked up injectors, get a can of throttle body cleaner and clean that and the map sensor.

If that doesnt fix it then time to maybe pull valve covers and look for problems in there.

 

[JoeBurreaux]

Start simple work up. Exactly what codes is it throwing, track those down first of all. Replace plugs, throw in two cans of seafoam as many misfires are cuased by gunked up injectors, get a can of throttle body cleaner and clean that and the map sensor.

If that doesnt fix it then time to maybe pull valve covers and look for problems in there.

On the seafoam.. how successful are those at cleaning injectors? Wonder if there’s any success stories of them actually being the issue… would be fantastic. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Dean2]

On the seafoam.. how successful are those at cleaning injectors? Wonder if there’s any success stories of them actually being the issue… would be fantastic. Thanks for the advice.

If you search this forum there are at least a handful of guys who fixed misfire problems exactly this way after I made the suggestion to them. I have fixed fuel delivery issues using it also. On my own vehicles I run a can through every 5-8000 miles.

One example

Cylinder 7 Misfire

I have a 2006 Hemi 5.7L (210K) started with a cylinder 7 misfire, changed the plugs (it was needed) didnt clear the code, tested the coils, they are good. Spoke to a mechanic and truck did have the infamous Hemi tick. Replaced the lifters, cam, head gasket, timing chain, etc. Still has a...

www.ramforum.com

 

[Burla]

Sea foam wont clean injectors for ish, it is great at what it does, it cleans combustion chambers through the vac lines better then anything, you want a PEA cleaner, I'd suggest redline si-1, but I am doubting it is injectors at this point. It is possible, but I'd say less likely then some other ones, good news it would be semi easy to deal with this. I would do sea foam through vac lines and redline si-1 full bottle in gas, do not use more, just one bottle. Did it only throw the cyl 1 misfire once? Do you have any number of times it through each specific cylinder, many times number 5 and 1 time on one?

You dont need to replace plugs, you just need to swap plugs, while swapping you can see condition. If you already bought plugs mise well hold on to them in case you do the cam, nice time to do plugs then. I's just swap 5 with anything and see if 5 keeps coming up or it moves. Doing a lot of these things like cleaning injectors and combustion chamber, no need to do this with new plugs, those are hard on plugs.

here is ram forum cam bible thread

 

[Travelin Ram]

+1 on a cleaner with PEA for fuel injectors. Chevron Techron is the most accessible, find it at Walmart or any auto parts store. I have successfully used it on Chrysler vehicles with misfires.

And do as @Dean2 suggested and diagnose before assuming the worst. Spark, fuel, compression. Hopefully it’s door number 1 or 2.

 

[JoeBurreaux]

If you search this forum there are at least a handful of guys who fixed misfire problems exactly this way after I made the suggestion to them. I have fixed fuel delivery issues using it also. On my own vehicles I run a can through every 5-8000 miles.

One example

Cylinder 7 Misfire

I have a 2006 Hemi 5.7L (210K) started with a cylinder 7 misfire, changed the plugs (it was needed) didnt clear the code, tested the coils, they are good. Spoke to a mechanic and truck did have the infamous Hemi tick. Replaced the lifters, cam, head gasket, timing chain, etc. Still has a...

www.ramforum.com

Awesome man thanks for linking that thread.

What is the general rule or ratio to run seafome through it?

 

[Mister Luck]

Misfire doesn’t necessarily mean spark, fuel treatment is supposed to be preventative maintenance but fleets don’t always keep up with everything
Battery Maintenance is something to be concerned about with a used vehicle and also known to throw random codes with our trucks.
Your vehicle should have had plugs changed, water pump replaced, timing chain replaced, pulleys because of their bearings tensioners because of their springs and serpentine belt, throw in a new radiator with hoses and you’ll know where your truck is maintenance wise.

 

[Jeepwalker]

2x on the battery

You can ohm out the plugs too ...and discover if one is damaged. Same with the coils. Maybe you got a bad coil? Seems unlikely, but it just takes a minutes to ohm all that stuff out when you have it in your hands. Good info to know before you make plans to tear into it. Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[JoeBurreaux]

2x on the battery

You can ohm out the plugs too ...and discover if one is damaged. Same with the coils. Maybe you got a bad coil? Seems unlikely, but it just takes a minutes to ohm all that stuff out when you have it in your hands. Good info to know before you make plans to tear into it. Good luck. Keep us posted.

Interesting on the battery responses. I did change the battery about 1 month ago and that is about the time it started acting up. Cylinder 5 was first to throw a code, and about a week later cylinder 1.

I did elect to go with the generic brand and I’m honestly not even sure if the specs. I will look into this, I appreciate that.

 

[JoeBurreaux]

Sea foam wont clean injectors for ish, it is great at what it does, it cleans combustion chambers through the vac lines better then anything, you want a PEA cleaner, I'd suggest redline si-1, but I am doubting it is injectors at this point. It is possible, but I'd say less likely then some other ones, good news it would be semi easy to deal with this. I would do sea foam through vac lines and redline si-1 full bottle in gas, do not use more, just one bottle. Did it only throw the cyl 1 misfire once? Do you have any number of times it through each specific cylinder, many times number 5 and 1 time on one?

You dont need to replace plugs, you just need to swap plugs, while swapping you can see condition. If you already bought plugs mise well hold on to them in case you do the cam, nice time to do plugs then. I's just swap 5 with anything and see if 5 keeps coming up or it moves. Doing a lot of these things like cleaning injectors and combustion chamber, no need to do this with new plugs, those are hard on plugs.

here is ram forum cam bible thread

So I noticed about 2 weeks ago it was not shifting correctly (so I thought) or getting up to speed as per usual. I pulled into the local autozone and it was a cylinder 5 misfire. Monday when I stopped back by to check and see if changing the coil on 5 helped, I now had a cylinder 1 misfire. So 2 misfires total, and no I’m not sure how may times it did misfire. It is noticeable now, can’t accelerate at all hardly. It does however idle fine. One other thing I have recently noticed is after I shut the engine off after running, it sounds like it’s struggles to start back up.

Once again thank all of you for the help and tips. I will most definitely keep this post updated and report back with my findings to help the next man up!

 

[Jeepwalker]

Generic brand shouldn't make any difference (there are only a couple large battery manufacturers which make all vehicle batteries).

It would be a simple thing to go to a parts store and have them do a battery load test. These trucks act funny when the battery's get low. It's probably not related to your problem, but you never know. Certainly one simple thing to rule out. The first thing at the top of OEM troubleshooting charts in bold print is to ensure good battery, ground & electrical connections. Load test are the key words. And check the grounds on the body, the engine, and of course battery. Also, on my truck (2012 though), there are two major ground points I see which are pretty darn corroded on mine: 1) Under a plastic cover above the drivers side front inner fender (looking "up" from the front tire). 2) Back near the fuel filler neck. Not sure if they're in the same locations on your truck. Also check and wiggle your fuses. If nothing else, you'll rule something simple out.

[EDIT] I'm glad you jogged my memory. I noticed last fall these were really corroded on my truck (which is pretty clean otherwise). I need to clean these up pretty soon.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Also make sure all vacuum hoses and pcv are good. If it were my truck, I would do the following (you can rent for free the following gauges at parts stores):

1) Hook a vacuum testing gauge to the engine after it's warmed up. See what vacuum reading you get and if the needle is 'steady'.

2) When you are checking spark plugs, ...just pull one plug from each cylinder, then Perform a compression check for all cylinders. Give each cylinder 4-5 'puffs' per cylinder doing the test. There are a lot of Y/T videos how to perform. Write down the results per cylinder. If your cam is bad and the valve isn't opening, it might not show here, but it would be a good idea to know the 'health' of your engine's compression.

3) Pull the oil and strain the bottom of the pan (looking for shavings or metallic particles). If the oil is pretty new and looks real good, then you can put it back in. A legit oil sample from like Blackstone labs would be a good idea.

There are a lot of 'bad cam - Ram' videos ..you've probably watched a few. But if you haven't they might be instructive.

 

[Dean2]

As you are probably figuring out there are a ton of easy things to look at BEFORE a guy starts tearing into an engine. What most techs now lack is the ability to properly diagnose. They either need a code or they fire the parts cannon. They don't seem to be trained in how to work through the simple, sequential steps to rule out and locate the actual fault. Do this work yourself and you can save a ton of money. Make yourself a checklist, work through it and make detailed notes of what you find at each step. Let us know how you make out.

 

[Dean2]

Awesome man thanks for linking that thread.

What is the general rule or ratio to run seafome through it?

One ounce per gallon, so in most of our trucks, 2 cans in a full tank. One can half tank.

 

[Burla]

So I noticed about 2 weeks ago it was not shifting correctly (so I thought) or getting up to speed as per usual. I pulled into the local autozone and it was a cylinder 5 misfire. Monday when I stopped back by to check and see if changing the coil on 5 helped, I now had a cylinder 1 misfire. So 2 misfires total, and no I’m not sure how may times it did misfire. It is noticeable now, can’t accelerate at all hardly. It does however idle fine. One other thing I have recently noticed is after I shut the engine off after running, it sounds like it’s struggles to start back up.

Once again thank all of you for the help and tips. I will most definitely keep this post updated and report back with my findings to help the next man up!

it is sounding pretty fatal, but if you at least clean your combustion chamber through vac lines and start redline si-1 on old plugs, then if you do need a cam, those items will be clean and ready for new plugs. If not, you will be maybe doing a cam and then still need to do those items which do run carbon through an engine, it has to go somewhere when you clean it, it doesnt just go **** ya feel me? If you have a borosccope put it in a spark plug hole, chnaces are it will suprise you.

 

[Jeepwalker]

As you are probably figuring out there are a ton of easy things to look at BEFORE a guy starts tearing into an engine.

Well stated.

There's always the remote possibility your new coil failed, or it was never a bad coil in the first place (eg. bad plug, or broken wire which you have yet to find). Or the new part failed.Maybe the coil connector became corroded or simply fell off. Or a rodent got up there and chewed a wire. Go back and do the basics before thinking the worst.

Ive had wierd coincidences which threw me off the scent trail and made me think the worst, when ultimately it was something simple. With luck (fingers crossed) that'll be your case.

 

[Wild one]

Do a compression test on all the cylinders, if 1 and 5 are down in comparision to the rest,pull the valve covers and check rocker arm movement on those 2 cylinders,then go from there

 

[JoeBurreaux]

okay so what I’m gathering is, I will perform a compression test, and I will try running a can of seafome and redline through a half a tank or whatever is calls for.. I’ll definitely report my compression readings and get back with y’all. I will be working on it all evening tomorrow.

 

[Wild one]

okay so what I’m gathering is, I will perform a compression test, and I will try running a can of seafome and redline through a half a tank or whatever is calls for.. I’ll definitely report my compression readings and get back with y’all. I will be working on it all evening tomorrow.

If you pull the starter relay in the underhood fuse box and jump the terminals,you don't need another person hitting the key,and you don't have to worry about it sending power to the fuel pump etc.,as you can leave the ignition off