Blown engine, help please

[pwaterz]

Hey everyone,

I bought a 2017 Ram 3500 back in August with 58k on it. I drove it about 10k miles and blew the engine. I was pulling out and all of a sudden it started knocking pretty badly. I brought it to the dealer and they pulled the oil pan and found metal bits in the oil. Now technically the car is still under the powertrain warranty, but after they did their diagnosis they noted the PCM mileage was off by about 2k miles compared to the dash. I assume this means it was tuned for a short period of time? The service writer claims that if he submits that info to Chrysler they'll void my warranty. He also said that if I do try to claim it they'll be asked to take apart the engine and figure out what really caused the issue. If they can connect it to a tune, we'll be charged a few a thousand just to do the investigation. He is suggesting I replace the engine at the cost of 16k. What are folks thoughts here? Is it worth replacing the engine? Would replacing the engine hurt or help the resale value? Would I be better off taking it else where to have it fixed? Such a huge bummer because we were about two weeks from going full time in our RV .

 

[Booms]

You can get a brand new crate engine for $5500.00 plus or minus.

Find someone to put it in.
See if your insurance will cover some of it.

https://www.mopargenuineparts.com/s...MIzeytqe-37gIVBG-GCh1D4gm3EAQYAyABEgJut_D_BwE

 

[yoda]

You can get a brand new crate engine for $5500.00 plus or minus.

Find someone to put it in.
See if your insurance will cover some of it.

https://www.mopargenuineparts.com/s...MIzeytqe-37gIVBG-GCh1D4gm3EAQYAyABEgJut_D_BwE

I think he has the Cummins

 

[chri5k]

If his profile is right that engine won't work since he has the 6.7 CTD. However, CPP has crate 6.7 CTD for about the same price. https://cppdiesel.com/cpp-cummins-6-7l-crate-engines-07-5-present/

Not sure what you mean by "blown" but if you go with a reman engine you will have to return a rebuildable core or pay the core charge. Generally a rebuildable core means no dropped valves, spun bearings, bent rods or holes in the block. The crank should be able to be rotated 360 degrees without issue. If you think your engine might have this type of damage, look for a rebuilder with a lower core charge.

 

[Booms]

Whoa...didn't read his profile.

Nevermind. I'll see myself out.

 

[pacofortacos]

Hey everyone,

I bought a 2017 Ram 3500 back in August with 58k on it. I drove it about 10k miles and blew the engine. I was pulling out and all of a sudden it started knocking pretty badly. I brought it to the dealer and they pulled the oil pan and found metal bits in the oil. Now technically the car is still under the powertrain warranty, but after they did their diagnosis they noted the PCM mileage was off by about 2k miles compared to the dash. I assume this means it was tuned for a short period of time? The service writer claims that if he submits that info to Chrysler they'll void my warranty. He also said that if I do try to claim it they'll be asked to take apart the engine and figure out what really caused the issue. If they can connect it to a tune, we'll be charged a few a thousand just to do the investigation. He is suggesting I replace the engine at the cost of 16k. What are folks thoughts here? Is it worth replacing the engine? Would replacing the engine hurt or help the resale value? Would I be better off taking it else where to have it fixed? Such a huge bummer because we were about two weeks from going full time in our RV .

Did you buy it from this dealer? Or any dealer?
IF you didn't tune it, I would be complaining about it with the selling dealer if it was a dealer.

Replacing the motor can only help resale at this point

 

[chrisbh17]

Did you buy it from this dealer? Or any dealer?
IF you didn't tune it, I would be complaining about it with the selling dealer if it was a dealer.

Replacing the motor can only help resale at this point

Yeah I feel like dealers should be required to verify odometer readings and if they re-sell a vehicle with one that is "off" its not on the customer unless they somehow disclosed it first.

 

[NH RAM]

My stance would be this: I bought the truck as it sits with a warranty. If nobody disclosed a tune or aftermarket goods at the time of purchase, maybe the dealer will help validate this through service records. If you did no aftermarket work to it, I'm curious why the dealer checked the pcm rather than the chasing the metal shavings; maybe that's a telltale sign of tuning, I'm not sure and not implying that they did anything wrong, I'm just curious what lead them in that direction. Either way, it's an expensive paper weight without that 6.7 being replaced, so see what you can find out about the truck history. I would guess if it was tuned there would be artifacts. If it were up to me, I would diagnose it.

 

[pacofortacos]

I was told by a mechanic that they are really cracking down on the diesels as far as warranty service and tunes but I thought that they could tell if a PCM was flashed on the diesels especially.
I am thinking it would have had to have been a replacement PCM that was installed for those miles without any other flag being thrown.

I am not a diesel guy though, so maybe just all hearsay?

 

[HEMIMANN]

Zowie! The only Cummins engines I ever knew of blowing is the Tractor Pull overblown engine that blew the head off (that was fun!) and a QSK60 that missed rod torquing from the factory. (that wasn't so fun - rod through the block)

 

[bigred90gt]

Did you buy the truck from the dealer you took it to? If not, did you buy it from another major dealer?

If bought from a dealer, I would take it back to them, explain what happened, and tell them you expect them to fix it since they sold you the truck. If they refuse, I would threaten legal action. It would be worth the few hundred dollars to pay a lawyer to send a certified letter to them.

If you bought it from a private party or a small fly-by-night ma-n-pa type dealer, best of luck.

 

[Travis8352]

If his profile is right that engine won't work since he has the 6.7 CTD. However, CPP has crate 6.7 CTD for about the same price. https://cppdiesel.com/cpp-cummins-6-7l-crate-engines-07-5-present/

Not sure what you mean by "blown" but if you go with a reman engine you will have to return a rebuildable core or pay the core charge. Generally a rebuildable core means no dropped valves, spun bearings, bent rods or holes in the block. The crank should be able to be rotated 360 degrees without issue. If you think your engine might have this type of damage, look for a rebuilder with a lower core charge.

Ive only heard negative about cpp...

 

[chri5k]

I have not heard anything one way or the other on them. Just putting it out there that there are alternatives to $16K for a Cummins reman engine. There are plenty of sources for a reman CTD so the OP should research all of them if he decides to go that route.

 

[LeesEvoX]

I wouldnt even bother with your suggestions guys. Doesnt look like the guy has come back since making his first post. lol.

 

[pwaterz]

I'm still here. Thanks for all the input everyone. I'm really trying to figure out if the PCM being off really means it was tuned. The tech said there is no evidence of tune on it currently. It's also odd that it was only for a 2k miles. They can't prove that it was tuned in the current way it is now. The issues I'm facing is if I ask them to try and warranty it they need to rip the engine apart to figure out what caused it. If for some reason they can point a finger at a tune they will. In that case he said I would have to pay for the tear down which he was quoting like 20hr+, which seems kind of high to me. Also if they decide it was a tunes fault they'll void the warranty which I believe will become public record and hurt the resale value.

I got a quote from another shop for a rebuild for around 9-12k, but honestly thinking if I have to pay for it I would do a cummins certified rebuild. Comes with a two year warranty and I can make any dodge dealer deal with any issues that come up down the road.

 

[pwaterz]

If I sold this car and stated it had a brand new cummins in it with a 2 year warranty you think people would be attracted to that vs being deterred.

 

[averageguy]

Un-tuned stock motors break all the time so what do they blame it on then? even if your truck was tuned there is no proving the tune broke a specific part. I would tell them the mileage difference doesn't prove anything because their computers and BCM's modules fail causing a lot of weird crap to happen. Who's to say it isn't just a fluke?

 

[pwaterz]

That's kind where my thought process has been leading me to. I think it would be stupid of me to not push on them to warranty this.

 

[bigred90gt]

That's kind where my thought process has been leading me to. I think it would be stupid of me to not push on them to warranty this.

So, it's been asked but I dont see an answer. Is the dealership giving you the runaround the same dealership you bought the vehicle from? If not, did you buy it from another major brand dealer?

 

[chrisbh17]

I feel like its pretty cut and dry....they cant prove its been tuned, yet are denying warranty based on it being tuned?

If they admit they cant prove it, then they should be warrantying it. And even if they COULD prove its been tuned, they would then kinda sorta need to prove the tune is what caused the issue (I say kinda-sorta because look at Woman.Driven on YouTube, where Ford denied her blown GT350 engine even though no mods she made caused the actual issue that killed the engine)