Lifter failure preventions?

[Shawn Burns]

I got your point,but again the oil interval question, why and what was the reason to come up with synthetic oil?much better lubrication, faster spray in all engine parts at start,heat resistance and much better longevity of this oil,and I am a 100% sure that after 3000 miles with full synthetic oil,nothing is wrong with it,the lab proofing that allready, guys send oil samples even after 10.000 miles and the result was not bad at all,in other words,we are throwing out good quality oil way to soone because of the hemi engine.

To me, it doesn't matter that a lab says the oil still has life left. I am an avid motorcyclist. I use $16 quart oil in my track bike that I change after 4 track days. This is the consensus of my peers. We all change it at this interval. The oil looks new when changed. I am sure that lab would say that it is still capable of protecting an engine. The bike is run a high RPM (15k rpm!) and at full throttle for much of a 20 minute session. My dirtbike is the same. The oil looks new when chaged after a very short interval.

I realize that motorcycle engines and cars engines are different because the oild isn't used in the transmissions of cars. The similarity that I see is how the oil is used to protect under difficult circumstances. Hemi engines require lubrication at low oil pressure, low rpm situations. Motorcycles have to lubricate the transmission and also sustain high RPM.

I change mine in my Ram after 5k miles using PUP 5w30 and the big RP filter. I am trying lubeguard for my next oil change, since I plan on keeping the truck for at least 10 more years before I buy it's replacement.

On a sidenote, a fumoto valve makes oil changes simple. I don't even have to lift my truck to change the oil. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HP5V092/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Mikeffoxford]

Hello everyone, I am currently having my truck fixed of a lifter issue, along with a messed up camshaft from it. Any tips of preventing this from happening again? I’ve heard idle as less as possible, change oil frequently 4000 miles intervals. Now oil I use is a mopar filter and pennzoil full synthetic 5w20 high mileage. My truck has 150k atm. If y’all recommend anything that could help prevent it from happening again I’m all ears

I have a 2013 Ram express and at 109,000 miles had bad misfire on cyl 5 dealer wanted 9700 for new motor and has cam and lifters replaced 1300 dodge knew had bad cams but no recall if there is a class action lawsuit I’m in

 

[farout75]

Hello everyone, I am currently having my truck fixed of a lifter issue, along with a messed up camshaft from it. Any tips of preventing this from happening again? I’ve heard idle as less as possible, change oil frequently 4000 miles intervals. Now oil I use is a mopar filter and pennzoil full synthetic 5w20 high mileage. My truck has 150k atm. If y’all recommend anything that could help prevent it from happening again I’m all ears

Our 17 RAM has high idle hours. I change the oil at the RAM dealer as close to 6,000 miles as I can. I am going by the book on when things need to be done, plugs and PVC changes at 100,000, engine air filters and so forth. Our RAM has almost 116,000 miles and at 120,000 the axels, trans, transfer case will all get new fluids. We have the MOPAR MAX 84 month unlimited miles warranty. So until Oct. 2024 WE are driving this RAM to that point. Maybe even beyond if it's still doing good. Sticking with Pennzoil may not happen as We are switching to a place that is more reasonable for some services compared to the dealer. EXAMPLE... to change the trans fluid the dealer wants $550. where the shop near us will fo the axels, trans, transfer case and axels for $560. SO we will go to the dealer for warranty issues only, the dealer wanted $1,500 for brake job, the shop did it for less than half.

 

[Boondox]

Hello everyone, I am currently having my truck fixed of a lifter issue, along with a messed up camshaft from it. Any tips of preventing this from happening again? I’ve heard idle as less as possible, change oil frequently 4000 miles intervals. Now oil I use is a mopar filter and pennzoil full synthetic 5w20 high mileage. My truck has 150k atm. If y’all recommend anything that could help prevent it from happening again I’m all ears

I have a 2010 ram 1500 4.7 158,000 miles, I changed the oil every 3k miles after it hit 120,000 I’ve been changing the oil every 2k miles, I use penzoil 5-20 full synthetic high mileage, no ticks, or knocks, only on cold start is there a small tick/knock for about 20-30 seconds then it’s gone. Over kill on the oil changes, or extended the life of the engibe. Don’t know, but I’m a stickler on changing my oil.

 

[Dusty]

If it’s a design flaw as some suspect, there is no prevention. IMHO, it’s a quality control issue. Hence why some hemi engine run 200000 miles plus without incident and some get new lifters and cam under warranty.

There are a number of variables that impact the vastly different results from different trucks and people. The two which seem to me to get the least talk-time in the equation are driving habits and maintenance.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver 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 79480 miles

 

[pastorjeep]

I was one of those "I change every 3k with full syn 5w-30" folks and thought it was a maintenance issue people were having. Nope, at 144K cyl 5 misfire and you know the rest. Every lobe on my cam had the chrome plating flaking of, one lobe and lifter wiped out and one about to go. I am 40K on the repair. We will see... There is little variable. Between 120-150 about 80% of Hemi's have this issue. Either a oiling issue or component quality issue.

 

[Harley Harrold]

Some oil filter information:

Champion Laboratories, Inc. is the Private Label Supplier for Over 30 Private Label Automotive and Heavy-Duty Filter Lines.

We are a producer and distributor of a full spectrum of filtration products, from premium retail brands that are sold to many of the nation’s top automotive retailers to world-class, competitively priced products supporting nationally known private brands.

Champion Laboratories offers a full range of OE filtration solutions including air, oil (spin-on and cartridge), cabin air and fuel. Many of the world’s top vehicle and engine manufacturers rely on our quality and expertise for their OE filtration needs.

Our products are the preferred installed and aftermarket filters for several major manufacturers in the automotive, motorcycle, marine, heavy duty, small engine and powersports industries.

The AMSOIL oil filter is basically the same as the Royal Purple extended life oil filter. The only difference is that the AMSOIL filters cost more and don’t sport a fancy purple paint job. If you need further proof, they are both made by Champion Labs.

 

[DILLIGAF]

I was one of those "I change every 3k with full syn 5w-30" folks and thought it was a maintenance issue people were having.

The used oil analyst thread is pretty clear that changing your oil every 3-5K is a waste of money. Specially guys that run PUP 5w30 or RL 5W30

What's even funnier is guys will waste a fortune on good oil but wont bump the idle up to 750 RPM, Its literally the only thing that will actually help with the issue. Or guys that still run 5w20 even after all the post about how useless it is in a HEMI.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

5w30 for sure

Another thing I do is to always let the oil move around and wait for the idle rpm to drop from 1400-1500 down to 1k when the engine is cold. On the day mine failed, I remember throwing it into R right after the first crank of the autumn morning. Never again.

30k and 7 oil changes on the rebuild, have not seen anything ugly come out in the oil so at least they got all the metal shavings out.

 

[Rambo71]

2015 Express: 109,000 miles, 516 idle hours, 2829 driving hours, Avg 16-17 MPG, all maintenance by the book, oil changes when indicated on the display, no additives, no tick. Pretty much drive it like it's stolen. First brake job at 105k, $60 brake job in the gravel driveway. No garage, sits outside year round in the Lower Shen Valley/Blue Ridge. I hear about all the mods and different oils and upgrades for this and that. Doesnt seem like anything actually helps. If it happens it happens. That what the extended warranty is for.

 

[Floyd1979]

2009 Dodge Ram Crewcab Rambox Lonestar, 442,150 when I sold it in 2019 .
Around 380,000 MDS went out , while in there replaced cam and lifters.
Life time power train , plus max care .

 

[Floyd1979]

Added: Regular oil , changed at oil intervals on computer.

 

[HEMIMANN]

The used oil analyst thread is pretty clear that changing your oil every 3-5K is a waste of money. Specially guys that run PUP 5w30 or RL 5W30

What's even funnier is guys will waste a fortune on good oil but wont bump the idle up to 750 RPM, Its literally the only thing that will actually help with the issue. Or guys that still run 5w20 even after all the post about how useless it is in a HEMI.

Yeah, but some of us locked in tuners before this thought got out to us masses. So we try not to idle much and use superoils with heavy coating additives.

Really makes me wonder how long I should milk this drama queen engine vs. trying another. If it wasn't such a fatal flaw, I wouldn't care so much. Starting over with a different truck / engine is a whole 'nother gamble with flaws that one might not know about prior to buying.

GM 6.6. is a dog (so I've read), Ford 10 sp transmission all sorts of problems, but 7.3 engine pretty good. Who wants a diesel anymore with a chemical factory attached to the exhaust, with all the costs and maintenance?

 

[06 Dodge]

5w30 for sure

Another thing I do is to always let the oil move around and wait for the idle rpm to drop from 1400-1500 down to 1k when the engine is cold. On the day mine failed, I remember throwing it into R right after the first crank of the autumn morning. Never again.

I see most of my neighbors jump in there vehicles an with in 30 seconds of engine start up they slam it into gear & take off, its that time of the year where we will be hearing the BS on the radio reminding people there is no need to warm up their engine, sitting there waste gas, you get zero mpg sitting, by driving it slowly the engine warms up faster then sitting, around here they have no idea of what slow driving after start up is, its get the car onto the street drive 1.5 blocks to mail road and hammer it... I've taught the wife to treat her gas engine like if she was in my diesel truck, let it sit a few minutes after start up to warm up & for the oil to circulate and then drive slowly to the main road, then keep the rpm's under 2K until she gets to the faster 50 mph speed zone a few miles away..

 

[ramffml]

The used oil analyst thread is pretty clear that changing your oil every 3-5K is a waste of money. Specially guys that run PUP 5w30 or RL 5W30

What's even funnier is guys will waste a fortune on good oil but wont bump the idle up to 750 RPM, Its literally the only thing that will actually help with the issue. Or guys that still run 5w20 even after all the post about how useless it is in a HEMI.

I've looked into setting my idle speed, apparently HP Tuners is the only way to go and thats a high entry price. First you need to get your ECU unlocked by sending it away(?) (so your truck is dead for a few weeks while that gets shipped around), then you need to purchase the software and a special cable just for FCA trucks, then you need to know what you're doing within the software too.

It's not a quick/painless thing to try, or I'd have done it already.

 

[Dusty]

I was one of those "I change every 3k with full syn 5w-30" folks and thought it was a maintenance issue people were having. Nope, at 144K cyl 5 misfire and you know the rest. Every lobe on my cam had the chrome plating flaking of, one lobe and lifter wiped out and one about to go. I am 40K on the repair. We will see... There is little variable. Between 120-150 about 80% of Hemi's have this issue. Either a oiling issue or component quality issue.

While your experience is most unfortunate, the 80% claim is a pretty wild exaggeration.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver 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 79514 miles

 

[HEMIMANN]

Well, engine "warmup" is a relative term, yeah? Cold load isn't good - not all the machine elements have adequate lubricant flow at that point. High value engines (hundreds of thousands of dollars) are oftentimes pre-lubricated via a separate hydrostatic oil pump before they are turned over.

I think what advisors are saying is there is no need to warm up an engine today to the point where a carburetor won't stall under load, right? So, only a few minutes to lube the engine adequately instead of the 5-15 minutes for a carbureted engine in a cold climate.

 

[Burla]

Yeah, but some of us locked in tuners before this thought got out to us masses. So we try not to idle much and use superoils with heavy coating additives.

Really makes me wonder how long I should milk this drama queen engine vs. trying another. If it wasn't such a fatal flaw, I wouldn't care so much. Starting over with a different truck / engine is a whole 'nother gamble with flaws that one might not know about prior to buying.

GM 6.6. is a dog (so I've read), Ford 10 sp transmission all sorts of problems, but 7.3 engine pretty good. Who wants a diesel anymore with a chemical factory attached to the exhaust, with all the costs and maintenance?

maybe go get a HO cummins with low miles?

 

[Jeepwalker]

I don't warm mine up all that long. Less than a minute in 3 seasons, ...except when it gets real cold in the winter ...then, maybe a couple minutes at most ..and not always. I do have maybe 1/4 mile of local 25mph driving till I hit the hwy ...and sometimes a short wait at the stop sign there (which helps warm up). Then it's 55-60 mph right off the bat.

All of my vehicles have gone well over 200k, usually close to 300k (and some over that), until I get rid of them or they rust out. I've never had an engine fail or start burning a lot of oil. And that's running Citgo dino oil which is pretty much what I used in all my vehicles (except the Ram) for the last 40 years. I've had a few head gaskets fail (aluminum heads) ..and the engines looked good and clean inside.

So I think the idea you need to let the engines warm up quite a while for longevity is overblown. What do mfgrs say... 15 seconds? I guess I should see what the Ram manual states. Idling a cold engine a long time repeatedly loads them up with carbon and crud inside from what I've seen. But the moisture build-up inside probably gets cleaned out if a guy gets on the highway for a while after that.

 

[CAGEYAR]

2009 Dodge Ram Crewcab Rambox Lonestar, 442,150 when I sold it in 2019 .
Around 380,000 MDS went out , while in there replaced cam and lifters.
Life time power train , plus max care .

That's awesome-442.150 miles. That's my plan with my 2017. Lifetime lasts 999,999 miles (actually, that's as high as the FCA computers could go). Did your plan cover cams and lifters as well?