I guess it's my turn

[diymirage]

One of my guys took my truck on a snack run the other day ('17 2500)
When he came back it was missing hard, smoking like a chimney and lacking power like a honda

Hoping that it was an injector that hung open I had it towed to the shop...no dice

The cam wiped out and took out 2 cylinders on its way out

Guess I'm getting a new engine

 

[EdGs]

Damn, that sucks.

How did it wipe out 2 cylinders? That happened pretty fast, no?

Praying for as easy a fix as possible for you.

 

[diymirage]

Damn, that sucks.

How did it wipe out 2 cylinders? That happened pretty fast, no?

Praying for as easy a fix as possible for you.

Thanks man

I don't know exactly what happened

The mechanic did a pulse test on the injectors and they all passed

Then they did a compression check and 2 cylinders failed

That's how I believe he diagnosed it


Yeah, it was way quick, best I can tell I had no hemi tick going on (I do have headers, so a little noise exhaust)

Felt like it failed like a switch being thrown

 

[EdGs]

Thanks man

I don't know exactly what happened

The mechanic did a pulse test on the injectors and they all passed

Then they did a compression check and 2 cylinders failed

That's how I believe he diagnosed it


Yeah, it was way quick, best I can tell I had no hemi tick going on (I do have headers, so a little noise exhaust)

Felt like it failed like a switch being thrown

Sounds kinda strange. Do you know which cylinders failed compression?

How many miles on it?

I hope it turns out to be relatively simple.

 

[diymirage]

Sounds kinda strange. Do you know which cylinders failed compression?

How many miles on it?

I hope it turns out to be relatively simple.

No, I didn't ask

I'm somewhere around 160K miles

 

[Burla]

sounds like a head gasket.

gasket fails cylinders next to each other lose compression plus smoke, tbh your mechanic is full of it.

 

[Burla]

Did you already authorize? If not go get the truck for a 2nd opinion. If so well with a head gasket at that mileage not a terrible move getting a new engine. It's like if you really need to be on the cheap with budget, you can fix that probably 3 grans but then you have 3 grand into an aging engines, but I don't like him pulling your chain.

 

[EdGs]

sounds like a head gasket.

gasket fails cylinders next to each other lose compression plus smoke, tbh your mechanic is full of it.

That thought was running through my head, too.

Strange for the gasket to fail without cause? Wonder if it got a little hot. Seen/read about 1/2 dozen Ram radiators going bad (including mine) in the recent past.

 

[Burla]

Well, since he wasn't driving it I have seen plenty of kids driving like a race car blowing the HG. So I'd get on that employee and get some answers. 160k mile hemi yeah I can see some kid blowing that unintentionally.

 

[jws123]

Besides what is mentioned above if you wipe out a cam lobe that cylinder will have low or no compression due to valves not opening not cylinder damage find a new mechanic.

 

[Ken226]

Yea, something is squirrely here.

Cam lobes don't break off, they wear away.

For a cam lobe to suddenly disappear would be pretty much impossible. Wearing away takes time and gives lots of clues, long before you ever get to smoking, no compression, no power and misfiring.

Sudden loss of power, smoke, misfiring and low compression sounds like possibly a head gasket, or a timing chain jumping a tooth or two, or something other than a cam/lifter issue.

 

[noren388]

Once the cam goes like that there’s usually no saving it. On the bright side, at least with a fresh engine you’ll know exactly what you’ve got under the hood and can run it for the long haul

 

[diymirage]

Thanks for all the advise guys

I'm not sure what happened, there were two guys in the truck and the guy NOT driving assured me the driver wasn't acting like an idiot (which is in line with his reputation



I trust my mechanic, when he says it's a mechanical issue, I believe him

Might not mean it truly is the cam though

When I stop by there tomorrow I'll try to dig a little deeper

I might even ask em to throw the old engine in the bed when their done and see for myself


For now, the plan is a new engine with 3 years and unlimited miles warranty

 

[metalchewy]

Sorry to hear.

I'd ask them to check the oil for antifreeze. Or take the radiator cap off and start it. If it blows antifreeze all over, they misdiagnosed it.

 

[Burla]

Thanks for all the advise guys

I'm not sure what happened, there were two guys in the truck and the guy NOT driving assured me the driver wasn't acting like an idiot (which is in line with his reputation



I trust my mechanic, when he says it's a mechanical issue, I believe him

Might not mean it truly is the cam though

When I stop by there tomorrow I'll try to dig a little deeper

I might even ask em to throw the old engine in the bed when their done and see for myself


For now, the plan is a new engine with 3 years and unlimited miles warranty

If your ok with it we ok with it

That old engine might cost you, most of the time they want the core, so that might be a core charge. I do give the guy credit for doing those tests, many times mechanics would say new engine when they see something like that. At least he did the tests.

 

[diymirage]

If your ok with it we ok with it

That old engine might cost you, most of the time they want the core, so that might be a core charge. I do give the guy credit for doing those tests, many times mechanics would say new engine when they see something like that. At least he did the tests.

Good point ...but he was gonna charge me to tear it down and inspect it too, so we'll see

 

[jws123]

Once the cam goes like that there’s usually no saving it. On the bright side, at least with a fresh engine you’ll know exactly what you’ve got under the hood and can run it for the long haul

100% false I do cam swaps all the time never had a failure after some people are just paranoid

 

[Docwagon1776]

Sooo...6.4 swap?

 

[diymirage]

Sooo...6.4 swap?

The mechanic said it wouldn't play nice with the transmission, but we are getting a hotter cam and a fresh tune

 

[jws123]

The mechanic said it wouldn't play nice with the transmission, but we are getting a hotter cam and a fresh tune

if you have the 8 speed its not a problem people do this swap all the time hoever its costly$$$ .I looked into it myself for my 2014 and it costs more then the trucks worth and thats with me doing the work lmao. Better off sticking with that 5.7 and a nice cam.