Mike Townsend
Senior Member
I've never heard of the Hellcat engines eating themselves. They have had supercharger problems in the first few years though.
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I know of 3 that had cam problems ,all with-in 63,000 miles/100,000 kilometers. The majority of Kitties are drove fairly hard,which helps prolong cam and lifter life,which is why they don't have as many issues as a normal daily driver has,that see's low speed traffic,and more idling timeI've never heard of the Hellcat engines eating themselves. They have had supercharger problems in the first few years though.
I'd check out simple things first like a lose heat shield or some other lose thing first.My 2019 6.4 makes a loud tick/knock on start up. It has never been rodded or modded, has 44k miles, and has been impeccably maintained with dealer servicing since purchased new. Truck was a daily driver for about 2 years and I have about 10k tow miles on it pulling a 6500lb travel trailer over its lifetime. For the last year it’s been a drive way trophy, while only breaking it out every month for some weekend driving. Started making the noise about 25k and goes away after truck warms up. One Dealer tells me it’s normal and another tells me it’s a possible connecting rod failure that won’t be covered under mopar until I get total failure. Sounds like an exhaust leak to me and is coming from the rear pass side of the motor near the manifold. Anyone have an opinion of what I should do? I’m posting a link to the sound.
https://youtu.be/SiQPUDb4rf8?feature=shared
I stumbled on this video that explains "The" Hemi tick and other less important noises, in detail.
The comments about fleet vehicle idle time being a definite huge contributor to the Hemi tick are not exactly what I've heard elsewhere and I suspect there are differing opinions.
I would be very interested to hear from anyone who supports the facts as presented or has had a different experience.
"The" HEMI TICK: Explained Clearly and Accurately by a Professional Mechanic
"The" HEMI TICK is a scary phrase to many people, it's almost nebulous in how vague it is. Many people who own Hemi's or are thinking of owning one are worri...www.youtube.com
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I remember the early 5.7 had the squirter although it might have been pre-production.The 6.4's and 6.2's use piston squirters,but they're more aimed at the bottom side of the piston to help control piston top heat,but i've always thought they should be aimed more at the cam lobes,as the only oil the face of the lobe gets is from the oil flung off the crank,one of the reasons i'm a proponent of increasing the idle rpm if you're going to tune the engine
Will This FINALLY FIX Hemi Tick? #hellcat
If You Have a HEMI You NEED To Watch This Video! It's finally time for our Hellcat oil pump install and test results! In this video we are directly comparing...www.youtube.com
I think idle time has been found to have the most correlation with the tick.
I've never seen the piston squirters in a 5.7,early or late,maybe the 6.1's had them,as i haven't dug into an early 6.1.Maybe somebody who's been into the bottem end of a early 6.1 can confirm if they did or didn't have the squirtersI remember the early 5.7 had the squirter although it might have been pre-production.
That makes sense that they are run harder. I know I drive mine harder than I do my truck. But I do tend to run the truck hard too sometimes. LOLI know of 3 that had cam problems ,all with-in 63,000 miles/100,000 kilometers. The majority of Kitties are drove fairly hard,which helps prolong cam and lifter life,which is why they don't have as many issues as a normal daily driver has,that see's low speed traffic,and more idling time
I had lifter failure on my hemi and my engine is about the cleanest of any engine that I've ever worked on.My theory is the lifters destroy themself when you get debris in your oil and it lodges itself into the lifter and causes it to lock up. In my opinion it can happen to any hemi at any milage and the longer you have it the more opportunities arise
The 5.7 that I had in the classroom definitely had squirters, might have been pre-production. That was a lot of years ago ..........I've never seen the piston squirters in a 5.7,early or late,maybe the 6.1's had them,as i haven't dug into an early 6.1.Maybe somebody who's been into the bottem end of a early 6.1 can confirm if they did or didn't have the squirters
Would of had to have been a pre-production 5.7 engine,as no production 5.7's have ever had piston squirters.The 5.7 that I had in the classroom definitely had squirters, might have been pre-production. That was a lot of years ago ..........
I'm on my second Hemi Ram. The Hemi tick is real. the design flaw in the Hemi is real. At prolonged low rpm/idle the cam and rollers are inadequately lubricated.
My 2012 developed Hemi tick at a time i was spending hours in traffic each day around 65K miles. I later saw the video describing the poor oil flow to the cam and lifters in the Hemi at less than 1500-2000 rpm. There is plenty of oil slopping around at higher rpm, but during extended periods of idle/low rpm the rollers and cam are basically over heating and eroding each other. First hint I had problems was small debris in my catch can. Then, at about 90K miles one roller lifter ate itself and took my cam with it. I paid the Stealership to replace the cam and all lifters (ouch!). 50 miles later cam phaser on new cam failed. Stealership replaced cam and left bank of lifers under prior repair warranty. About two weeks later, the first time I really got the engine up to temperature I started getting a "low oil pressure MDS disabled" code once the engine got warm--that is triggered below 15 psi and disables MDS. Stealership replaced the oil pump (for free) but that didn't fix it. Because when the second cam failed, something tracked through a main bearing. EFFING Stealership denied responsibility but had the cajones to recommended a new long block (at $12,500!!!). Gee I wonder why they ate the cost of the oil pump earlier? Thereafter once engine warmed with 05-20 oil it could only maintain 9 psi at idle (over 50 psi above idle). That check engine light code became my regular friend in warm months until I change to 5-30 oil and used a quart of 10-30 as a topper between changes. After that I let that CEL be my oil change indicator, usually around 4K miles. It had 109K miles when I sold it.