exhaust manifold leak vs. hemi tick

[nomercy346]

So my truck started ticking with around 48k mi, switched from Amsoil SS 5w30 to Redline 5w30, been running the stuff for a little over 500 mi now and it didn't get any better, if anything sometimes it's worse.

So I'm starting to think it it's may be the common snapped manifold bolts, cause it sounds more like an exhaust leak to me but in the end, its hard to tell, might need someone to put rags against the pipes and listen upfront myself.

Only reason I ruled out the exhaust at first was everyone says the heatshields will be loose and mine are pretty tight. Did anyone have the manifold leak without having the heatshield coming loose?

 

[nomercy346]

as to the noise itself, currently has a terrible ticking for the first minute or two, then quiets down, when hot only has very faint tick thats more exhaust-leak-like.
Noise when cold seems more pronounced when accelerating.​

 

[Tim Garceau]

Definitely the first place with these engines to troubleshoot based on your descriptions.

It's possible the stud snapped near the head and is mated to the manifold. Give all four corners a good mallet tap and see if it frees up.

Any evidence around the gasket/manifold edges of leaking, take a close look once you determine which side during a cold-long sitting start and you might even see the exhaust gases.

 

[Ramm5.7]

Old school....get a length of small diameter pipe, hold one end to ear and other end to multiple exaust bolt locations when cold starting.
Should work if warm also

 

[scott lass 18]

So my truck started ticking with around 48k mi, switched from Amsoil SS 5w30 to Redline 5w30, been running the stuff for a little over 500 mi now and it didn't get any better, if anything sometimes it's worse.

So I'm starting to think it it's may be the common snapped manifold bolts, cause it sounds more like an exhaust leak to me but in the end, its hard to tell, might need someone to put rags against the pipes and listen upfront myself.

Only reason I ruled out the exhaust at first was everyone says the heatshields will be loose and mine are pretty tight. Did anyone have the manifold leak without having the heatshield coming loose?

 

[sdmartin1990]

I have a 2013 and I had to replace bolts on both sides. I went ahead and put headers on it.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[scott lass 18]

ya a lot of over heating for years first thing i did is put a y pipe on truck no problems and did do flow master later ! the pipe dodge has is closed off on one side so I feel ( just old school ) it makes one side hotter gases cant get out as fast over heating then happens ! also i hear that maybe a cheep bolt put in letting it leak later on ! also the gasket used on dodge well lets say paper thin when you get a new one not from them ! I ve been using Am soil no problems for years I add two 5w-40 in summer I all so change to 195 t stat cuz my engine seem too hot in sumertime it works great no problems still gets hot when 104 today but not up to 225 around 200 today hope this helps I know redline is great but feel Amsoil better my heat on engine went down 20 on temp used when i got my 2010 runs great so I d go back to it and if in 90 s maybe two 5w-40 added in ok ! thanks

 

[HammerHead]

Exhaust manifold leaks you will hear on the very first start in the morning and it sounds more like a loud clapping noise compared to a tick tick tick noise, and goes away as the manifold heats up. The hemi tick is that hot idle and you can really hear it when you go through a drive-through grabbing a burger. Or parked next to something like a wall we’re the noise bounces off, but always at Hot idle. Then you got a start up chatter but that usually only lasts a few seconds after the truck has sit overnight. Then you got piston slap which is more of a deep hollow knock tone and is very distinctive. Unfortunately I’ve had all four.

 

[HammerHead]

If you can make a nice short video upload it to YouTube and then post the link here so we can listen to it that way we know for sure.

 

[nomercy346]

Exhaust manifold leaks you will hear on the very first start in the morning and it sounds more like a loud clapping noise compared to a tick tick tick noise, and goes away as the manifold heats up. The hemi tick is that hot idle and you can really hear it when you go through a drive-through grabbing a burger. Or parked next to something like a wall we’re the noise bounces off, but always at Hot idle. Then you got a start up chatter but that usually only lasts a few seconds after the truck has sit overnight. Then you got pissed slap which is more of a deep hollow knock tone and is very distinctive. Unfortunately I’ve had all four.

Yeah there are a few distinct hemi noises:

Piston slap: got a lot of that, sounds horrible after cold start but only in gear

Lifter drain startup tap: never had it

Hot idle tick: it’s pretty quiet when hot, can hear very faint noise accelerating past walls with the windows down, idling only noticeable when you get your head close to the wheel well. Sounds “chattery” like exhaust leak to me

exhaust leak after startup: doesn’t have the characteristic TAP TAP TAP tap tap tap that quickly fades away within seconds or maybe it’s just not that distinct. First minute or two of driving is the worst, ticks pretty loud, especially under load, I drive through some narrow alleyways leaving work and I hate having the windows down during that part of the drive.

Will check out the noise some more soon.

 

[Burla]

If you can make a nice short video upload it to YouTube and then post the link here so we can listen to it that way we know for sure.

put recording device below engine at warm idle if you do this

 

[ghillyer84]

I have a 2013 and I had to replace bolts on both sides. I went ahead and put headers on it.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

x2 mine in the dealers shop right now!!!

 

[nesnfred]

I have a 2012 Sport, just picked mine up from the dealer, 45k miles, bolts broken at rear left and right, both manifolds warped. Has anyone read where this is caused by the multi displacement engine, manifolds heating and cooling at different rates front to back based on how many cylinders are firing? That’s my suspicion.

 

[Boomsquad]

Ok. New to Dodge and to forum(of course). I'm reading a lot about the tick vs lifter. I'm a fairly "handy" person when it comes to working on cars, but you guys seem pretty knowledgeable. How much does the manifold leak sound like bad lifter? I know this may be hard to explain thru text. My tick never goes away even after warm. Asking the people around me, they said lifter. But after listening to videos on here and YouTube I'm not sure. Are there any distinct differences between lifter noise and manifold leak? Thanks for any help.

 

[OCDTech]

I've always described an exhaust leak like a "spitting" sound, and i would venture to say if the noise gets worse with acceleration that would lead me to lean toward exhaust. Lifters are more of a distinct metallic noise. Also with exhaust leak visually you sometimes see a sooty footprint around the leak,not sure if this is the case with manifolds though.

 

[Hemi 808]

Bought my 2015 with 46k miles in June 2019 from a local dealer. It had the tick, only on start up on the passenger side and sounded more like Tap Tap Tap. Dealer repaired 3 broken exhaust bolts in August 2019. Not ticking anymore but the Hemi engine is a noisy engine for sure. So I dumped the dealer oil for Redline 5w30 and it sounds a lot quieter but took about 1500 miles to really quiet down.

Last month, started to get the tick again but this time it was the driver side and it sound more like "spitting" and light tapping sound. Dealer repaired another 3 broken bolts. All good now.

So, I think broken exhaust bolt can sound a bit different between how long they have been broken, which bolts, how badly it's warped, etc.

 

[HammerHead]

My manifold leak sounded more like a very distinct clapping noise but went away within a few minutes as the manifold heated up. My tick was the Hot Tick at operating temperatures. Did the manifold bolt myself and the startup clapping noise was gone. If you got the tick tick tick when the engine is warm then I’d recommend Redline 5w30 and give it 1500 miles.

 

[Boomsquad]

5w-30 even with the mds?

 

[OCDTech]

5w-30 even with the mds?

Yes thats what im running and MANY others, if you see his signature it says Hammerhead is running 40w, several are and not having issues. I invite you to look into the synthetic oil thread on here, vast amounts of information on this topic. Its a long thread now but worth sifting through.

 

[Boomsquad]

What ya think?