Lifters or Manifold

[2014RamCanada]

2014 Ram 5.7

Friend brought his truck over and I noticed it had a noticeable tick to it.

I checked the exhaust manifolds and no broken studs. Could it be the gasket or does this more sound like the lifters? As you can hear in the video the tick does increase with rpms.

He said it has been like this for a long time and thought it was normal.

We went for a drive and after about 5 minutes of driving once the engine warmed up the ticking disappeared.

He runs Amsoil SS 5w20 with six filter.

April 10, 2025

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[jws123]

How many miles on it?

Time for lifters thats not exhaust its about to break a roller off of a lifter 100% its nothing else. some people will say try oil addatives however its to late for this one. I would stop driving it so you can save the engine and just do a cam swap/lifters also 5W30 better.

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

I agree, that sounds like lifters to me.

 

[2014RamCanada]

How many miles on it?

Time for lifters thats not exhaust its about to break a roller off of a lifter 100% its nothing else. some people will say try oil addatives however its to late for this one. I would stop driving it so you can save the engine and just do a cam swap/lifters also 5W30 better.

Only has 165000 kms.

 

[jws123]

Only has 165000 kms.

It must have high idle hours and or lack of oil changes should be done every 4-5k Miles whatever that is in KMS

 

[2014RamCanada]

It must have high idle hours and or lack of oil changes should be done every 4-5k Miles whatever that is in KMS

Ya i mentioned to him how often he did oil changes and he said every 5000- 7000km. He has had the truck since new and mechanic even told him couple years ago that its normal on the truck. Maybe it wasn't as severe then; im not sure. He sent me a video of it from 5 years ago and it sounds identical to what it sounds like now.

 

[jws123]

a tick is normal that noise is not.

 

[MyNewRam]

You got a diesel 1500? in all seriousness, don’t start that thing until it’s fixed.

 

[2014RamCanada]

You got a diesel 1500? in all seriousness, don’t start that thing until it’s fixed.

Haha ya I told him to not drive it. He says its been like that for 5 years. I did my part at least lol.

 

[MyNewRam]

Haha ya I told him to not drive it. He says its been like that for 5 years. I did my part at least lol.

You’re a good friend!

That’s crazy it’s been sounding like that for so long. #bulletproof

 

[Ken226]

Haha ya I told him to not drive it. He says its been like that for 5 years. I did my part at least lol.

If it's been like that for 5 years,

and the ticking goes away after 5 minutes, when the engine warms up,

then it's probably an exhaust manifold leak.

It sounds like ****, but maybe the video or the mic used to record it is making it sound worse than it is.



You said you "checked and no broken studs". How well did you check? because the ones that hold the heat shield don't just fall out when broken. A nut holds them in place. They can fool you with a visual only inspection. Give the heat shield a pull and see if it moves.

Put a socket on the ones that have a nut, see how loose they feel.

 

[2014RamCanada]

If it's been like that for 5 years,

and the ticking goes away after 5 minutes, when the engine warms up,

then it's probably an exhaust manifold leak.

It sounds like ****, but maybe the video or the mic used to record it is making it sound worse than it is.



You said you "checked and no broken studs". How well did you check? because the ones that hold the heat shield don't just fall out when broken. A nut holds them in place. They can fool you with a visual only inspection. Give the heat shield a pull and see if it moves.

Put a socket on the ones that have a nut, see how loose they feel.

I was actually just in the process if checking them. Got the plastic wheel wells off and checked the 4 holding the heat shields on and they feel tight. I know its usually the back passenger side that goes first but I dont see anything wrong with them. Some say they can Crack as well which can give a **** sound until the metal expands to close the gap.

The fact that it disappears when warm has me thinking its not the lifters. When one of mine went on my newer hemi, it was there all the time. But then I've read that sometimes lifter tick does goes away when engine hot. ;shrugs hmm

 

[EdGs]

That sounds like sh*t. But if it goes away when warm, it would seem to be an exhaust manifold/bolt problem.

Plus, with years of that happening, I would think a lifter going out would not last that long at all.

You may just find broken manifold bolts or even a cracked manifold.

I wonder if exhaust manifold bolts other than the corners are broken.

 

[jws123]

try and get a vid of it when its hot/the noise is gone

 

[2014RamCanada]

try and get a vid of it when its hot/the noise is gone

So here is a video of it after of 5 minutes of driving. I took the valve covers over and nothing really out of the ordinary for "play". When my lifter caved in the lobe there was alot of play!

April 11, 2025

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youtu.be

 

[2014RamCanada]

So here is a video of it after of 5 minutes of driving. I took the valve covers over and nothing really out of the ordinary for "play". When my lifter caved in the lobe there was alot of play!

April 11, 2025

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All I hear is the normal injector tick.

 

[Ken226]

That sounds like sh*t. But if it goes away when warm, it would seem to be an exhaust manifold/bolt problem.

Plus, with years of that happening, I would think a lifter going out would not last that long at all.

You may just find broken manifold bolts or even a cracked manifold.

I wonder if exhaust manifold bolts other than the corners are broken.

On my last manifold job, back in July of last year, I had 2 middle bolts that were still there, but snapped off when I started to remove them.

They were partially broken, leaking, but just hadn't snapped and fallen off yet

 

[2014RamCanada]

On my last manifold job, back in July of last year, I had 2 middle bolts that were still there, but snapped off when I started to remove them.

They were partially broken, leaking, but just hadn't snapped and fallen off yet

Maybe tonight ill get him to bring it over again and we can take a better look at them. Take the shields right off and get a socket on them.

 

[EdGs]

On my last manifold job, back in July of last year, I had 2 middle bolts that were still there, but snapped off when I started to remove them.

They were partially broken, leaking, but just hadn't snapped and fallen off yet

Mine only broke the rearmost stud on both sides, but the manifolds were warped and twisted a bit. It sounded like sh*t, and I procrastinated on it for about 40k miles....lol

I have heard of some that warp really bad.

Nothing that some time on the good ole belt sander won't fix, though.

Maybe tonight ill get him to bring it over again and we can take a better look at them. Take the shields right off and get a socket on them.

Best of luck to you and your buddy for a simple and lasting fix.

 

[2014RamCanada]

Mine only broke the rearmost stud on both sides, but the manifolds were warped and twisted a bit. I've heard of some that warp really bad.

Nothing that some time on the good ole belt sander won't fix, though.



Best of luck to you and your buddy for a simple and lasting fix.

Thanks man. He doesn't seem concerned but I like working on things and told him to leave the truck with me this weekend. I do got a set of exhaust manifolds that I got honed so I may just throw them on for him.
Here's another video I just took after a 15 minute drive.

April 11, 2025

youtu.be