Are lifters and cams a big issue for the 6.4?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

RVGuy

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2019
Posts
356
Reaction score
548
Location
Alberta, Canada
Ram Year
2015
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Remote start is **** on a cold morning but don't idle your truck. The needle bearings in the roller lifters are lubricated by splash lubrication. They are not part of the lubrication system under pressure, 55psi oil pressure doesn't do them a bit of slippery, the crank slapn the puddle is what lubricates the lifter needle bearing. This does not happen at 750 rpm. My understanding is 2500 rpm are required for effective splash lubrication.

Use quality lubrications on your RAM, don't idle your truck and if you want to extend your OCI send a used oil sample to Blackstone Labs and for $35 they'll send you a Used Oil Analysis (uoa) report and a recommendation for OCI.

Don't doubt the 6.4, don't idle your truck,... happy truck, happy life, with or without the wife. Lol just kidding, kinda
Are you constantly driving at 2500rpm then? I'm not doubting what you're saying at all, actually I've been saying the exact same thing in regards to the 5.7 for years in terms of idling/running at a higher rpm for the needle bearings to get their splash and to actually get a fluid film of lube on everything as it just doesn't happen at low rpm.

I drive in manual mode and try to keep the rpm between 1500-2500 at all times but I couldn't imagine cruising at 2500rpm all the time. I'd probably go deaf in my truck!
 

RandomRam

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2018
Posts
314
Reaction score
217
Location
On the Oregon Trail
Ram Year
2019
Engine
6.4 Hemi
That 2500 RPM figure sounds like a guess, especially since with the 8HP most trucks are cruising under 2000.

Excessive idling is bad for just about every make, but it’s issues are more exposed in the big 3 brands used in fleet applications. That said I know of a lot of high idle time Hemi’s with zero issues and the one thing they have in common is being extremely well maintained and few cold starts.
 

WY.Ram

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2015
Posts
534
Reaction score
505
Location
Larkspur, CO
Ram Year
2016
Engine
6.4L Hemi
Are you constantly driving at 2500rpm then? I'm not doubting what you're saying at all, actually I've been saying the exact same thing in regards to the 5.7 for years in terms of idling/running at a higher rpm for the needle bearings to get their splash and to actually get a fluid film of lube on everything as it just doesn't happen at low rpm.

I drive in manual mode and try to keep the rpm between 1500-2500 at all times but I couldn't imagine cruising at 2500rpm all the time. I'd probably go deaf in my truck!
Are you constantly driving at 2500rpm then? I'm not doubting what you're saying at all, actually I've been saying the exact same thing in regards to the 5.7 for years in terms of idling/running at a higher rpm for the needle bearings to get their splash and to actually get a fluid film of lube on everything as it just doesn't happen at low rpm.


I drive in manual mode and try to keep the rpm between 1500-2500 at all times but I couldn't imagine cruising at 2500rpm all the time. I'd probably go deaf in my truck!


Good points - I wish I knew better about at what rpm the splash was splash'n in our hemis (or any other). For what it's worth the 2500 rpm came from the protocol of when doing cam and lifter swap and then starting that engine for the first start, get to 2500rpm as fast as one can in order for this splash to occur.

Actual rpm requirement might be 1500rpm, and 2500rpm is just a safe zone. I don't know.

Two things I think I know are the rpm requirement for splash lubrication should be 500rpm or less. And lifter failure does not occur from spinning that bits at redline. [emoji2958]

I also don't know for how long the lubrication from last splash is effective.

A variation I've seen is don't idle your truck for longer than 15 min.

So, like you said, so many reasons not to idle I just don't idle at all, maybe 2 to 3 minutes once or twice a winter if momma's get'n in but otherwise neh. (I'm ******* the whole 3 minutes to, she don't care. I shoulda just got the seats)

Plus my truck gets bad enough mileage while running and moving, she don't need to run while not moving. Lol

Oh and to add: just like you said, hi milage hemis with significant idle time. My wife, she'll remote start hers back to back all winter long. And Blackstone Labs has her hemi's oci at 12k miles on Red Line 10w30. Crazy but the UOA keeps coming back indicating low engine wear. Hers is a '15 non mds if it matters. Else........




'16 RAM 2500 pw with a badass Greene tune feed'n & Fire'n the 6.4L w 6spd / 5.13 AAM / 37" KM3 at -25mm / DOR / Alfa / Purple Cranium / z36 PowerStop / Custom Graphics / AVS / Diode Dynamics / 4% VLT Tint
 
Last edited:

RBinNC

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2020
Posts
149
Reaction score
76
Location
NC
Ram Year
2019
Engine
6.4 hemi
Remote start is **** on a cold morning but don't idle your truck. The needle bearings in the roller lifters are lubricated by splash lubrication. They are not part of the lubrication system under pressure, 55psi oil pressure doesn't do them a bit of slippery, the crank slapn the puddle is what lubricates the lifter needle bearing. This does not happen at 750 rpm. My understanding is 2500 rpm are required for effective splash lubrication.

Use quality lubrications on your RAM, don't idle your truck and if you want to extend your OCI send a used oil sample to Blackstone Labs and for $35 they'll send you a Used Oil Analysis (uoa) report and a recommendation for OCI.

Don't doubt the 6.4, don't idle your truck,... happy truck, happy life, with or without the wife. Lol just kidding, kinda

I'd hope it doesn't need 2500 rpm for proper lubrication. My truck hardly hits that when I drive it. It hangs anywhere from 1400-2100 in general
 

WY.Ram

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2015
Posts
534
Reaction score
505
Location
Larkspur, CO
Ram Year
2016
Engine
6.4L Hemi
I'd hope it doesn't need 2500 rpm for proper lubrication. My truck hardly hits that when I drive it. It hangs anywhere from 1400-2100 in general
Agreed, I apologize for any confusion, and I should probably add some language to my previous post to help clarify a couple key points. First point is the listed 2500rpm is not a sustained rpm, but more so an rpm that only need be reached on occasion for splash lube to reach the intended locations. I can say I have not monitored, studied or researched the internal lubrication flows of a modern Hemi. I know a wicked smart lubrication expert and maybe he'll drop by and give a lesson in splash, @Burla is the name, theres others too. But I've talked to him a bit.

Somewhere on your way to 1500 rpm your rig probably reached 2500rpm or very close before upshifting to the next gear, no?

Maybe you keep your engine under 2500 rpm as a rule and not only do you have cam lobes but your cam lobes are bigger than mine. It's very possible. At 80k miles, I'm pretty happy to have my cam lobes still get'n those valves open and hearing the sweet sound.

I'd challenge an idler to a friendly competitive wager on who's doing a better job at lubrication demostrated by who's lobes can lasting longer, but my stock cam is scheduled for an upgrade to a high performance, high lift cam from Greene Racing in the immediate future. Surely my lobes will be bigger after such an upgrade. Let me add not the biggest, that would be down right intimidatingly for those closest to me having to deal with it all the time. (I would like it, and she complains about **** all the time any way, so maybe...)

Second point being the 2500rpm is not a published spec. This was from me talking to another person who knew how to successfully do a cam swap with a roller lifter setup. Does not mean that he and I are correct. Plenty of assumptions are drawn, there is no doubt.

I have a 500ft driveway from there I turn onto the private, community, single lane two-track and immediately hit a non-conventional 9% grade with whoops. For the next 1000ft we hit it pretty hard. Whether it be -20f or +80f, hasn't really mattered, never an idled warmup (which is a big change in my thinking from yesteryear) I just make sure 2500rpm at least once however brief.

I have yet to rub a lobe off but I'm not done driving for the evening, so I may get one off yet.

I wish it weren't there, I hate that it's the first thing my trucks gotta deal with but I also make sure that she's been properly lubricated for the intense up-down action that I have somewhat coerced her into. Can't have any parts going dry at a time like that.

(That took me a hot minute to author in some fun, changing one paragraph for another. Might just delete it, a lot of it just for fun but the points conveyed, although I do digress. sorry for any previous confusion)

'16 PWagon with a badass Greene tune feed'n & Fire'n 6.4L 6spd // 5.13 AAM // 37" KM3, -24mm // DOR, Purple Cranium // CAI, ARH, Solo Mach44 // z36, EBC // Custom Graphics, AVS, 4% VLT // Morimoto, Rigid, Diode Dynamics // Alfa, Diablo //.................
 

Burla

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Apr 28, 2012
Posts
23,115
Reaction score
44,461
Ram Year
2010 Hemi Reg Cab 4x4
Engine
Hemi
Would you use the 5w30 in the 6.4 or stick with the 0w40?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Redline 5w30 will be thicker then most any 0w40 during the second part of an oci. For the hemi 6.4 if you are running redline it should be 5w30 or 5w40, either will be fine. Mind you this is to avoid hemi tick and to have a butter smooth engine. There is a reason fca choose 0w40, it is because they wanted to avoid api rules, not necessarily because of the weight, if it was the "weight" they would use thicker winter ratings as options, which they didn't. The one rub in some engines in the cold you can get piston slap, it is harmless, but annoying, and only happens when cold. You can adjust the oil if that happens, visit syn thread and ask the question if you get cold piston slap. Sadly the 6.4 has the same issues.
 

Burla

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Apr 28, 2012
Posts
23,115
Reaction score
44,461
Ram Year
2010 Hemi Reg Cab 4x4
Engine
Hemi
I’m starting to feel like going to the Hemi was a mistake. Should I have bought the 6 cylinder. Never had an issue with the 4.7 in my 04 Ram maybe it would have been better to buy new bed sides and get the 04 a paint job . I liked the looks of the gen4 but if the Hemi is a problem I hope the lifetime warranty takes care of me

Do you have hemi tick? You can always do a uoa to see how the engine is wearing. There is one issue facing the 5.7, but it is one of the best engines out there. It isn't even close, those other engines are hardly ever sold for a reason, everyone wants a hemi. Good resale.
 

Leonard Russo

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2019
Posts
83
Reaction score
65
Location
Rhode Island
Ram Year
2018
Engine
Hemi 6.4
Their is a guy in the previous gen 6.4 thread who has just under 500K on his 6.4 hotshoting running Mobil 1 0W-40 which isn’t even the proper oil for the 6.4 . Go figure?
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
194,927
Posts
2,864,183
Members
155,296
Latest member
VLG6963
Top