That Dam Hemi Tick!

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CrasherAsher

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So I got the tick my lifter is eating my cam. I am already getting ready to rebuild my motor thanks to the help with Jay Greene. Just a quick shout out to him, He is awesome great customer service and super nice. so my question is on oil pumps, there are tons of conflicting information as to how to actually prevent the tick from happening. one theory was to increase the oil flow or the amount of oil reaching the lifters or top end. I have heard people using the Hellcat oil pump in the 5.7 and I think 6.4 as a preventive measure. Can anyone shine some light on this subject?
 

Burn2k12Ram

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I do not think it has ever been proven one way or another but that is the thought by some with great knowledge on these trucks that will at least reduce the chance of it happening. The only way to get real data that it helps is by getting numbers and quite frankly there just is not enough people at least reporting it that have put in a better oil pump. Typically one will not go that route until they have/are doing the cam/lifter rebuild. If it were to happen to me though and had to swap the cam/lifters I would no doubt go with the hellcat oil pump. Even if just by helping me sleep better at night lol.
 

Burla

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Hellcat forums are full of hemi tick threads and they all have hellcat pumps, obviously. I had hemi tick, been cured over a decade, no wrench turned. Change the oil characteristics instead if the oils flow. Nearly 100 rams from this board have done the same. But, it seams like you are doing a major rebuild, so why not do your thing and see if you have tick, if so look up the hemi tick threads. And whether or not if a hellcat pump would or wouldn't help, I'd say why not use it, why not use it over oem if you are building your engine up?
 

Burla

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FYI, tick doesnt necessarily mean the cam is being damaged. And changing cam and lifters often does not fix hemi tick, read the board, too many examples to count of new cam lifters and still have hemi tick threads. Not a lot of answers for guys in this boat except lubrication strategies, and that isnt 100%.
 

ramffml

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Also, make sure you actually have "the hemi tick". I've lost count of the amount of people who think they have the lifter tick when instead it's broken manifolds, the noisy injectors, or just a clattery valvetrain due to crummy oil choice. Recording of your engine could help with that.
 

Burn2k12Ram

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An oil analysis will tell if you truly do have an internal issue. If not It can just be exhaust manifold bolt’s or even noisy injectors.
 
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CrasherAsher

CrasherAsher

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I already fixed my exhaust leak. and i am 95% sure its not a noisy lifter.
 

DILLIGAF

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Ask Jay on what pump he says to use with his tune/cam combo.

FRP said my stock 5.7 pump was fine with my stage 1 cam.

The Custom Tune will bump up your idle regardless.

The issue on these stock trucks is the low idle speed. not the oil pumps. And using Redline or PUP 5w30 and a RP filter quiets these engines down.
 
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CrasherAsher

CrasherAsher

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Ask Jay on what pump he says to use with his tune/cam combo.

FRP said my stock 5.7 pump was fine with my stage 1 cam.

The Custom Tune will bump up your idle regardless.

The issue on these stock trucks is the low idle speed. not the oil pumps. And using Redline or PUP 5w30 and a RP filter quiets these engines down.
I have not heard that before. But that makes sense in my situation cause my truck has really high idle times. That is partially why i was asking about oil pumps since my truck sits and idles so much.
 

Rayzaa

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Interesting to read about the ticks. Mine is a 3rd gen 2007 and Ive never had the Hemi tick and I don't even use synthetic oil in it. I don't know what they did in these engines since then.
I do have a 2018 Challenger w/ a 5.7 and that has it but only if it's been parked for some time but goes away after a minute or so after starting it.
I do run synthetic oil in that.
 
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CrasherAsher

CrasherAsher

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Interesting to read about the ticks. Mine is a 3rd gen 2007 and Ive never had the Hemi tick and I don't even use synthetic oil in it. I don't know what they did in these engines since then.
I do have a 2018 Challenger w/ a 5.7 and that has it but only if it's been parked for some time but goes away after a minute or so after starting it.
I do run synthetic oil in that.
yea I think that is pretty normal. when you have the death tick you really can only hear it at idle and it won't be a consistent tick. think of it as the tick is off beat from the rest of the motor.
I think in my situation DILLIGAF theory explains what happened to my truck. if there is lower oil pressure cause of the stock tune low idle and my truck has very high idle times, way above normal idle times, then it would make sense that my lifters went out.
 

Burn2k12Ram

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Interesting to read about the ticks. Mine is a 3rd gen 2007 and Ive never had the Hemi tick and I don't even use synthetic oil in it. I don't know what they did in these engines since then.
I do have a 2018 Challenger w/ a 5.7 and that has it but only if it's been parked for some time but goes away after a minute or so after starting it.
I do run synthetic oil in that.
If the tick goes away after warm then that is most likely from broken manifold bolt/s. consistent Tick after engine warm usually due to failed lifter.
 

Rayzaa

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If the tick goes away after warm then that is most likely from broken manifold bolt/s. consistent Tick after engine warm usually due to failed lifter.
Its not warm. It's only real noticeable when the car has been parked for at least a week or more. Then at startup it ticks til the oil circulates and it eventually gets quite and goes way.
 

demonram

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Just out of curiosity, what are the odds that a roller cam and lifters isn't going to fail at some point anyway? I mean, you have needle bearings in a small area with a roller spinning in the bearings, wouldn't that in and of itself predicate a failure at some time in the future? They are under a load when the engine is running. Good oil and filter may prolong the life of them, but the constant stress put on the would cause failure at some point? Anyone have an opinion on this?
 
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CrasherAsher

CrasherAsher

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Just out of curiosity, what are the odds that a roller cam and lifters isn't going to fail at some point anyway? I mean, you have needle bearings in a small area with a roller spinning in the bearings, wouldn't that in and of itself predicate a failure at some time in the future? They are under a load when the engine is running. Good oil and filter may prolong the life of them, but the constant stress put on the would cause failure at some point? Anyone have an opinion on this?
Yea that is a good point, I wonder if you were to compare the Hemi to other motors what is the average life span of cams and lifters. and why is it such a big issue with Hemi?
 

fitzdicksn

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So I got the tick my lifter is eating my cam. I am already getting ready to rebuild my motor thanks to the help with Jay Greene. Just a quick shout out to him, He is awesome great customer service and super nice. so my question is on oil pumps, there are tons of conflicting information as to how to actually prevent the tick from happening. one theory was to increase the oil flow or the amount of oil reaching the lifters or top end. I have heard people using the Hellcat oil pump in the 5.7 and I think 6.4 as a preventive measure. Can anyone shine some light on this subject?
I have read that some of the after market lifters apparently have a hole in the bottom of the cup to allow oil to flow down to the lifter lobe and the wheel. Apparently factory lifters do not have this hole.
 

fitzdicksn

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Yea that is a good point, I wonder if you were to compare the Hemi to other motors what is the average life span of cams and lifters. and why is it such a big issue with Hemi?
My 2011 Hemi 1500 is now up to 220,000 miles and no lifter issues. But mostly highway cruising, towing etc. on long trips and virtually no idling. Last 100,000 miles since hearing of lifter issue, I have been adding Lucas zinc-phosphate additive too. No issues with cats yet.
 

Oliver Closehauf

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I have a 2003 Yamaha FJR1300. Most all of them suffered from a tick which was caused by deterioration of the valve guides. Got a new head on warranty at 5k miles because of it.

Just mentioning it because it sounds like from this thread the Hemi tick has not been completely identified yet. You may want to check that.
 

Cbisme72

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I do not think it has ever been proven one way or another but that is the thought by some with great knowledge on these trucks that will at least reduce the chance of it happening. The only way to get real data that it helps is by getting numbers and quite frankly there just is not enough people at least reporting it that have put in a better oil pump. Typically one will not go that route until they have/are doing the cam/lifter rebuild. If it were to happen to me though and had to swap the cam/lifters I would no doubt go with the hellcat oil pump. Even if just by helping me sleep better at night lol.
Kinda new here so not sure how this works exactly....but I did the cam swap and lifters 2017 ram big horn with hemi....I did not change head bolts and now regret it!! I have a small water leak on passenger head...question is can I just change head bolts and re torque per specs or I need pull heads and new gaskets...bout 3 mo now since re build. Thanks for advice!!
 

AJNY

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Its not warm. It's only real noticeable when the car has been parked for at least a week or more. Then at startup it ticks til the oil circulates and it eventually gets quite and goes way.
I have a 2021 Ram 1500 with the 5.7. At 900 miles the engine ticked upon cold start. I took it to the shop and they kept it for three weeks. I told the service manager not to start it before the three weeks. Three weeks later they started it and heard the tick. Service said it was normal. I was a mechanic for Ford and before worked on NYC taxi cabs. I told the service manager he was full of ****. Took the truck home. Changed the oil with REDLINE 5W30 and Royal Purple Extra Large Filter. The truck is over a year old and has 2200 miles. Ever since I used the REDLINE AND RP XL FILTER I can come back to the truck after a month or more and start it. Quiet as a mouse. I swear by this combination. Which I learned on this forum. I had a 2018 Ram Rebel before this truck which also had very low miles and had the tick. That is why I traded it in for the 2021.
 
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