Help me understand normal vs Hemi tick

[MEGAVITES]

So I'm in the market and been looking at 2016-2020 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi's.
Some motors sound quieter than others..some sound like ticks. Today I drove a 2019 with 44k and motor sounds like a sewing machine. Some videos say that's normal injector noise. Now I question if I've misdiagnosed.
What's normal?
Is the tick clearly identifiable?

 

[ThunderMug95]

Theres the common and inevitable manifold tick that goes away when the motor is warm. Every hemi will have it. Broken exhaust manifold bolts.
Then theres the hemi tick that is caused from a collapsed lifter that is eating a cam lobe. This one is rhythmic with the rpm of the motor and is a more pronounced tick.
Who knows the maintenance, quality of fluids etc is in the used motors.

 

[MEGAVITES]

Got it.
So basically I'm trying to understand valvetrain/injector noise, which is also rhythmic vs lifters starting to go.
Tried YouTube for examples but hard to judge.

 

[ramffml]

Injector tick is hard to hear with the hood closed, when my truck is hot I basically hear a smooth/quiet engine with no ticking.

If you have lifter tick, it usually shows up on a hot idle, and is very pronounced. You can hear it in other trucks as they drive by.

This video has both a constant injector tick (very faint high pitched ticking) and lifter tick which is prominent (and intermittent in this specific case).

If you can't hear the difference between the two, I suggest wearing a good pair of headphones and you'll immediately notice the contrast between the ticks.

2011 Ram 1500 Tapping Sound

Roller on a lifter starting to go bad. Caught it before it ate the cam.

www.youtube.com

 

[Tulecreeper]

Injector tick is hard to hear with the hood closed, when my truck is hot I basically hear a smooth/quiet engine with no ticking.

If you have lifter tick, it usually shows up on a hot idle, and is very pronounced. You can hear it in other trucks as they drive by.

This video has both a constant injector tick (very faint high pitched ticking) and lifter tick which is prominent (and intermittent in this specific case).

If you can't hear the difference between the two, I suggest wearing a good pair of headphones and you'll immediately notice the contrast between the ticks.

2011 Ram 1500 Tapping Sound

Roller on a lifter starting to go bad. Caught it before it ate the cam.

www.youtube.com

Interesting. When I was driving my Silverado with the window down, say less than 40 MPH, and I passed over a bridge or next to some concrete rails/wall on my side of the truck, I could hear a clicking/ticking sound. It was quite pronounced but only at lower speeds. If I were flying along that same wall at 55 MPH I couldn't hear it. You couldn't hear anything standing there with the hood open. This was from the first week I had the truck.

I took it to the dealer and the mech said he couldn't hear it so I had him take a drive with me. Went by a wall with the window down and he said, "Wow, that's quite pronounced." Back at the dealer they scoped it and did a few other things but never could figure out what it was. This March, 23 years later, I sold the truck and it was still making the same noise. Meh...

 

[Hemi832]

Cam/ Lifters Replaced

youtu.be

This was mine when I took it to the dealer to be fixed. Replaced lifters and cam shaft.

 

[MEGAVITES]

That video really shows what it sounds like. I'm going by gut feel and leaning towards the lowest mileage/quietest motor I can find. I definitely can tell the difference and will also have piece of mind with an extended warranty. Will also run proper oil/filter combo.

 

[Wild one]

That video really shows what it sounds like. I'm going by gut feel and leaning towards the lowest mileage/quietest motor I can find. I definitely can tell the difference and will also have piece of mind with an extended warranty. Will also run proper oil/filter combo.

Pick up a mechanics stethoscope if you don't have one,they're a good tool to isolate noises when you're buying a vehicle

 

[Hemi832]

That video really shows what it sounds like. I'm going by gut feel and leaning towards the lowest mileage/quietest motor I can find. I definitely can tell the difference and will also have piece of mind with an extended warranty. Will also run proper oil/filter combo.

Put it on the Redline oil regimen and you will be good. Have been putting the redline in every 3-4k miles since the replacements and no issues. Have put 140k miles since then.

 

[GTyankee]

I have always called the exhaust manifold leak the HEMI TICK
when you start the engine when it has not run for several hours
It Ticks for maybe 10 or 20 seconds, then goes quiet as you run around all day.
The next morning it happens again

Any other noise is more like a clothes washer that is unbalanced on spin cycle

 

[ramffml]

I have always called the exhaust manifold leak the HEMI TICK
when you start the engine when it has not run for several hours
It Ticks for maybe 10 or 20 seconds, then goes quiet as you run around all day.
The next morning it happens again

Any other noise is more like a clothes washer that is unbalanced on spin cycle

There are at least 4 different ticks that I've seen people call "hemi tick".

1) noisy injectors
2) lifter bleed down
3) exhaust manifolds cracked or broken bolts
4) damaged lifter/cam

First tick isn't an issue at all, just people reacting when they hear the name "hemi tick".

Second issue might be resolved by changing your brand of oil and using a better filter

Third issue, just get shorties or long tube headers!!

Fourth issue: game over.

 

[BadHemi2014]

Here's mine, #3 cylinder, this is after LT header install.
Failed lifter tap
Pretty noisy motor all around, but that hard tapping is pretty obvious when I swing around to the driver's side. Sounds like a deranged monkey with a little hammer.

 

[GTyankee]

sounded like a John Deere from the 1950s

 

[SWtransportdesign]

My 19 Classic has 47,000 miles, and except for injectors, it's quiet unless I start it briefly when cold to move it with a run time of about one to two minutes, then shut it down. When I start it the next morning, it'll tick due to lifter leak down, but that's usually only for a second or so. In 4 years with the truck, it's done that maybe 10 times total. However, if I shut the engine down warm, it never ticks during the next start, whether it's the same day or next day. I use Redline 5W30 and SRT oil filter... it exhibited the same occasional cold tick with RL 5W20. I wouldn't be afraid of one that ticks for less than 5 seconds on startup, especially since many dealers never let them warm up if they're being moved around the lot, but if I bought a used one, oil change documentation from day one would be a must have. Unfortunately, dealers often throw owner supplied documentation away.

 

[Bandit1859]

So I'm in the market and been looking at 2016-2020 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi's.
Some motors sound quieter than others..some sound like ticks. Today I drove a 2019 with 44k and motor sounds like a sewing machine. Some videos say that's normal injector noise. Now I question if I've misdiagnosed.
What's normal?
Is the tick clearly identifiable?

Mine was the exhaust manifold. They replaced bolts and Manifolds all made of same materials. No problem after that

 

[Dusty]

Unfortunately there's power in word-of-mouth reputation.

The son of a fellow I worked with for many years has a 2014 Ram 1500 with a 5.7 that developed a "heavy tick," and because all his Ford and Chevy friends told him it was a bad lifter and he was close to 200,000 miles, he ordered all the parts to replace the lifters and cam.

As they started to tear into it they found broken exhaust studs on both sides. On a hunch they replaced all of the studs and exhaust gaskets and put it back together. What had quickly been proclaimed and assumed to be a lifter problem, had completely disappeared.

When approaching a "tick" issue, be sure to check the easy stuff first.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 94111 miles.

 

[Trucker J]

Buddy of mine told me it was the sending unit in the oil pump not providing enough to the lifters. He's a retired Master Mechanic. Luckily my old '07 5.7 has no ticks at 201K on the odometer.

 

[cltmedic111]

Mine does it on a cold start and it’s obvious, but goes away. If I turn it off even for a few minutes, it still does it on startup but goes away a little quicker. Does this sound like the manifold issue?

 

[DILLIGAF]

This is what a good running HEMI sounds like. https://youtu.be/5W8y1kOnfkQ