Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Hemi Tick

Dealership just called and told me to evaulate how much I like my 2014 Ram 1500 Laramie.

They said the tick is coming from the left and right side lifters. They suspect cam lobe damage and are pricing the repair. Service tech estimated north of $6000.

Internet research shows this to be a common Gen III Hemi issue and there is a class action lawsuit against FCA for this very issue.

For those who have experienced this, did the repair last long? Does this really lead to dropping a cylinder? If so, any idea how long before it drops?

I just looked at the dealership I normally buy from and they only have 4 used trucks on their lot.

I really don't want to spend $6000+ to repair it but I really don't want to drop $50K+ to replace it. I just put in my work resignation and start school in 3 weeks. I'll have a 3hr daily commute when class begins.

Thanks, Dinny

My work Charger had the same issue and needed a new engine. The car made it a year on the new engine and went to auction. We had a few of the Chargers with the same issue and some went bad again and some did okay. Mostly depended on if folks used the right oil and how much idle time they had.

Either way I wouldn’t keep it if it were me.

My 2014 2500 has the 6.4 Hemi and is still doing okay at 107k. If it needed a new engine today I’d get rid of it. Buying used is a crap shoot too though. New trucks are so expensive a 6,000 engine swap doesn’t look bad.

It was a month before they completed the work on my Charger. And that was a good dealer with a service advisor I trust, with me calling weekly for updates.

I'm struggling to learn how the service tech determined it has both an exhaust leak (left and right side had one broken manifold bolt) and bad lifters. It seems one would have to isolate the ticks to say it has two ticks from separate sources. I'm not convinced they could have done that in the time they had it and without tearing into it.

Before I allowed a dealer to hit me for $6k to replace a cam and lifters,
I'd go aftermarket (Jasper) and price a reman crate engine at a
good independent shop.


Bet you can get a Jasper swapped in for less or similar.
That gets you a nationwide warranty on an engine rebuilt to
at least new quality. Likely better.


OEM often builds components with weak spots.
Accident, mistake, on purpose? Who knows?

But, getting the dealer to put a be cam in might just get
you another cam built of the same steel, heat treat...
Same bad cam?
OEMs are happy to keep having the same bad parts, sometimes
for deades. Especially if they are post warranty problems.


The aftermarket on the otherhand, sees these issues and figures
out how to improve them.

Subaru head gaskets are a great example.
They have used the same schidt design forever, despite the resulting
problems that have damaged their reliability reputation.

It's well known that a Subaru with 80k on the clock is flirting with a
blown head gasket. Replace it with a Fel-Pro, and you won't have another
problem. For hundreds of thousands of miles.

Happens on them when they are subject to excessive idle (police cars are the worst). Sure it is not the exhaust manifold? I would repair it but would bypass the MDS system if so equipped.

Did you have them fix the exhaust manifolds? How would that run you? Eliminate the easiest issues first.

If that doesn’t fix it then you know it’s internal.

Oh, almost forgot, is the ticking constant?

I have the ticking in my 08 5.7 had manifold bolts replaced which didn't help much. The ticking is constant but becomes a little mellower as it warms up but doesn't go away.

Funny that are the symptoms of an exhaust flange, once it heats up the ticking is minimized.

I've got ticking on my '12 Power Wagon, and have had broken bolts on the manifold replaced twice now that I can remember. But the dealership isn't looking find things to fix because of my lifetime warranty and $100 deductible. I'll run it till she explodes I guess.

Ticking goes away when it warms up to operating temp. I firmly believe it to be exhaust manifold related. I plan to discuss the issue further with the service manager when he returns my call.

My own Hemi experience (2004 2500 w/5.7) it was a cracked right side exhaust manifold and a couple of broken studs.

Think cracked exhaust manifolds and broken bolts are due to all of the BS exhaust cats, resonators, huge mufflers and whatever else they think manufacturers need to use to cut emissions. A lot of extra weight hanging around down there.

30+ years ago a cracked exhaust manifold or broken bolts at the head were rare.

Wonder how rigid the exhaust system is.

A big truck will have a section of flexpipe.
If it doesnt, things will end up breaking.

Dads hemi tick turned into an engine failure.


This guy has a few videos on the hemi tick:

Yep. Went with an aftermarket exhaust on my 08 GMC with 5.3, it has a short section of flex braid.

Aftermarket stuff usually fixes what the engineers from manufacturers couldn't figure out.

Aftermarket stuff usually fixes what the engineers from manufacturers couldn't figure out.





Very true.

It's unfortunate people don't understand this.
Instead, they think a dealer is the best way to go.
You are going to very likely get your problematic part replaced
with one just like it. At a higher cost.

The aftermarket does have a big advantage though.
It a hell of a lot easier to fix an existing problem than it is to
foresee every possible problem.

The exhaust is a good example.
A dumbass wrench turning truck driver knows this.
But it wouldn't be taught in engineering skewel.
It's not hard to picture a young enginerd given the simple task
of designing a system. And he makes it nice and sturdy.
And cheap. No flex pipe, no flexible hangers.
The engine rocks in its mounts, the manifolds get torqued,
Run a few thousand heat cycles....schidt beaks.




Funny thing about aftermarket.

A lot of the traditional American aftermarket are who build stuff for OEM.
Ford/Gm/Molar, they share more commonly built pieces than
The Fanboys would like to accept.

Complicated stuff like computers are too hard to build to justify.
But even easier stuff, like gas tanks or exhaust. Economy of scale,
And dodging labor costs make outsourcing the way to go.

So you end up with a manufacturer who might be making a part to
OEM spec. With a known flaw, but the OEM wont/can't change the
contract. Meanwhile, they build an improved version to be sold
under their brand, for a lower price to the consumer.

Great video

I have decided to postpone the cam and lifter replacement. I drained half a quart of oil and replaced it with Stiction Eliminator. Perhaps the ticking lifter noise will go away. For now I'm just having the broken exhaust bolts extracted and replaced.

So how did things work out? Tick go away with the exhaust manifold fix?

Clyde

2-3 weeks until it goes into the shop.

My neighbor bout a hemi tick truck that was ticking quite loud at 18,000 miles. I know it’s got north of 250k miles now. Still ticks still runs good.

Sounds like a broken exhaust manifold bolt .

That's my bet too. No way a cam would hold up that long if it was a bad lifter.

It maybe less labor COST to replace the engine. Maybe more total money ,BUT you will have a new engine.

It would be just my luck to replace the engine then have the transmission start to slip. I'll replace the truck before the engine.

The $6,000.00 in engine repair won’t add $1.00 to the value of the truck.

You would be better off putting the $6,000.00 toward a trade and get a different truck. It may cost you more than you planned before the ticking sound, but it isn’t worth the $6,000.00 to fix it…

I understand the economics of it. I looked around for a replacement truck and found extremely low inventory that would result in me overpaying by a higher margin than the costly repairs. Either way I'm hosed it would seem. I considered leasing a new vehicle but Suze Orman has my wife brainwashed.

I had an independant mechanic conduct the inspection and repair. He decided to remove the exhaust manifolds, heads, valve covers, abd intake manifold. Turns out I had only one broken exhaust manifold bolt. The lifters and cam have little to no wear on them. He said the inside of my engine is cleaner than most he has torn down.

The dealership is full of bullcrap!

While at it just replace the cam and lifters. Pretty cheap for replacement and labor won't be any more.

Glad it worked out for you. Most dealers are a sad story these days.

Dinny, did they pull the engine or do that in place?

The engine stayed in but alot of other things were moved or removed to make access easier. The inner fenders/wheel wells were even removed. I stopped by today and helped torque down the head bolts. It's going together quite nicely and everything is cleaned and degreased. Almost looks like a new engine. I bet it will run like one. The mechanic wants it back next week for a few hours. He plans to check for leaks and change the oil. He seems to go the extra mile compared to some I've dealt with in the past.

I got the truck back today and it runs like a top. This mechanic went above and beyond. It runs and rides smoother than ever before. He replace upper ball joints, wheel bearings, and a sticking rear brake caliper. The engine looks cleaner than the day I bought it and I have to watch my speed. The Hemi like to race. No ticking or knocking of any kind. I still have the original cam and lifters. They weren't showing any sign of wear beyond what one would expect for 120K miles.

Good to hear it worked out for you! HEMI's tick. Keep the oil fresh and try not to idle her and I'm sure she will last another 120K.

The 6.4’s have issues with excessive pushrod angle and if not properly maintained will wear out the lifter valley and/or the cam and lifters.
My work has a contract and has changed their entire fleet over to Dodge 4500’s starting in 2015. We’re a national company so it’s literally thousands of trucks. In my general area of about 200 trucks we have had 20-25 trucks get engine replacements due to this issue. All have been replaced with Jasper engines.
My Jasper has 12k on it and is currently back to the shop for misfiring. Jaspers says they’ve had issues with bad valve seals on their engines which cause oil in the cylinders. Mine was so bad it is fouling the plugs in 2 cylinders….

Other than that it runs great….


But these are commercial vehicles, and a good example of what happens when not being maintained properly and excessive idling(truck has to run when the boom is in use(my boom has 1000hrs on it!).

I had an 2010 Ram 1500 that loved to break exhaust manifold bolts, I had the bolts replaced twice on the passenger side (new manifold the 2nd time) and the drivers side once but it was going to need them replaced again. I sold that truck to a friend and told him all about the issues I was having, gave him a good deal on the truck and he was happy to drive it away. From what I understand, Ram has not even attempted to fix the issue with the 5.7 and exhaust manifold bolts continue to break to this day.

Too much emissions hanging underneath these things. Get rid of huge factory mufflers, cats, resonators and such and you wouldn't see near the breakage of bolts.

Betting even just swapping the factory muffler for a smaller performance muffler would lose 20 pounds.

Some engines are prone to the manifolds warping with heat. The Nissan VG30 engines were particularly bad about it. Removing the manifold when replacing studs and gaskets, and having it machined after it has been heat cycled many times would be a permanent fix.

Agreed, that was the plan on my 2010 Ram before I ended up selling it.

Seems GM 5.3/6.0’s do it quite a bit as well. I have 3 or 4 busted bolts currently on the lq4 in my truck.

Almost funny how diminutive the bolts are. Wonder how much dissimilar metals and different heating/expansion rates along with the small hardware play a part in it? IE - aluminum heads and iron manifolds.

My brother just spent $15k on a new engine and transmission for his 2013 Ram 1500 at 305k miles. The lifters and camshaft stated ticking at 275k miles. It's still a nice truck and was going to be $55k to buy a new one.

He got some pretty good life out of that engine. I met a guy last year in SC that had a ram 1500 with a serious tick. It had I believe 80K on it and he was worried. I asked him if he idled the engine excessively, he said No. He drove highway and changed the oil every 10k with mobil 1. O think that is the problem. I would go 5k on an oil change and screw what the manufacturers say.

I agree. Keep clean oil in a good engine & they will last for an amazing period of time !!!

KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Chrysler brand is part of Fiat Chrysler, which merged with the parent company of the Peugeot brand in 2021 to create a new company called Stellantis.
Brands under the Fiat Chrysler umbrella include Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Lancia, and Maserati.

SO that means what exactly? I have owned an older Silverado, a newer f150 and a Ram. If I had to buy a full-size pickup again it would be a Ram and possibly Chevy in that order.

I don't think people realize what a disaster a Ford anything is , they are designing and turning out these pickups and allowing customers to be the guinea pig.

Put a can of sea foam in the crankcase. It has fixed several dodge motors that had lifter ticking


Google sea foam and lifter ticking

Means more variables. Last week a woman that I work with bought one, Dodge 1500 Hemi, new 20 miles on the odometer, drove it one weekend. It its done they, dealership, can’t determine why it won’t run.

Class action lawsuit already filed by others she learned about. I am not saying its just Dodge. I am saying its Fiat, every Fiat has problems.

Sounds like an incompetent dealer service department. Fiat has nothing to do with the design or construction of a Ram Pickup. The Diesel engine which is very very good is a Euro designed engine. The problem with 10% of the rams is they are used by Police Departments, construction companies and are subject to idling for long periods of time.

Ram didn’t need the help of Fiat to screw up a Ram. They have demonstrated that they are perfectly capable of doing that all on their own.

Just like Chevy is capable of plucking up anything they build.

I'm not seeing a Duramax yet that didn't need injectors around 200,000. and the last set I done was about $5,000 that's been a couple years ago...