Cam/Lifter Swap Lessons Learned

[Black1500Ram]

Deleting my post wrong thread

 

[Black1500Ram]

Thank you. I am beginning the tear down of my 2014 Ram tomorrow because of a faulty lifter so I am doing the 6.4 cam swap, Hell Cat lifters, Pump, new springs, rods, etc. I am nervous and excited. I appreciate the write up.

Deleting my post, wrong thread.

 

[PartTimeHero]

Delete wrong thread

What?

 

[G0S7]

Thank you. I am beginning the tear down of my 2014 Ram tomorrow because of a faulty lifter so I am doing the 6.4 cam swap, Hell Cat lifters, Pump, new springs, rods, etc. I am nervous and excited. I appreciate the write up.

The Hellcat lifters are the same part number as Scat and R/T but just the updated type that was introduced in 2016. They're not special lifters. here's a pretty informative vid that mentions that around 5:10 mark.

The END of the HEMI TICK
May save someone some money in the future.

 

[DILLIGAF]

We just choose to still call them HC lifters, sounds cooler

 

[PartTimeHero]

The Hellcat lifters are the same part number as Scat and R/T but just the updated type that was introduced in 2016. They're not special lifters. here's a pretty informative vid that mentions that around 5:10 mark.

The END of the HEMI TICK
May save someone some money in the future.

I sourced quite a bit of the stuff from All Mopar Parts(one of the Vendors here) and I think I got a pretty good deal.

Part Number​	Part Name​	Price​	Quantity​	Total​
68277306AA​	Spring​	$4.43​	16​	$70.88​
5038419AB​	Engine Camshaft​	$246.62​	1​	$246.62​
5038784AD​	Hydraulic Lifters And Yoke​	$119.18​	4​	$476.72​
68195993AD​	Engine Oil Pump​	$151.04​	1​	$151.04​
6102430AA​	Bolt​	$5.49​	1​	$5.49​
6510763AA​	Hex Head Bolt And Coned Washer, Mounting​	$5.84​	1​	$5.84​
5045515AA​	Intake Valve Push Rod​	$4.96​	8​	$39.68​
5045516AA​	Exhaust Valve Push Rod​	$5.13​	8​	$41.04​

Thank you for the info, I have followed Reignited for a while. His channel is great.

 

[pappabear69]

So I wanted add my experience rough idle after cam/ lifter swap rechecked everything, still there. Changed all coils and plugs again, re-verified all push rods. Was about to recheck timing marks when a friend came over and noticed two fuel injectors not 100% seated all the way. Loosed rail and reseated, now sounds like new.

 

[RAMTRPR]

So i literally got the tick about two blocks from my house and shut the truck off and coasted/had it towed the rest of the way home. I have a greene racing custom cam and I am hoping I can get away with just new lifters. Ram rough right before I shut it off but no misfire codes at all.

Can I do just the lifters and not have to take the timing cover off and such? Was thinking new head gasket, new lifters, new plugs, and back together. Thoughts?

 

[DILLIGAF]

I would never just drop in a set of lifters without inspecting the cam.

 

[Zinger1]

Just noticed some folks replied here, thanks! Replace your oil pump, I put on a high volume Melling and it's awesome... Been running it for at least 20k miles now on my rebuild, 50-55 at idle and 70-75 running. Some say it's too high, works fine for me.

 

[RamMan16]

Thanks for the lessons learned. Looks like I'll be doing mine soon, lifter tick started but no codes yet. Hopefully I caught it before too much damage. Just curious, why the heads need to go to the shop? Shouldn't the springs/valves be fine with the low mileage.

 

[RamRod37]

Thanks for the lessons learned. Looks like I'll be doing mine soon, lifter tick started but no codes yet. Hopefully I caught it before too much damage. Just curious, why the heads need to go to the shop? Shouldn't the springs/valves be fine with the low mileage.

Valves and springs probably are fine but I will not pull a head without going to head shop for a resurfacing and valve stem seals they strip the head clean it and check for cracks and head could have developed a warp that old head gasket was able keep sealed . To much work involved to pull back down to do it later and you have the peace of mind that you know the heads are good when going back together. Just my two cents done been the cam & lifter route in mine and done every thing new valve springs heads resurfaced, new oil pump, new push rods, new water pump, new timing set, new cam VVT sprocket, new VVT solenoid Etc
below old dirty pre head shop and new clean back ready to install

 

[Sherman Bird]

So, as many of you know I decided to pull the trigger on my 2014 Ram 1500 Bighorn 4x4 due to misfire code in cylinder 5 along with the lifter tick. Getting to the cam and lifters was the easy part. In some instances though, I was my own worst enemy (Thanks @Wildone for pointing this out) and shot myself in the foot along the way. I wanted to make a thread detailing issues I had along the way in the hopes that it would benefit other members that decide to tackle this job themselves.

Lesson#1: As daunting as the job may seem, it is not that difficult. I ran into a bunch of issues of which 75% were my own fault and if I write this post correctly, you should be able to avoid.

Lesson#2: Timing. It's important. Do not take shortcuts. I tried the zip tie method and actually ended up cocking the chain off of the rear tooth on the crank/oil pump sprocket. This made it sound like a diesel engine on my first startup. The oil pump housing was the only thing that kept the timing chain on the crank sprocket. It truly sounded like a tractor my first time putting back together. It drove ok...but was LOUD and sluggish. So, I ended up removing all the peripherals again (Fan/clutch, radiator, shutters, alternator, water pump, compressor, and then timing cover) and as many oil pan bolts as I could (I have 4wd), and prying the oil pan down enough to remove pickup tube bolt and removed the oil pump. I then set and verified timing (I replaced all timing set components but my chain and guide were damn near perfect @184k miles so this may not be necessary). Don't get me wrong, this is a huge pain in the Alpha Fife Fife, but it was worth it and shoulda been done in the first place.

Lesson#3: If you take your heads to a machine shop, make sure they tap the spark plug holes if they use that aluminum paint after cleaning. Mine were coated with that aluminum paint but they didn't tap the holes afterwards and I stripped 2 spark plug holes and had to send the heads back. I took extreme caution when installing them but the residual paint on the threads caused binding and started to strip the threads...

Lesson#4: THESE ARE INTERFERENCE ENGINES! When I was setting timing after timing components were all removed but the heads were on, I encountered resistance when trying to turn the crank to TDC using the crank sprocket timing mark (Supposed to be at approx. 5:45). Well, I wasn't thinking and kept putting weight on the crank trying to turn it until a minute later when I realized I may be hitting a valve since I was not moving the cam in phase with the crank (DUHH). So I turned the cam, then the crank moved and I went about my business setting timing.

Lesson#5: After getting everything back together, I cranked her and she wouldn't idle. She would run @ higher rpms but wouldn't stay running. So, I went to harbor freight (See Lesson#6) and bought a compression kit. I removed a spark plug from every cylinder and tested. Cylinder #3 had 0 compression. I instantly knew...I had bent a valve...So, off with the drivers side head and to the machine shop. They replaced the valve and tested and I picked it up same day.

Lesson#6: Harbor freight compression gages are hit and miss. I would sometimes get a reading and sometimes not...it was very confusing and frustrating. After I had the bent valve replaced, I got all kinds of engine codes and still couldn't idle, so I had started to go down the path of a bent valve on the passenger's side but decided to do another compression test with the HF kit. Well, all went well with the passenger's side, but the driver's side I had 0 compression on cylinder #5!!! I just had the heads reworked and fixed cylinder #3! So, I remove the driver's side head again (3rd time) and take to the machine shop to verify they are all seating correctly. The shop called me and said the vacuum test and water test were SAT and the valves were perfect...

Lesson#7: Do not rule out variables just because it "ran before you started the job". The U1424 code sent me on a hunt I never would have finished. What I ended up doing was removing the valve covers and rockers and reinstalling pushrods. Now this isn't 100% verified but the solution to all my problems appears to be one of 2 things. Either I put a pushrod in an oil gallery and/or My #3 fuel injector was bad (I found a bunch of fuel in the #3 cylinder intake port when removing the intake manifold to take the drivers head off). So, I removed rockers and rods again just for fun, and reinstalled and also put a new fuel injector in #3. She started right up!!! But overheated! Burp the radiator like any other car. Remove cap, crank engine, add fluid as room allows for at least 10 mins...I was 1.5 to 2 gallons low even though I filled and added till there was fluid coming out of the water pump bleed hole...

Lesson#8: Don't give up. I still have a front main oil seal that's leaking that Imma pay someone to fix cus it's relatively cheap, but if you got 100k on your truck and you LOVE it, doing this will give you another 100k miles. This is my forever truck, and I plan on swapping my dads 2015 cam and lifters cus @ 104k miles, he got the lifter tick...God Bless!

This reminds me of when I rebuilt my 1966 Mustang model 277 3-speed manual transmission at 17 years old. This particular transmission did not have a synchronized first or reverse. Matter of fact, the gear necessary for first/reverse was one in the same and slid back and forth on the mainshaft.

Lesson number one I learned was : Momma got pretty upset that I washed my parts in the kitchen dishwasher, and..

2) When a person puts afore mentioned 1st/reverse gear in backwards, the frigging thing won't work!

3) Don't take the word of your girlfriend's father that the bearing noise you hear while driving down the street IS from the transmission. After all that trouble, the noise persisted. GF's Dad was an oil company accountant, but he was a weekend car warrior. Certainly (in the eyes of an ignorant 17-year-old) GF's dad HAD to know, 'cuz he was always "working on" his own cars. Lesson: consider your source.

4) Inasmuch as the noise sounded like it was emanating from under the car favoring the rear section, another guy whom I had a high level of confidence in said it was the rear axle bearings.... SOO I replaced them... noise persisted. Consider your source! Again!


5) I decided on my own accord to repack front wheel bearings, and, whouldn'tcha know, THEY WERE SHOT.
I replaced them and the noise was gone!