Hemi Time Bomb

[mtwofeathers]

Definitely internal...been twisting wrenches 50 years..I know what I heard...I'm on the verge of a rant..This is the second time I got screwed on a Chrysler product with an internal engine problem. Its not like buying a stale bag of potato chips...45k is not pocket change to me & from what I understand this is a design flaw, where a repair is the fix...There is no fix unless I'm missing something....

And exactly why I buy cummins diesel.

 

[Ed F]

Extended warranties, oil filter experimation, along with different brand names of oil & additives should not be the solution...The failure is the result of product engineering with the consumer being the guinea pig...I live in a small hamlet with 4 poilce cars, of which 3 are Chargers & one Explorer..2 of the Chargers are at the town garage with blown Hemi engines....

Probably not a good example. I’m a retired firefighter and most of my friends were cops. You could give them any vehicle and they’d find a way to destroy it. One totaled a Crown Vic with 120 miles chasing a Jeep down railroad tracks.

 

[Digger Dan 188]

Had a gas truck with the gov mandated gas saving cylinder deactivation feature. After 6 month of feeling the miss at idle I broke down (heavy on the broke part) and traded it for a Ram Diesel. In talking with lots of folks with gas engine regardeless of manufactuer there are nightmare stories about engine longevity. Of course I have the DEF issue(s) to look forward to but there is no miss at idle no more.

 

[Ed F]

Eliminating idling seems to be a common theme with the Hemi and maybe all engines. My Hemi Express is my first gas truck in about 30 years. I’ve always been a fan of idling the rig when stopping after a long drive, rest area the best example. I even idle my wife’s Passat for about 60 seconds when driving the interstate. When one says idling do you really mean extended idling like keeping the A/C on for pets while you’re in the store for a half hour?

 

[Dan Topp]

I’d like to hear more professional advice on overfilling,if that harms or helps?

 

[Dan Topp]

Had a gas truck with the gov mandated gas saving cylinder deactivation feature. After 6 month of feeling the miss at idle I broke down (heavy on the broke part) and traded it for a Ram Diesel. In talking with lots of folks with gas engine regardeless of manufactuer there are nightmare stories about engine longevity. Of course I have the DEF issue(s) to look forward to but there is no miss at idle no more.

I had a 14 merc..diesel which eliminated the def delete option and it was a lesson learned $$$

 

[JimEd]

I'm sure this topic has been addressed, but I just became aware of this Hemi disaster. I have a 2016 Ram 1500 with 16k miles...I only use it for recreational purposes & use my 2000 5.2 Ram for a daily driver...If the 16 Ram sits for a period of about 2-3 weeks I get a bad lifter noise at start for about 3-5 minutes at idle, then it goes away...Using the truck daily is fine no noise.... Now I find out that the design of the engine is the cause starving the cam & lifters of oil. Something about a cast baffle part of the block preventing the splash of oil to the cam....I also heard the dealers are plagued with failing Hemi's with both cars & trucks. Disappointment is an understatement...My question....What are other members experiencing? Is Chrysler doing anythng about it?...Would greatly appreciate any input....Thanks.....

 

[Burla]

I’d like to hear more professional advice on overfilling,if that harms or helps?

Not professional but ram forum proven result by many members, you don't want to go adding a bunch of quarts but this idea started a couple years ago by U&A and it has been proven to help to be 1/2 quart over, I have put 8 quarts in since new so ten years, I believe for me the dip stick was off because 8 quarts shows new. I think 1/2 quart over is a good idea from hearing the many ram forum members who do it.

 

[JimEd]

I find the discussion about overfill interesting. The reason is I recently purchased a 2013 Ram Hemi Sport. It was a single owner vehicle and was always serviced by the dealer. When I brought it home I checked all the fluids right away. I noticed the oil level was about a quart over. Maybe now I know why. Maybe the dealer knows something that we are not being told. I have only put about 3k miles on it since I purchased it without any issues.

 

[TestPilot57]

What performance issues are you experiencing (if any)?

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

None...Runs perfectly...just got back from a 5 hr. trip...

In the medical field I think they call this "hypochondriac".

 

[Elkman]

Defects in design get fixed eventually and that may be a period of many years as with the Chevy V-6 and poor lubrication of the timing chain. Go to carcomplaints.com and you can see model years and the type of failures reported.

For Ram the model years from 2012 to 2014 had a large gain in problems year over year and a slight reduction in 2015 and 2016 and much improvement for the 2017 and 2018 model years. 2019 trucks had a high number of problems but they were electrical, engine, steering, and transmission problems.

 

[Dan Topp]

Not professional but ram forum proven result by many members, you don't want to go adding a bunch of quarts but this idea started a couple years ago by U&A and it has been proven to help to be 1/2 quart over, I have put 8 quarts in since new so ten years, I believe for me the dip stick was off because 8 quarts shows new. I think 1/2 quart over is a good idea from hearing the many ram forum members who do it.

Thanks.never was sure if it was ok,I definitely will heed your advice

 

[DA Smith]

I'm sure this topic has been addressed, but I just became aware of this Hemi disaster. I have a 2016 Ram 1500 with 16k miles...I only use it for recreational purposes & use my 2000 5.2 Ram for a daily driver...If the 16 Ram sits for a period of about 2-3 weeks I get a bad lifter noise at start for about 3-5 minutes at idle, then it goes away...Using the truck daily is fine no noise.... Now I find out that the design of the engine is the cause starving the cam & lifters of oil. Something about a cast baffle part of the block preventing the splash of oil to the cam....I also heard the dealers are plagued with failing Hemi's with both cars & trucks. Disappointment is an understatement...My question....What are other members experiencing? Is Chrysler doing anythng about it?...Would greatly appreciate any input....Thanks.....

Most of the crap you here is just that crap. The people that get on these forums to complain about the Hemi are the small few that have had some type of issue. In the real world it's not so, out of the hundreds of thousands out there only a very very very small amount of problems occurs . Just from real world experience of my own I have owned an 09,10,13,15 and now a new body style 2019 with 29k on it so far. The four other trucks I mentioned were driven to over 130,000 each with absolutely zero issues and went to the dealership for oil changes and tires only. The oil changes were done at the end of each month due to the mileage I put on the trucks so oil was changed twelve times per year. I had to buy two sets of tires for each truck because including the original tires that came on the trucks I needed three sets to make the miles I put on them before tradeing for a new one. I have never ever had an issue with the Hemi or the Ram truck in general and most everyone I know can say the same. Don't worry about your truck, just keep the oil and filter changed regularly and do the required service when called for. You will get many miles from your Ram!

 

[Burla]

yawn

 

[Gero]

Quality synthetic 5w30, good oil filter and avoid idling. Worry less and drive more.

 

[SOLER]

Definitely internal...been twisting wrenches 50 years..I know what I heard...I'm on the verge of a rant..This is the second time I got screwed on a Chrysler product with an internal engine problem. Its not like buying a stale bag of potato chips...45k is not pocket change to me & from what I understand this is a design flaw, where a repair is the fix...There is no fix unless I'm missing something....

It could be lifters, it could be the exhaust manifold. I was "certain" that the ticking I heard on my '15 Ram 1500 Hemi was lifter tick. After lots of research, a lot of which was on this site, I learned about the exhaust leak that happens on the rear of the exhaust manifolds. And it sounded exactly like valve tick. To rule this out, this is what you check for. When engine is cold, reach in to find the nut holding the heat shield on the exhaust manifold...the furthest one back, on each side. If it's loose, or gone, you have a broken bolt, and the manifold is slightly warped, and it's leaking. And yes, after it heats up a little, it seals and the sound goes away. This takes about 30 seconds or so on a really cold engine.

I was ready to put in a new cam and lifters until I went out and tested those bolts. To correct it, I installed long tube headers.

 

[JimEd]

DA Smith brings up a good piont about the number of problems. This addresses a question I asked previously but never received any additional responce. On average what % of Hemi’s have hade the cam failure? If it was really wide spread wouldn’t there have been some kind of recall or better yet a class action law suit? Just asking!!

 

[DaveSharp]

Oh no it's not piston slap...been there done that...In 1994 I bought a new Cherokee 4.0 'High Output' - keyword 'High Output' I picked it up from the dealer, drove 10 miles home & when I put it in the garage I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What Chrysler did was bore the block. & did nothing about the pistons, however closed the gap with deeper rings....It sounded like an antique washing machine....After running me around the block & letting them take it to their Zone facility in Tappan NY they came back with an offer to either trade it for an 8 cyl Grand Cherokee or replacing the short block..... I said if I wanted an 8 cyl Grand Cherokee I would have bought one...If I wanted a new short block, I would have bought a high mileage used one...with less than 100 miles I wanted my $$$ back...yeah...good luck...I ended up selling it 2 years later with about 5000 miles...I lost my shirt & could not stand living with the wrap in that engine....Chrysler corrected the problem 1 year later.....So it looks like history is repeating itself....

I was working for them when that campaign was going on. They also gave out Gold Key warranties in lieu of either choice in case nothing happened. Sounds like the same bull. My 2019 6.4 makes the same lifter noise and I use the recommended oil and filter. Needless to say I'm peeved.

 

[boblonben]

Definitely internal...been twisting wrenches 50 years..I know what I heard...I'm on the verge of a rant..This is the second time I got screwed on a Chrysler product with an internal engine problem. Its not like buying a stale bag of potato chips...45k is not pocket change to me & from what I understand this is a design flaw, where a repair is the fix...There is no fix unless I'm missing something....

Think you are over acting here. What oil are you using?? I have two hemi's that sit for weeks not started, then when started they run and sound just fine, with the USUAL start up noice, like ANY motor that has NOT been run for weeks!!!!!!! One motor has 128K on it and the other 166K and NEVER a problem

 

[Alweeja]

24k on my 2015 Hemi, with no issues at All.