Failed Lifter? Recommendations?

[TroyGarner]

Hey guys,

I figure there's a lot more knowledgeable people here than myself. I recently ran into an issue with my truck where I noticed a slight ticking sound, and after pulling over with the engine on idle the tick got louder after a couple minutes. Ended up getting it towed back to my house to avoid any further damage.

It seems like a top end issue with a bad/failed lifter.. I'm just wondering what kind of overall damage I might be looking at here, as well as some recommendations for the fix if anyone else has experienced this.

I think the final nail in the coffin here was a lack of oil to lubricate those parts. I was noticing that I had to occasionally fill it up since the level would drop after about 4-8 months. If I end up replacing the lifters, I'm sure that is not the "complete" fix... (i.e. could be dealing with chewed up cam lobes too...) Although I'll probably swap these out with non-MDS lifters and plug it off as well. (I previously had a tune.)

I've uploaded a video to my Google Drive where I recorded the sound: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I-kJkmERUREGGHXe3Duvwjy1Ua_wQwJK/view?usp=sharing

Note: shortly after this video I was hearing some sounds that indicated metal rubbing against metal to some degree so I know it is an internal issue. Checked my truck today and there was no previous misfire codes on it though.

2012 Ram 1500 Sport w/ 5.7L Engine (4x4 Crew Cab)

Any help/suggestions is greatly appreciated!

Cheers

 

[Dodge 1500 4X4]

It sounds like the roller needle bearings are gone and its hitting on the cam lobe, or the rocker arm has little or no lift causing a lash noise on the valve stem, did you check for movement on the rocker arms to see which one it is, You're doing more damage, Start taking it down and expect the cam is wiped out, keep in mind those medal fragments are in the lubrication system, expect to do UOA on the engine oil when done, And get on a Lubrication Strategy.

 

[TroyGarner]

It sounds like the roller needle bearings are gone and its hitting on the cam lobe, or the rocker arm has little or no lift causing a lash noise on the valve stem, did you check for movement on the rocker arms to see which one it is, You're doing more damage, Start taking it down and expect the cam is wiped out, keep in mind those medal fragments are in the lubrication system, expect to do UOA on the engine oil when done, And get on a Lubrication Strategy.

I will be taking a look at it by the weekend at the latest when I have more daylight hours to get in there. I figured that the cam would likely be doomed from a failure like this.. To my knowledge, depending on whatever parts are damaged in addition to the cam and lifters; it likely means getting that oil pump off and replacing that as well.

What sort of lubrication strategy would you recommend? Apologies for my ignorance..

I know once I get that valve cover off, more of the problem will be revealed. I'll take a look at the oil as well to see what that looks like too.

(Doing some of my research along this forum I saw many threads like this. I posted here mainly to see if there was any new information that would potentially come up as well.)

 

[Burla]

Yeah that sounds like a collapsed lifter, but it might be a sticky valve, I say that because you don't have a mis fire code. If there is no cam damage, it will just be a matter of getting the heads off and see what is what. If the cam was damaged to the point of no return you would get the p0300 range mis fire, much bigger fix as you need to get cam out. No mis fire code, you might just be able to fix it, now if you get the heads off and the lifter isnt lifting, then the cam lob will be wiped and for some reason you are not throwing a code. Have to find a way to check the cam from above at that point. Boroscope combustion chambers through spark plug hole, see if any are just pitch black, if that matches the bad lifter/valve maybe the cam is bad. I'd check everything you can before buttoning it up if the lifter isnt lifting correctly, minimize the chance of missing something.

Check out hemi tick threads here, as the risk of offending like twenty guys non stop, consider redline oil 5w30. The issue is modern oils have taken the protective additives out of the oil or lowered it a lot. See the lubegard biotech thread, there is a post from an engineer telling you what the problem is, we call lube gard poor mans redline, it also boosts those additives like zddp, moly, and ester base oils.

 

[WhiteStar]

C'mon. That's normal. They all do that. It's just the Hemi tick. You must of done something wrong.
Wait, oh sorry. I thought I was a dealer for a minute.
I would suggest getting some Johnson Lifters instead of replacing them with inferior OEM lifters. https://hotrodenginetech.com/gen-iii-hemi-lifter-tick-solved/

 

[TroyGarner]

C'mon. That's normal. They all do that. It's just the Hemi tick. You must of done something wrong.
Wait, oh sorry. I thought I was a dealer for a minute.
I would suggest getting some Johnson Lifters instead of replacing them with inferior OEM lifters. https://hotrodenginetech.com/gen-iii-hemi-lifter-tick-solved/

Haha I don't think I'm going to go MDS after this..

My current thoughts:
- Non-MDS lifters (like the ones they use in the hellcats I believe), along with the plugs for the solenoids.. **I have a tuner and the truck already had a tune in it from before for a few things**
- 6.4L hemi camshaft (from what I hear should work without having to lock the VVT phaser in place like you have to do with some of the other high performance camshafts), with upgraded valve springs and new valve seals.
- New oil pump (relatively cheap)
- Fix exhaust manifold broken bolts (since I already had a gasket and all the hardware from a year ago)

If I take this thing in, I might as well get them to do these things while they have the engine apart... This is the list of items I have in mind to consider for the worst case. There might be some other things though like a broken rocker arm, etc. I've been told that this isn't a DIY job unless you have a shop with all the tools and knowledge on this specific engine.

I've done things like the thermostat, throttle body, and I do my own oil changes too. I've never done anything this in depth though before honestly.

Thanks for the information though! I'm trying to get a few quotes and find a shop that will give me a good deal now.

 

[DILLIGAF]

The kit is here, no one does 6.4 cams anymore - http://www.frptuning.com/category-s/144.htm

Youll need to tune it anyways so youll have to get HP Tuners as well. http://www.frptuning.com/category-s/121.htm



Job is easy to do. Plenty of post on this forum. Start reading and watch the MMX rebuild video and for god sake get a cam degree wheel. to many hacks on here skip that part and screw up installs... LOL...

 

[TroyGarner]

MMX rebuild video

Is it this one that you're talking about? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77hcwGoOmZo

 

[TroyGarner]

I finally took the truck in to the shop and the dealer is saying that my rod bearings are damaged as well as a few cylinders and pistons... I don't really understand how this is the case from a lifter failure. Any insights? That seems a little extreme that they would be suggesting me to buy a new engine at this point.

Thanks