The 5.7L Hemi "Tick" that I swore was mechanical, but is in fact broken exhaust manifold stud(s)

[Ox1500Sport]

Sure this has been beaten to death ... so here goes my rant ...

2014 1500 w/ the 5.7L Hemi ... 53k miles ... less than a year out of the 5yr/100k Powertrain Warranty. I've been hearing a "tick" for awhile ... seemed to go away after it was warmed up. Because of that, I never took it into the Dealer. I swore it was mechanical (i.e. lifters or the like), until I did some Google'ing and learned of the exhaust manifold issues.

Quick check underneath & sure 'nuff ... passenger side, rear exhaust manifold studs, snapped. That's the "tick" I'm hearing.

With this so prevalent, I wonder if Ram thinks they are winning customers?

 

[Burla]

Anyhow, that is good news, that is hemi tick lotto. If you want to trade for lifter tick let me know.

2010 and so far knock wood never had bolts tick, but did have lifter tick until I used redline oil.

 

[RVGuy]

That's what happens with aluminum heads and cast iron manifolds with steel studs. They all expand and contract at different rates then snap. I'd rather they snapped the studs than damaged the head or manifold. It's nothing new and certainly not limited to the Hemi.

There's a few good threads on this on here. Mine finally went a bit ago but I'm not too worried about it. I was browsing a Ford forum a couple weeks ago and one guy was saying he got tired of them snapping and slathered the thing with JB Weld until it stopped leaking [emoji15] Some people eh? I'd hate to buy that truck after he's done with it.

 

[Pull Ya]

There is some really good information in this thread that may be helpful in figuring out what caused the problem and maybe a fix that could prevent further problems. Either way, I recommend you take a few minutes and read it---
https://www.ramforum.com/threads/exhaust-manifolds-warped.155217/
Jay

 

[OCDTech]

I hope a vote isn't a jinx.

 

[Simpleman]

Its just the nature of the beast. It happened to both my rams but pretty simple to fix just a ****** design it amazes me they cant come up with something better when its a known problem

 

[Burla]

I hope a vote isn't a jinx.

you are supposed to knock wood when you vote, you didn't know that? Man, you jinxed

you must have not read my first post...

 

[Potatomafia]

So to summarize the HEMI exhaust manifold "tick":

The cause: Cast iron manifold bolted to an aluminum head using steel bolts results in bolts breaking which causes the cast iron manifold to warp. The design of the manifold (no webbing or other reinforcements) makes them prone to warping. Do the bolts fail and cause the manifold to warp or does the manifold warp and cause the bolts to fail?

The fix: Changing out the manifold bolts and machining the flange of the manifold flat. Only seasoned manifolds should be machined flat because they need the heat cycling to relax the material. When the bolts are changed out, are new OEM fasteners used or would an aftermarket (like ARP, etc.) bolt be better insurance against future breakage?

My 2015 only has 33k miles on it. I bought it with 29k miles. I don't have the exhaust tick but it sounds like there is no guarantee that it won't happen to mine.

 

[pacofortacos]

Well, it depends on the aftermarket fastener. At least in most cases the oem bolts can be removed, but if you put say a stainless bolt in there, there is a good chance if it would break or need to be removed from the head it might not happen.

I think part of it is the bolts rust over time also.

Cast iron manifolds on aluminum heads have been used for decades - since the 80's on Mopar products.
However many were FWD vehicles and the bolts/manifolds were not splashed with water constantly like they are on RWD vehicles. And the bolts never failed, even on turbo cars.

The manifold bolts also fail on 4.7's and I have had them rust off and fail on the 5.2/5.9 engine which is cast iron to cast iron - which is why I think it has more to do with the elements as well as the hemi manifolds are indeed thinner than the 5.2/5.9 manifolds.

 

[OCDTech]

you are supposed to knock wood when you vote, you didn't know that? Man, you jinxed

you must have not read my first post...

I speed read, sometimes, LOL, work all day gotta catch up here at night.

 

[Hookedup87]

*****. OCDTech. That’s exactly why I didn’t vote.

 

[OCDTech]

Were at almost 50 PERCENT! Holy S#!&!!

Not good

Thats like, a hundred percent failure rate!