She’s lived a long and adventurous life

[Barrymcockiner]

I’ll be Ramin or Dodgin until I die. Grew up bouncing around in a loud 24 banger ask my grandpa to flip to the B side of “The best of ZZTOP” bought my dream truck with 24,000 miles on it. 2013 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn. She changed my life, freezing my butt off just to lay my hands on her warm and slick steering wheel. Feeling like I peed my pants as her leather gave the back of my legs 2nd degree burn with the 2 red lights lit up on the seat heater. It’s been all across the country make checks and building what it represents. The American dream. Ate West Texas dust until she went in limp mode. Revved through the West Virginia mountains. Flashed through many major cities on the way. Seen pipeline ROWs, refinery parking lots, and now she’s helping/helped build fords blue oval city and the deep foundations required to uphold Fords big dreams of maybe someday being like the ones who made her. Today it’s 182,476 miles old. I’ve blown her rear end out, front end too (power steering motor) I used to get 18 mile per gallon. Over time it has slowly decreased. 15 has been average over the past 3 years and that’s with a generator and a full full size weather tech toolbox. Past 4 months it bumped down to 10mpg. Now I’m sitting at about 8. Everyone tried to tell me that’s what time does to love. But I don’t believe it. Took it into my own hands and I have, nearly, undressed her. Noticed some kind a of liquid coated it dust and other debris around the fuel rail and intake. After pulling the intake and cleaning it off I discoved it had a slight crack where it joins together. The crack was all the way trough. Every intake, Pcv,below the throttle body. The whole way through. After removing it and waiting on the replacement I have decided to dig deeper. Of course I’ll attach images of most things and hopefully all of you can give me some insights on where to proceed. I have one valve that is hanging open. Can see wear from its 1,000,000,000+ times of popping up and down on the stem. Rest are closed. Popped off passengers side valve cover and saw (attached below) other than the intake and tar on the seats of every valve it didn’t look too bad. Then I scoped the pistons. (Pictures also attached below) mind you I’ve had a tick since I bought it and she always put out a thin amount of smoke at all time of operation. Pistons have splatter of oil on most of them. Some oil pooling in the center, some around the walls. Seen a couple of spots, with a cheap low quality borescope, that COULD (probably not) be very very small contact with valves. At least the cylindrical pattern looks somewhat altered. But the biggest, and possibly worst, thing I have observed is spots on the piston that are gold. I’m stumped on what it is. Could be oil but I don’t think so. Black soot (carbon, oil, idk black soot) on all the pistons except for spots which are golden colored. Could be chipped. Looks like some cylinders are worse than others. Also see something inside a couple of cylinders but very well could be dirt from spark plug holes. Not really any pattern to the spots either. When I get the borescope close it looks like I can still see the fine lines of the cylinder patter than run all over the piston. None of the circumference looks to be cracked. I’ll also add that I have NO CEL, DTCS (cleared or current besides a small Evap leak code that was cleared and never came back) wondering if any of you guys can help me out and give me an idea if I’m delusional or correct on thinking something is detrimentaly wrong. I can tell by how it guzzles has and lack of acceleration at times. I know the broken intake was rough on it, and the overdue spark plugs. Looking at the pictures what do you think? I think oil is definitely leaking from the valve seals. But what about the discoloration on pistons. Spark plug appearance. Valve appearance. Anything is appreciated. Even a “good girl” for the truck that has changed my life and will continue to do that. Whether I can get another 50,000+ miles out of this heart or I have to order a brand new one. I’m keeping the bones. Cost me $100,000+ to get in anything of this quality now. Read these forums for 3 weeks now. Now I need y’all’s magic opinions and inputs. Also added some OBD2 readings. One of which definitely caught my eye. Sensor heater bank 2 sensor 1 reading -30 degrees photos of cylinders are

 

[Burla]

Glad to hear someone who is love with their truck and appreciates it contribution to your life. Looks pretty good man, valves are really clean, you wouldnt expect that at 180k. As for the gold, dunno could be something in air or maybe pcv? Maybe get a used oil analysis from blackstone, they send a kit for free and wrote a check when you send it back. See if there is anything such as coolant in oil or anything else. Look at the bottom of this page to clean up combustion chamber and piston tops, maybe hang a catch can after. It would be great to do next long trip as the exhaust burns it off good on long trips,

 

[Barrymcockiner]

Glad to hear someone who is love with their truck and appreciates it contribution to your life. Looks pretty good man, valves are really clean, you wouldnt expect that at 180k. As for the gold, dunno could be something in air or maybe pcv? Maybe get a used oil analysis from blackstone, they send a kit for free and wrote a check when you send it back. See if there is anything such as coolant in oil or anything else. Look at the bottom of this page to clean up combustion chamber and piston tops, maybe hang a catch can after. It would be great to do next long trip as the exhaust burns it off good on long trips,

Thanks bud! See 100’s of threads with people complaining about their 10 year old 150,000 mile human made motor living its last days. anything past 150k and no internal repairs and it’s my firm belief that it has out lived it’s life. Beautiful truck and a NEAR flawless engine. One day people will miss these as we transition to v-6s and all these other unperfected designs. Would love for others to see this post as an example of how MDS isn’t flawed . Hemi 5.7 isn’t flawed. Transmission isn’t flawed. Owners/operators are flawed.

 

[A_mod_too_far]

Thanks bud! See 100’s of threads with people complaining about their 10 year old 150,000 mile human made motor living its last days. anything past 150k and no internal repairs and it’s my firm belief that it has out lived it’s life. Beautiful truck and a NEAR flawless engine. One day people will miss these as we transition to v-6s and all these other unperfected designs. Would love for others to see this post as an example of how MDS isn’t flawed . Hemi 5.7 isn’t flawed. Transmission isn’t flawed. Owners/operators are flawed.

Thanks bud! See 100’s of threads with people complaining about their 10 year old 150,000 mile human made motor living its last days. anything past 150k and no internal repairs and it’s my firm belief that it has out lived it’s life. Beautiful truck and a NEAR flawless engine. One day people will miss these as we transition to v-6s and all these other unperfected designs. Would love for others to see this post as an example of how MDS isn’t flawed . Hemi 5.7 isn’t flawed. Transmission isn’t flawed. Owners/operators are flawed.

I'll agree that the entitlement of boomers complaining about the warranties issues on their new trucks is hilarious. However I think a lot of the 4th gen complaints come from a place of desperation as these are our daily drivers for many of us. But I do love my mine despite the money I've had to spend on repairs. I have the 6 speed transmission that everyone craps on, but after mine was upgraded and rebuilt it's the smoothest shifting transmission I've ever driven.

 

[HEMIMANN]

That motor looks great for that mileage. Plugs look normally worn.

If a cracked intake at the head you might have put some coolant in the oil, look at journal bearings - crank and mains. That engine could probably be rebuilt.

I've gotta ask - those intake valve stems are so clean, have you always used Top Tier gasoline?

 

[Barrymcockiner]

That motor looks great for that mileage. Plugs look normally worn.

If a cracked intake at the head you might have put some coolant in the oil, look at journal bearings - crank and mains. That engine could probably be rebuilt.

I've gotta ask - those intake valve stems are so clean, have you always used Top Tier gasoline?

I’ll be honest. Maybe 1/30 tanks was really top tier fuel. Been multiple times shes went 4,000+ past the 3,000 mile oil change interval. Been a quart and a half low plenty of times. I haven’t babied it. I treat it like what it is, a truck. Been buried up to the axles in sand. At one point it into limp mode because of dust in the air filter. 1000 idle hours, which I find to be on the low end of accurate. My daily driver. Only thing I have really done with what I feed it is put marvel mystery oil in the tank every so often. Only thing I can equate to this engine being so clean and in all around good condition, is the engine itself. Until here recently I put forth no effort to maintain the inards of this truck. Kind of worried that my effort to treat it right is what will actually lead to its demise lol.

Popes the new intake on. Relearned the throttle. Relearned the cam position. Getting 14mpg so far. Will see I had a few misfires on the first 3-4 starts. Nothing that set off a CEL or any indication beyond the misfire count on my scan tool (61 total between 3 cylinders) tools does show under cam shaft position results “exhaust cam slow response test value .09” and my spark advance is all over the place unless I relearn the cam after every stop. I will say I think a contributor to those misfires are dirty injectors. Supposed to get Mopar (OEM or die) ones in tomorrow.

 

[pacofortacos]

The gold is just a coloring of the light - looks like just a spot of clean piston dome area to me.

Needs valve seals most likely and a good valve job.
If you haven't replaced the O2 sensors, they are way overdue IMO.

Catch can will cut down on oil going through the intake BUT you do need to remember to empty it every 1-2000 miles or so - if you forget to then you will send a slug of oil through the intake instead of the constant mist.

What is picture

90509FA6-27B5-44AE-8FEC-3D2BAE48F227.jpeg of????​

 

[HEMIMANN]

I’ll be honest. Maybe 1/30 tanks was really top tier fuel. Been multiple times shes went 4,000+ past the 3,000 mile oil change interval. Been a quart and a half low plenty of times. I haven’t babied it. I treat it like what it is, a truck. Been buried up to the axles in sand. At one point it into limp mode because of dust in the air filter. 1000 idle hours, which I find to be on the low end of accurate. My daily driver. Only thing I have really done with what I feed it is put marvel mystery oil in the tank every so often. Only thing I can equate to this engine being so clean and in all around good condition, is the engine itself. Until here recently I put forth no effort to maintain the inards of this truck. Kind of worried that my effort to treat it right is what will actually lead to its demise lol.

Popes the new intake on. Relearned the throttle. Relearned the cam position. Getting 14mpg so far. Will see I had a few misfires on the first 3-4 starts. Nothing that set off a CEL or any indication beyond the misfire count on my scan tool (61 total between 3 cylinders) tools does show under cam shaft position results “exhaust cam slow response test value .09” and my spark advance is all over the place unless I relearn the cam after every stop. I will say I think a contributor to those misfires are dirty injectors. Supposed to get Mopar (OEM or die) ones in tomorrow.

Ok, well, you used extra detergent in your fuel of some sort. MMO is known to be heavy detergent additized. I dumped some in my old Chevy 5.3 V8 oil pumper engine (oil pan) to unstick the piston rings. It worked - oil consumption went way way down. Then I dumped that defective engine!

Guys that want to dump detergent in their gas every so often is like going to the dentist and never brushing your teeth beforehand. Yeah, they can get you mostly clean, but you don't function well inbetween. Regular use of Top Tier gas keeps engines running well every day.

 

[gfh77665]

I know this won't change your mind, but I would move on and fall in love with a new version. You MORE than got your moneys worth, and you might have reached an inflection point where extream fuel cost plus repairs make it a losing game to continue playing.

As much as we "feel" about our vehicles, they really don't have any "feelings" of their own to reciprocate. They are mechanical items that don't feel cold, heat or wet. They don't "feel" appreciated, neglected, hated, or loved. They are just metal, plastics and glass. So get a newer, better, more efficient vehicle. The time for this one to go will come sooner or later anyway. Nothing lasts forever.

 

[Barrymcockiner]

I know this won't change your mind, but I would move on and fall in love with a new version. You MORE than got your moneys worth, and you might have reached an inflection point where extream fuel cost plus repairs make it a losing game to continue playing.

As much as we "feel" about our vehicles, they really don't have any "feelings" of their own to reciprocate. They are mechanical items that don't feel cold, heat or wet. They don't "feel" appreciated, neglected, hated, or loved. They are just metal, plastics and glass. So get a newer, better, more efficient vehicle. The time for this one to go will come sooner or later anyway. Nothing lasts forever.

It is definitely a logical idea to move on. But I also find it pretty logical to stick it out. It’s payed off. If I wanted to get into a new vehicle I’m looking at $600-$800/ mo ($60,000+) and that won’t get me the quality and features I have now. Brand new long block from molar would cost me around $10,000. Cost of gas doesn’t factor into my evaluation because A. It’s pretty insignificant once you really run the numbers compared to a new vehicle. And B. I don’t pay for my fuel. Ever. Company fuel card. More or less trying to prevent any downtime from a future breakdown.

 

[Barrymcockiner]

The gold is just a coloring of the light - looks like just a spot of clean piston dome area to me.

Needs valve seals most likely and a good valve job.
If you haven't replaced the O2 sensors, they are way overdue IMO.

Catch can will cut down on oil going through the intake BUT you do need to remember to empty it every 1-2000 miles or so - if you forget to then you will send a slug of oil through the intake instead of the constant mist.

What is picture

90509FA6-27B5-44AE-8FEC-3D2BAE48F227.jpeg of????​

That is throttle body side of intake manifold. And that is sand from west Texas from 3 years ago lol. Pulling the trigger on a catch can tomorrow! O2 sensors too. Kind of thought the same. Labor costs to replace the seals are identical to replacing the valves.

 

[gofishn]

Buy a new long block, from Mopar.
Pull that engine, tear it down, get it worked on and have fun building your next engine.

Forget teh plastic intake, go with the 6.4 intake and never worry about cracks again.

 

[pacofortacos]

That is throttle body side of intake manifold. And that is sand from west Texas from 3 years ago lol. Pulling the trigger on a catch can tomorrow! O2 sensors too. Kind of thought the same. Labor costs to replace the seals are identical to replacing the valves.

Haha no wonder it didn't look familiar.
You can do the seals while the heads are on the motor on most motors, but if the heads are off it is just crazy to not do the valve job (usually can reuse the original valves if they are in good shape) or remanufactured heads.

 

[Barrymcockiner]

Hate to bump. But nice updates. She ram for another 30,000 NO ISSUEs. Guzzled a gallon of gas ever 8 miles. Then one day I noticed a cyxlinder definitely wasn’t hitting. Check ALfA and it happened to be cylinder 5. Rough rough idle, my acceleration is back, get 13-15 mpg now. She’s been officially retired. Even that extra 30k miles set me up, bled her for everything she had. Younger and hotter truck parks outside my house everyday now. Thanks guys! This is not the end for the Hemi. Really like our boy @gofishn idea, have everything imaginable to put life into that aluminum bird house when I get the time.

Buy a new long block, from Mopar.
Pull that engine, tear it down, get it worked on and have fun building your next engine.

Forget teh plastic intake, go with the 6.4 intake and never worry about cracks again.

I’m a Ram, yes I am.

Look forward to being more active and hearing from you guys over the next 100,000+ miles. A lot to learn on this 6.7.