Confused

[jhill6983]

I have a 2020 1500 with a 5.7 Hemi. Bought truck brand new with 11 miles on it, and it has 101,280 miles on it now. Had some loss of power and the check engine light came on, so we took it to check it out and I’m being told that cylinder 7 is not holding compression due to there being some scoring on the inner wall and that I will now have to replace the motor.

I guess I’m just confused as to how/why this may have happened and is this a common issue? I don’t have any warranty on the truck, but I still owe on it so it seems like my only option is to try to put another motor in it at my expense. The truck has never been abused, was maintained like clockwork, and only pulled a trailer five times or so the whole time I’ve had it. I contacted Chrysler Customer Service and was told to kick rocks because my warranty only went to 60k miles.

I don’t expect the whole thing to be free, but I’ve bought four straight Rams over the last 10-12 years and if they’re not gonna last longer than this then I don’t see a point in keeping them around or even buying them in the first place. Any advice on who to contact to try to get some help with this would be fantastic.

 

[Wild one]

I have a 2020 1500 with a 5.7 Hemi. Bought truck brand new with 11 miles on it, and it has 101,280 miles on it now. Had some loss of power and the check engine light came on, so we took it to check it out and I’m being told that cylinder 7 is not holding compression due to there being some scoring on the inner wall and that I will now have to replace the motor.

I guess I’m just confused as to how/why this may have happened and is this a common issue? I don’t have any warranty on the truck, but I still owe on it so it seems like my only option is to try to put another motor in it at my expense. The truck has never been abused, was maintained like clockwork, and only pulled a trailer five times or so the whole time I’ve had it. I contacted Chrysler Customer Service and was told to kick rocks because my warranty only went to 60k miles.

I don’t expect the whole thing to be free, but I’ve bought four straight Rams over the last 10-12 years and if they’re not gonna last longer than this then I don’t see a point in keeping them around or even buying them in the first place. Any advice on who to contact to try to get some help with this would be fantastic.

Pick yourself up a cheap borescope,and take a look inside the cylinder yourself. About the only thing that'd take out a cylinder is a broken piston,and that usually only happens when you get it hot enough the ring ends butt together and break the top ring land,and that's usually due to a poor tune or running to much boost on a stock engine.Doesn't usually occur on a stock truck.Or is there more to the issue then what you're telling us

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[jhill6983]

Everything completely stock other than wheels and tires. I’m not mechanically inclined, nor do I have enough extra money, to do much more than wheels and tires lol.

 

[Wild one]

Everything completely stock other than wheels and tires. I’m not mechanically inclined, nor do I have enough extra money, to do much more than wheels and tires lol.

Even one of these cheap borescopes will let you look inside the cylinder through the plug holes.You don't want one any bigger then 5.5 mm otherwise it won't fit through the plug holes.
You didn't happen to be towing heavy with it up a long hill with 87 octane in the tank ,that could lead to a broken piston,if it is a busted piston.I'm a little suspicious on the scored cylinder diagnose,but i could see a chewed up cam lobe and bad lifter though

https://www.amazon.com/DEPSTECH-Industrial-Inspection-Waterproof-Semi-Rigid/dp/B094XGX6GQ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=engine%2Bborescope&qid=1702417404&sr=8-3&th=1

 

[crash68]

@jhill6983 I'd get a second opinion from an independent shop especially if you had a dealership look at the truck.
In the terms of the engine puking at 100K miles that's definitely not the norm. I'd venture to say that in the terms drawing straws , this one was the short one.

 

[Brandon-w]

Not to sound like "that guy" but trade Er fast if you still owe money. Roll the remainder into something else and be happy. This coming from a guy that probly has more intonthe truck than what it's worth. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Musky Mike]

What code does it have? Your year Hemi is not known for cylinder problems, maybe a bad lifter/cam lobe or something else.

 

[jhill6983]

It is at a dealership. I tried taking it to a local shop first, and they couldn’t even scan the vehicle because of the gateway passcode or something like that.

I don’t remember the code off the top of my head, but I can try to get details tomorrow.

@Wild one the only time it was really under any strain was when I pulled a camper from where we bought it and brought it home, and then later on I had to drag the camper to where it would sit for about a year because my wife lives in it four days a week. And I’m pretty sure I’ve only ever put 87 in it.

 

[jhill6983]

Just pointing out that I’ve gotten more information and ideas from random strangers on the internet than I have gotten in person or on the phone from anyone officially affiliated with Ram. I can’t thank yall enough.

 

[crash68]

I don’t remember the code off the top of my head, but I can try to get details tomorrow.

Taking a guess it's possibly a P0307 which is a cylinder #7 misfire code. This could be caused by a bad injector, spark plug, ignition coil or lifter/cam issue.

 

[Marshall]

Pick it up and get it checked somewhere else if you don't want to look at it your self.

 

[MAC830203]

Comp test…..Wet test. Without oil in the cyl, get reading. Then add couple squirts and get reading. No change? It’s up top. Easy but maybe not…pull valve cover..,.,. an open/ stuck / bent valve???pulling a head is much easier than the whole engine thing. And a scoured wall ain’t good but rings are gapped at +-.030 and if the piston is cracked or wall that badly damaged, it should be blowing out air and oil out the valve cover and PCV.

 

[pscarbor]

I have a 2006 Ram 1500 5.7 that my wife bought on Facebook for $2000 a couple years ago. I had to replace the transmission and a bunch of other stuff. Poor truck had led a hard life, lotta neglect - but now it runs good. It currently has 282,000 miles on it and has no piston, ring, valve, or compression issues. I need to replace the front and probably the rear crank seals but even that's not too bad, quart of oil leaks out every 1000 miles or so.

Yeah the Hemi engines will last a while - longer than a lot of dealers.

 

[TotallyHucked]

Agreed with others, try to find a good local shop that has the equipment to work on Mopars or specializes in just Mopars. Or at the very least, get a second or third opinion at other dealers. If you're not mechanically inclined, I'd much rather try to find an independent shop to look at it/repair it. Here in Ga we have a couple that build and tune hot Challengers/Chargers all the time. Even if they cost a little more, I'd at least trust a shop like that's word over a dealer.

I'd be very interested to know more details of the diagnosis. The scoring would need to be pretty bad for it not to hold compression, which would lead me to believe it's broken a ring or ring land or something. Which is very possible if you towed a camper with only 87 in the tank. Lower octane pulling a load = very hot cylinder temps = very bad. Definitely need more details.

 

[Silver21Ram]

I have a 2020 1500 with a 5.7 Hemi. Bought truck brand new with 11 miles on it, and it has 101,280 miles on it now. Had some loss of power and the check engine light came on, so we took it to check it out and I’m being told that cylinder 7 is not holding compression due to there being some scoring on the inner wall and that I will now have to replace the motor.

I guess I’m just confused as to how/why this may have happened and is this a common issue? I don’t have any warranty on the truck, but I still owe on it so it seems like my only option is to try to put another motor in it at my expense. The truck has never been abused, was maintained like clockwork, and only pulled a trailer five times or so the whole time I’ve had it. I contacted Chrysler Customer Service and was told to kick rocks because my warranty only went to 60k miles.

I don’t expect the whole thing to be free, but I’ve bought four straight Rams over the last 10-12 years and if they’re not gonna last longer than this then I don’t see a point in keeping them around or even buying them in the first place. Any advice on who to contact to try to get some help with this would be fantastic.

Is the truck still drivable?
On a busy Saturday afternoon, take it to a dealer and trade it in.

 

[Danny Phillips]

I would just pull the engine, hone the cylinder and re ring it.

 

[MAC830203]

Would like to hear how this issue is resolved. Looking back, or forward, the next engine replaced will be a full Hellcat swap with a dry stump.