Is ticking "normal" or a lifter problem?

[Chad Cunningham]

So reading lots of posts I am confused...

I picked up a 2016 5.7 Ram and it has some light ticking at startup that goes away after a few minutes. The truck has 86k miles so was driven a lot during it's 3 year lease (was a local lease return).

I see tons of posts all over the internet saying the "hemi tick" is normal, they all do it, redline oil may help but that it doesn't seem to affect engine life and isn't really a problem.

I see plenty of other posts saying this is a sign of lifter failure and you need a new cam and lifter replacement.

So which is it and how can I tell? Having just bought it I could still add on an extended warranty, and I'm debating if it's worth it. I don't really care about the noise, doesn't bug me, but I'm worried it's a sign that thousands of dollars of repairs are coming my way...

 

[madtrucker2016]

They want you to think it is normal.When it ticks their are some loose parts involved internally that after the heat up and expand from the heat quite down to a level you cant hear. But if you put a mechanic stethoscope on the engine you will hear is plan as day.

 

[Burla]

When redline kills tick that wont extend engine life? I didn't see the evidence on that one, in fact the exact opposite. Long term wear uoa's on redline are incredible, wear drops like a rock when ticking stops. When you have lifter tick, you have three choices, keep using what makes it tick, use redline and most likely the tick will be gone, or try something else. Do some research, develop a strategy and test it. That is how we found redline kills tick, and if redline can do that, I'm pretty sure many other things can do that as well. Modern oils have additives helpful to this taken out of the formula, so additives might just be the ticket.

It's either lifters or exhaust bolts. If when you change the oil there is zero change to the symptoms, likely it is exhaust bolts. You have to get down there and tighten them or see if they are loose. You have have to take away the shield.

 

[Chad Cunningham]

Hmmm I guess I should check the bolts, I was thinking it was a longer lived tick but I just went out and tried after sitting overnight and it really only lasts 30 seconds or so. Also sounds like it's coming from lower down on the driver's side of the engine which would be the exhaust manifold...

 

[Burla]

sounds like exhaust bolts to me, which is good news...

 

[ChevySlayer69]

Lifter tick is louder and more noticeable, and goes away completely in a few seconds, unless its a failed lifter which would be persistent. You probably have a broken manifold bolt. I would fix it sooner rather than later to prevent the manifold from warping. Get under the truck and check the 2 bolts closest to the firewall on either side.

 

[Burla]

The one issue with exhaust bolts is you need to be careful fixing it because if you drill the region to far it is very easy to go into coolant passage, or maybe even oil passage. So use dealer, or if you do it yourself use one f these....

 

[Tim Garceau]

A high percentage of the time they will break(heat shield bolts) flush with the manifold flange and you can get vice grips on to remove.

If it is on the exhaust head plane, the best method is to build up a weld with a nut and washer as the heat will also break any corrosion formed. Drilling and *extracting is risky in that tight of an area with an extractor, but can be done with the proper tools.

 

[Chad Cunningham]

Yeah if it was just replacing a broken bolt I'd DIY it but I don't want to risk damaging the block trying to extract a bolt myself...

Is this better to have the dealer do vs an independent shop?

 

[ChevySlayer69]

Yeah if it was just replacing a broken bolt I'd DIY it but I don't want to risk damaging the block trying to extract a bolt myself...

Is this better to have the dealer do vs an independent shop?

I would try and have dealer fix for free despite being past the 60k warranty.

 

[Chad Cunningham]

That seems unlikely... I know it's a common problem but seems unlikely the dealer would take pity on me short of a recall or something.

 

[Burla]

Yeah if it was just replacing a broken bolt I'd DIY it but I don't want to risk damaging the block trying to extract a bolt myself...

Is this better to have the dealer do vs an independent shop?

dealer does a lot of these and are much easier to sue if something goes wrong, there are a few things I would use dealer for, this is one, unless you can get bolt out easy and it ends up not being stripped.

 

[madtrucker2016]

Ive seen a guy weld a long bolt to the broken bolt on the block ,then he was able to unscrew it with a ratchet and socket

 

[HammerHead]

Hmmm I guess I should check the bolts, I was thinking it was a longer lived tick but I just went out and tried after sitting overnight and it really only lasts 30 seconds or so. Also sounds like it's coming from lower down on the driver's side of the engine which would be the exhaust manifold...

Id like to hear another video at hot/normal operating temperature. I think I can hear a slight metal on metal noise.

 

[Chad Cunningham]

I'll record another one tomorrow when it's cold. That one was on the driver side but I realized it's actually coming from the passenger side and once you move around there it sounds to me very much more like an exhaust leak than a ticking sound. But I'll record it cold tomorrow and post up a video from that side.

 

[Tim Garceau]

Grab a 13mm socket or combo wrench and I bet one of the heat shield bolts on that side spins easily.

 

[Chad Cunningham]

Here's what it sounds like on the passenger side. To me it definitely sounds more like the puffing of exhaust than a metallic sound.


And here's from both sides once warmed up:

 

[HammerHead]

Here's what it sounds like on the passenger side. To me it definitely sounds more like the puffing of exhaust than a metallic sound.


And here's from both sides once warmed up:

Yep definitely an exhaust manifold bolt. That’s great news! Had the same thing on my 2013 5.7.

 

[CVX20]

If you're looking for an exhaust noise the easiest way is to drop it into gear and with your foot on the brake load the engine up a bit(give it some throttle).Or get some one to hold a rag over the exhaust and then listen to the side of the engine with the noise.I'm betting that loading the engine will make it pretty obvious.

Either way a lifter tick or an exhaust leak is not normal and don't let anyone(service adviser etc..)BS you that it is.And like someone else said if you can hear a tick in the valve train it's wearing parts all the time it's ticking.

My 2015 SLT only had the tick a few times for a very short time in 4 years of ownership when it was extremely cold.My new 2019 Classic Express does it when it's even moderately cold and lasts longer.At times like this I wish I would've kept the 15 because I know FCA is gonna blow me off if I push it.And who wants their brand new motor torn apart by some tech trying to beat the warr. time FCA has set out anyway?

 

[Chad Cunningham]

So I took it over to a local shop I've used before because I fear dealer prices. They're telling me it's the valves making the noise... They also told me at first that they couldn't hear the noise on startup even after letting it sit overnight which I find hard to believe. I think I might have to bite the bullet and go to the local dealer and pay their prices, it 100% sounds like an exhaust leak to me and not valve ticking.