Poll: How many Hemi owners actually experience the tick?

[MontanaHandyman]

Bought my '14 used with 40k on it. The dealer always did the oil changes with the 5w20. After purchasing, I had them do a few free oil changes, then came across this site, changed to RL 5w30 (0w30 in the winter) an' no ticks yet at 95k... keepin' my fingers crossed an' knockin' on wood!

 

[Jim113]

I'm on my third RAM Longhorn (2013, 2017, 2020 5th Gen all new) and never had the tick in any of them ...
I used 5W20 Mobil 1 extended performance or Castrol Edge extended performance synthetic oil in all of them ... Whether that made a difference or not, I can't say ... ‍

 

[Cadillackid]

so I had 3 HEMI Rams (5.7) , all acquired brand new and leased 3 years.. first one i think was a 10, and it never had the tick, I had it for about 38,000 miles.. 2nd one was a 2017 and it got the light ticking at idle when warmed up.. started about 10K or so and it never got worse or made it run bad.. just a light idle tick.. then I had a 2022 that I got in late 21.. it got the tick around 8K or so but was intermittent until 15K then was all the time.. again just a light tick and never got worse. both the 17 and the 22 had a Lot of idling hours on them.. esp the 22 as i got it and used for work during the latter parts of covid where certain cities i travelled alot seemed to think restaraunt dining rooms were still the enemy so I idled that thing a bunch esp when i first got it in winter of 21/22. now I have a 25 (with of course NoHemi. it has an etorque 3.6).. the 3.6 is quiet (got the truck in november and it has 4K) but runs terrible.. just idles rough pretty consistently.. so about now id gladly have my ticky ticky HEMI back because it at least ran right..

 

[RonABQ]

2015 bought used in ‘17 with 14k miles. Have dealer do oil changes every 10k miles full synthetic. Engine was always “ticky” upon startup then quieted down. Developed exhaust manifold leak maybe 90k miles so swapped out with shorty headers. No ticky since and it’s at 125k miles. I voted NO given survey was looking for cam/lifter related ticking.

 

[AllenClarksbar]

Since the Hemi cam/lifter tick issue leading to major engine work is reported to be caused by poor lubrication where the two rub, especially at idle when there is little splash lubrication, then why don't police Chargers and Durangos fail in huge numbers? I'm assuming they don't or else PD's and highway patrols wouldn't keep buying them.

 

[Ken226]

You might check into 0W40 for the hotter weather climes. The latest on the 6.2L GM truck engines now mandates this viscocity....double the prior oil! The oil geek doea a great job explaining this!

Yea, I saw that video.

Isn't 0w40 already what is spec'd for the 6.4 2500s?

 

[TerraNewf]

My 2019 has no tick with 113700 kms. Manifolds were replaced at 80000kms under warranty. Great truck, oil change every 10000kms I use a wix filter and POP full synthetic. 5W30

 

[cpojohn3]

The number 1 topic on Ram forums seems to be Hemi ticks. It's enough to scare all owners, but yet my last hemi went 120k and no issues. Many others report the same, yet a good number report ticks.

So what might help us all could be to learn how often the tick really occurs? Maybe a poll can offer perspective as to what % of hemi owners experience it.

Do 50% of owners experience it or is it more like 5% etc?

We shall see.

I have 4000 miles on my 24' Laramie and I'm starting to hear a slight tick. Have not investigated it yet. May just be an exhaust manifold needs retorque.

 

[demonram]

2011 Sport. I never had a tick at all, but at around 92,000 miles, the cam and lifters had to be replaced. Ram Cares made a deal with me to fix the truck if I would pay a 10% co-pay. Would have been a fool not to. Mechanic who did the work told me to run the truck with the oil he put in for about 2 weeks, then change it. I went to Pennzoil Full Synthetic 5W-30 and Fram filter. 170,000 miles on it now and it still runs great, starts great, drives great. I honestly think the 5W-20 oil contributes to the cam/lifter failure.

 

[Beech35]

My Ram 2500 with a 392 had to have the camshaft replaced at 170K miles.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Yea, I saw that video.

Isn't 0w40 already what is spec'd for the 6.4 2500s?

It adds up. This way, the manufacturers can continue to use lesser top-notch machine finishes. When automation pushed men with pride in their work out of the manufacturing process, for the almighty dollar, we mere mortals in the trenches suffer the consequences and the rich get richer.... to whom I refer Forrest Gump's quotation of his "Mamma". " A man only needs so much money, and the rest is just for showing off"!

 

[NikNak]

The number 1 topic on Ram forums seems to be Hemi ticks. It's enough to scare all owners, but yet my last hemi went 120k and no issues. Many others report the same, yet a good number report ticks.

So what might help us all could be to learn how often the tick really occurs? Maybe a poll can offer perspective as to what % of hemi owners experience it.

Do 50% of owners experience it or is it more like 5% etc?

We shall see.

I have two hemi’s… 5.7(2017) & 6.4(2022) both will have an occasional tick on start up but more prevalent on the 5.7(83,000) but it goes away rather soon so not worried.

 

[Wild one]

Since the Hemi cam/lifter tick issue leading to major engine work is reported to be caused by poor lubrication where the two rub, especially at idle when there is little splash lubrication, then why don't police Chargers and Durangos fail in huge numbers? I'm assuming they don't or else PD's and highway patrols wouldn't keep buying them.

If you do some research cop vehicles with the hemi have a pile of cam issues,due to the amount they idle.

 

[Kodabear]

Kodabear- there are two things folks refer to as the hemi tick.

The more common is what you have, which is not exclusive to hemis, but common on them nonetheless. It’s caused by warpage twisting of the cast iron exhaust manifold which causes a gap when cold. Upon warming, it expands and closes some or all of the gap.

The less common is a tick caused by lifters whose roller bearing wears out and destroys the cam lobe, leading to a misfire cylinder and metal chards in the engine. That kind is bad news, and quite a bit more rare, but is the intended focus of this poll.

So you’re saying when I start it and there’s two to four clicks or ticks, this is what everyone is referring to? And is this something to be concerned about? I’m thinking about trading it in on a 2025 3.0 6 cylinder, as that’s what I had before since I don’t really do much much towing at all and I like the gas mileage. Don’t recall my other one doing it and it had about 140k on it.

 

[RCoop]

My old faithful 2012 1500 Big Horn when it reached 160,000 miles was noticeably ticking and found to have lifter and cam damage when brought in for air conditioner repair. No metal found in engine/oil. Replaced both lifter & cam along with the oil pump, evaporator and heater core and just reached 176,000 miles still running like a top & still hauling my horse trailer. Truck still looks good (no rust) and I hope to keep it going for another 100,000.

 

[Udy2554]

My “old” 6.4(‘18 with 67,000) started rattling…new engine! My understanding is it lost a lifter and sent metal through the engine! I drove it 45 minutes at all speeds to the dealer! Warranted!

No tick in the new motor!

Ran 0w 40 Amsoil with Amsoil filter from day one! No issues with pressure except at idle of course!

I don’t remember exact idle percentage, but it was quite high! My dog rides everywhere with me! Idles with heated seat for her in the winter, and in the summer with AC and ventilated seats! Service manager at the dealership said it wasn’t a problem!?!?

 

[MontanaHandyman]

I have two hemi’s… 5.7(2017) & 6.4(2022) both will have an occasional tick on start up but more prevalent on the 5.7(83,000) but it goes away rather soon so not worried.

Could it be the also common manifold issue? Mine did the same, and thankfully it was just the manifolds (both!) and not the lifters.

 

[Burla]

Surprised at this result, we should have done this one before. We are hoovering around 1/3 of all owners experience hemi tick, that is a freakishly high result.

 

[Wild one]

Surprised at this result, we should have done this one before. We are hoovering around 1/3 of all owners experience hemi tick, that is a freakishly high result.

But we're missing the millions that don't have any issues though Mike.
I'm not putting much stock in this poll,as we're a pretty small group,and alot of owners didn't hunt up the site until they had issues,and all the owners with no issues have never found the page

 

[ramffml]

Surprised at this result, we should have done this one before. We are hoovering around 1/3 of all owners experience hemi tick, that is a freakishly high result.

That's why I suggested a new poll, this thread has all kinds of people talking about startup chatter and manifolds. There is no way 33% of respondents had lifter/cam failure.