Buying 2016 Rebel - Hemi Tick and other Questions

[G0S7]

Hello all, new here. I currently have a deposit down on a 2016 Rebel with around 116k miles. Initially when researching I believe I was finding what was 3rd gen hemi issues related to the valve seat failure. I was relieved to learn that this issue concerned primarily 08 and older 5.7s if I'm not mistaken. However I completely overlooked the cam roller failures up until the past couple of days. It seems I have opened the flood gates and have read a novel's worth of user reported failures. Unfortunately I had placed a $1000 deposit before finding all this, which I may in fact loose.

It's seems that there is no evidence that the camshaft/roller situation has been remedied at all by the manufacturer. I also cannot verify rather this failure occurs any less with newer models, 2012+ (or better yet 2015 and up). Majority of the threads and videos I've found are 2008-12 related, but I have easily found 2016 Chargers and even a 2020 Ram demonstrating this failure.

I'd like to hear some owners report their experiences on their 2015+ models. I'm not sure if this will help ease my nerves or not. I may end up loosing $1k and just getting a Tacoma.

 

[Midnight Storm]

The ticking is usually broken manifold bolts. That can be remedied by machining the stock manifold or replacing them with headers.

I have a 2016 hemi CC and really like it!

honestly, Taco’s are great trucks too. Especially the gen before the current one. They are just a bit small for my needs.

Edit: redline oil is great for slowing down the tick as well

 

[G0S7]

The ticking is usually broken manifold bolts. That can be remedied by machining the stock manifold or replacing them with headers.

I have a 2016 hemi CC and really like it!

honestly, Taco’s are great trucks too. Especially the gen before the current one. They are just a bit small for my needs.

redline oil is great for slowing down the tick as well

I'm glad to hear you have no issues with your 2016. How many miles do you currently have on it if you don't mind me asking?

I'm well aware of the manifold/exhaust leak issue and that does not concern me at all to be honest. I am concerned with the rollers locking up on the the lifters and grinding down lobes on the camshaft, requiring practically what would be the cost of another engine to rebuild/replace. That's the hemi tick I'm referring to.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Its an easy fix with a simple Cam swap / non mds lifters / Tune

 

[Midnight Storm]

40k miles only. Replaced bolts once

 

[Brandon-w]

Well I can say I check all the dodge boxes. Lifters went, manifolds went three times before they said they weren't warranting it. And I had nothing but air-conditioning problems which they shunned me away on as well. Truck had 60k miles when the lifter dropped, dealer said I missed oil changes because I do my own, kept my receipts for oil Changes but made zero difference they werent interested in Helping me. I put good headers on it and havnt had the manifold issue since, I deleted MDS and put a lumpy cam in and those issues are gone. And I swapped a 2010 ac pump and lines in so I didn't have to deal with the new ac recharge prices $600 a recharge... I can just top off with a can of 134a and I'm done.

Don't get me wrong this won't happen to every truck buy maybe have a rainy day truck fund just in case you have issues down the road.

You are almost guaranteed to have manifold leaks the bolts are junk and prone to breaking. Invest in a good set of headers. Not the cheap ones.

The good news is the 8 speed trans is a pretty friggen solid unit.

Ps performance parts for hemi are almost double what other manufactures are so if you plan to mod maybe compare prices with other brands.

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[69GWC]

Its an easy fix with a simple Cam swap / non mds lifters / Tune

You make it sound easy, but changing out the cam and lifters is not something most can do and the price on those parts is far from cheap..lol


Most dont want to invest that much money into a truck , that should not have this problem anyway.


My 2016 has 43k on it and so far alls good. But honestly if I get the first sign on lifter failure I will trade it off right away.
Jmo

 

[G0S7]

Well I can say I check all the dodge boxes. Lifters went, manifolds went three times before they said they weren't warranting it. And I had nothing but air-conditioning problems which they shunned me away on as well. Truck had 60k miles when the lifter dropped, dealer said I missed oil changes because I do my own, kept my receipts for oil Changes but made zero difference they werent interested in Helping me. I put good headers on it and havnt had the manifold issue since, I deleted MDS and put a lumpy cam in and those issues are gone. And I swapped a 2010 ac pump and lines in so I didn't have to deal with the new ac recharge prices $600 a recharge... I can just top off with a can of 134a and I'm done.

Don't get me wrong this won't happen to every truck buy maybe have a rainy day truck fund just in case you have issues down the road.

You are almost guaranteed to have manifold leaks the bolts are junk and prone to breaking. Invest in a good set of headers. Not the cheap ones.

The good news is the 8 speed trans is a pretty friggen solid unit.

Ps performance parts for hemi are almost double what other manufactures are so if you plan to mod maybe compare prices with other brands.

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Very good info. I think I may have blindly run into this situation. I had no intention to do any performance mods really. My main intention was to find a solid out of the box off roader. I had no idea about the AC pump needing any type of specialized charge. Seem I quite uninformed, thinking "a truck is a truck" for the most part. That's something I would expect from a G Wagon or Range Rover.

You make it sound easy, but changing out the cam and lifters is not something most can do and the price on those parts is far from cheap..lol


Most dont want to invest that much money into a truck , that should not have this problem anyway.


My 2016 has 43k on it and so far alls good. But honestly if I get the first sign on lifter failure I will trade it off right away.
Jmo

Yes I agree, I really had no intentions of increasing performance. My main goal was to use it as an overland vehicle for family trips or for at least the wife and I. With the exception of getting larger tires and carrying more gear and equipment it wasn't my attention to do anything that would further decrease the gas mileage. I went from looking at 275hp Tacomas to Rebels with nearly 400hp and found them more than adequate to meet my needs. Getting performance lifters and cams is pretty much no less of a hassle. With this mileage, of course I'd wouldn't be disappointed if I was required to replace a water pump, any sort of gaskets, timing chain, wheel bearings etc etc, but we're talking about pulling heads and a cam replacement here.

 

[kurek]

My '15 is still having no engine trouble but that doesn't prove anything.

 

[Brandon-w]

Very good info. I think I may have blindly run into this situation. I had no intention to do any performance mods really. My main intention was to find a solid out of the box off roader. I had no idea about the AC pump needing any type of specialized charge. Seems I came into this quite blind, thinking "a truck is a truck" for the most part. That's something I would expect from a G Wagon or Range Rover.



Yes I agree, I really had no intentions of increasing performance. My main goal was to use it as an overland vehicle for family trips or for at least the wife and I. With the exception of getting larger tires and carrying more gear and equipment it wasn't my attention to do anything that would further decrease the gas mileage. I went from looking at 275hp Tacomas to Rebels with nearly 400hp and found them more than adequate to meet my needs. Getting performance lifters and cams is pretty much no less of a hassle. With this mileage, of course I'd wouldn't be disappointed if I was required to replace a water pump, any sort of gaskets, timing chain, wheel bearings etc etc, but we're talking about pulling heads and a cam replacement here.

When I was shopping around in 2016 I was looking at the tacomas. Mostly for offroad capability. My x had just bought a ram and I thought it was quite comfortable. I own a 36 foot travel trailer and after seeing how little the tacoma can tow I decided to go for a dodge ram 1500, my trailer is a bit heavier than the truck is rated for (I know I know) but I've upgraded with airbags and stuff to compensate for the weight and keep it level. Anyways...

If you aren't towing anything heavy and are only worried about payload. I'd go with the Toyota and just put airbags or helpers on it. Just my two Bits. Fuel is likely cheaper and offroad capabilities would be better as it's lighter and known to be a decent 4x4, just my two bits tho.

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[Brandon-w]

My '15 is still having no engine trouble but that doesn't prove anything.

It'***** and miss. I live in a cold climate so I can kind of point the finger at that for causing some of my issues.

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[kurek]

Yeah.. I kinda suspect most of the problems are just a result of numbers, they sell millions of these engines and even if one in a thousand fails that's thousands.

I do what I can withm changing oil before the specified intervals, trying to have some sympathy for the machine when operating it and not letting it idle a lot.

Anyway OP has apparently put down a deposit and in all probability getting this vehicle and I don't see a problem with that. Any used vehicle purchase is a gamble no matter what brand, and overall these trucks seem to have happy owners. Some of them are a-holes, but still happy with their truck.

 

[Brandon-w]

Yeah.. I kinda suspect most of the problems are just a result of numbers, they sell millions of these engines and even if one in a thousand fails that's thousands.

I do what I can withm changing oil before the specified intervals, trying to have some sympathy for the machine when operating it and not letting it idle a lot.

Anyway OP has apparently put down a deposit and in all probability getting this vehicle and I don't see a problem with that. Any used vehicle purchase is a gamble no matter what brand, and overall these trucks seem to have happy owners. Some of them are a-holes, but still happy with their truck.

I couldn't agree more. My mom's truck is a 2010 she bought used with 180k on it not an issue, somehow It's a good truck. My sisters 2019 new body has 25k on it and is internally ticking already. It's luck of the draw.
As for dodge owners being **** heads, I can vouch for that, I'm sure the Honda civic crowd has passed on the ricer award to the 1500 ram Guys now. God I miss The nipper car days lol

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[pacofortacos]

How can someone be torn between a Tacoma and a Rebel??? Apples and oranges
One is a nice toy, the other is a full size truck.
I could see a **** Tundra and Rebel comparison.

I personally prefer the smaller trucks but the last one they made that would work for me was a 5.9 magnum equipped 2003 Dakota.

My 2016 1500 has had 2 small issues since new - a weatherstrip and reattach 2 fender flares.
Well other than my 4X4 3.92 geared 5.7 will not get over 20 mpg @ 74 mph plus.

 

[G0S7]

For those who've had no issues regarding the lifters, do you all use the the MDS or primarily have it disabled?

While doing research this and the MDS technology comes up a lot as the cause of the problem while many state that the lifters/rollers assemblies themselves are of poor quality. But I've even found a thread where an individual replaced his lifters with aftermarket variants only for the ticking and engine knocking to comeback less than 20k miles later. He emphasized that the aftermarket lifters he used did not solve the no splash at idle core problem.

 

[G0S7]

How can someone be torn between a Tacoma and a Rebel??? Apples and oranges

It's not really apples to oranges if you're going to use either for the same exact purpose and both efficiently fill the role.

 

[PoMansRam]

At 116K miles, it could have had engine work done, or she's a good one, never ticked and may never. You just don't know with these. The stars have to align for them to have valvetrain issues.

Like I've said in many threads, I've known dozens of Hemi Ram owners in the past 10yrs. I've never once heard one tick or heard of them needed to have lifters/cam replaced. Same with the exhaust manifold bolts. If you spend time on the innerwebs though, these issues will scare the hell out of you.

I'm only at 25K miles with my 2019 Ram 1500 classic hemi and she's always been smooth and quiet. It doesn't tick after sitting for a few days in 20degF temps. Doesn't tick on restarts, nothing. It was a rental for it's first year and 15K miles as well, so who knows how many times it was farted in... Or worse?!?

 

[pacofortacos]

They are oiled via 3 different ways - through the oil galley, through the pushrods, and a little mist/splash.
There is always a minimum of 3 psi being fed to them via the oil galley and they are literally flooded with oil during MDS operation.

 

[G0S7]

If you spend time on the innerwebs though, these issues will scare the hell out of you.

Well said sir, I absolutely cannot deny that.

 

[kurek]

For those who've had no issues regarding the lifters, do you all use the the MDS or primarily have it disabled?

A lot of people beeotch about MDS but I kinda regard that as the same impulse that made people mistrust fuel injection 30 years ago. Doesn't mean anything really.

There are versions of this engine that never had MDS and they still seem to experience the same lifter failure and only half of a MDS engine's cylinders have it, so when the failure occurs it's not statistically connected to those cylinders. I truly don't think MDS factors in at all.

The use or non-use of MDS seems to be highly subjective.. Some trucks seem to be much more subtle than others when it kicks in, my truck has the single side exit exhaust and I can never hear or feel a difference, in fact the only way I can be absolutely sure it's on or off is if I'm on a flat highway with cruise control on and hit the transmission +- button to enable/disable it...and then watch the MPG real time doodad shift a second or so later.

Anyway I leave MDS on all the time (except when experimenting above) and have never experienced any negative anything from it. It has no down sides in my experience and at worst it does nothing but my observation is it appears to save a little fuel.