Valve train driving me crazy!

[Sorefingers]

Im still working on the 5.7 hemi . Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[EdGs]

Ok guys, thanks for all your input. I do have a question on the lifter preload. The motor is together after pulling apart 3 times and everything looks good with the exception of the low value cam and lifter parts but all check out good. Runs good, plenty of power, only codes after 30 miles was a random cylinder 7 misfire. Still sounds like noisy valve train. Not specific to one spot in motor, but louder than normal ticking. I have about 60-65 thou of preload. Would it be worth it to get longer pushrods to move that preload to 80-85 ? If the lifters were not charging at all it would misfire like crazy right? Also oil pressure is 80 cold and 35 warm at idle. Throttled up tick stays about the same noise level. Is it possible that these cheaper Chinese lifters will work better with more preload?

How many miles on your engine?

You did reuse your valve springs, rocker arms, and pushrods, right?

With alot of miles, you can have weakened springs, worn rocker arms, valve springs, and pushrod ends.

They might "look" ok, but are they? Did you meaaure them, test the springs, etc?

Combine that with 'Chinesium' liffters which may have looser toleranced internal parts, springs, etc., and who knows?

Hemi's can be rather noisy, too.

My '15 had 201k on it. I opted for new valve springs and pushrods, and later discovered a chipped valve stem, then discovered more worn valve stems and rocker arms, which resulted in replacing all the valves and rocker arms.

Ended up at about $5k in parts, mostly OE, along with an extra $1k in consumables, oil, tools etc.

Did you replace your head bolts? 3 times apart and back, you are lucky.

 

[EdGs]

My parts list:

2015 Ram 1500 SLT 201,192 miles


I left my 3-way valve in place and electrically hooked up. Unhooked all hoses from it and blew out the lines. Ordered and installed a set of heater hoses for a Ram with the 6 speed transmission.

I replaced the pressure relief spring in the Hellcat oil pump with the relief spring from my original oil pump.

 

[Sorefingers]

How many miles on your engine?

You did reuse your valve springs, rocker arms, and pushrods, right?

With alot of miles, you can have weakened springs, worn rocker arms, valve springs, and pushrod ends.

They might "look" ok, but are they? Did you meaaure them, test the springs, etc?

Combine that with 'Chinesium' liffters which may have looser toleranced internal parts, springs, etc., and who knows?

Hemi's can be rather noisy, too.

My '15 had 201k on it. I opted for new valve springs and pushrods, and later discovered a chipped valve stem, then discovered more worn valve stems and rocker arms, which resulted in replacing all the valves and rocker arms.

Ended up at about $5k in parts, mostly OE, along with an extra $1k in consumables, oil, tools etc.

Did you replace your head bolts? 3 times apart and back, you are lucky.

Well the motor was originally pulled apart because intermittent ticking and valve train noise. One day start up noisy , the next day quiet and normal for a hemi, figuring it was mds solenoids. And or a couple bad lifters. Some wear was found on two lifters to cam lobe but not bad. All lifters rolling normal and no major damage, new head bolts each time, gaskets etc. push rods and rocker arms look good . Has about 150k any ideas on the lifter preload ideas? Thanks

 

[EdGs]

No idea on preload.

I did not have my heads or block machined.

I also hand-lapped the new valves and used all OE parts, so nothing should have changed.

 

[EdGs]

@Sorefingers, do you have any pics of the cam damage and affected lifters?

Please post what you find along the way, your situation can help others down the line.

 

[Dusty]

Sorry if this has already been covered, but did you prime the lifters by hand before installation?

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 144428 miles.

 

[Pocho]

Hi, if it's still relevant, here's my experience. I bought a vehicle with a 5.7 Hemi pre-Eagle engine that had an intermittent noise. I figured it couldn't be that bad and it must be a lifter if it was intermittent. The engine had no codes and plenty of power. After buy and some days, the noise became constant, sometimes sounding like a connecting rod. The noise was coming from the front right side according my stethoscope. At some cold starts it spit a bit of blue smoke. When I disassembled, prior to remove the right cylinder head, I saw oil pools on the closed valves on both sides, so I decided to remove both heads to replace the valve stem seals. To my surprise, I saw that it had press-fit seals and were loose on the guide. These cylinder heads should have the ones that are held in place by the valve springs seat. I disassembled it, took many measurements of the rocker arms, cylinder head, and block. All the lifters looked the same, but they were new and had codes like the ones on eBay. I bought pushrods with more preload and reassembled all. The noise persisted. I drove like 1000 miles and decided to buy one kit of four mds lifter from amazon (the least bad rated), replaced all the front right ones, installed original push rods and noise gone. The engine is quiet with 2k miles from last fix, some times a bit of noise apprear for a second, but I am looking for those...is key to install the foam under intake and the cover on the engine, they reduce a lot high frequency noises. During the first disassembly, I managed to take apart several lifters and understand very well how they worked. When one makes a loud noise, I suppose it's because the ball valve spring loaded, which is a single-way valve, isn't closing properly and is letting the oil out faster than the pushrod can rise. It's the only component of the lifter that can't be disassembled. It is perfectly normal to find collapsed lifters if they are the ones that have been pressed by a cam that has been raised for hours; given that, it is not necessary to pre-fill them, as soon as there is oil pressure they are charged immediately. How long do these non-OEM lifters last? Good question...