5.7 cam job dealerships did wrong?

[seth tree man]

So 2012 ram 2500 with 54xxx miles
Lost cam /lifter dealership did the repair and did not clean the engine and now 59xxx miles and need a new engine.

what is your thoughts they say the top end doesn't connect to bottom end and the metal and lifter Bering left in the engine did not cause the bottom end failure.

 

[4spdragtop]

I can't see attachment clearly(on my phone), but that sounds like utter bs. Pil circulates throughout entire engine...top and bottom. Good luck!

 

[oldkimmer]

Well that sucks. They are at fault. Ask them if they want to speak to your lawyer. Kim

 

[Syleng1]

I agree. Oil and chips circulate everywhere when running up the rpm.

I’d use words like “engine was compromised.” Due to the lack of cleaning.” Sounds more lawyer speak.
Try not to swear. Chrysler is in trouble right now due to past CEO and are cutting back on warranty claims, I’ve been told by my buddies at my local dealer.

 

[408 swinger]

Lawyer up. Them telling you that is like saying the brown spot in your undies isn't from the turd.

 

[middleagecrisis]

I'm not at all impressed with the general knowledge of dealerships in today's world. Maybe they've gotten worse in technical knowledge, or I've gotten smarter, probably somewhere in-between. 408 Swinger threw out an accurate assessment and the fact that you have to prove it is ridiculous. Before you lawyer up and spend money, i suggest you contact corprorate headquarters and file a complaint. Somebody always has a boss.

 

[1MeanA]

So you joined an A body forum to ask a question about your Dodge truck? lol
Dealerships are surprisingly lacking in knowledge.

 

[TrailBeast]

BS.
Your motor was eaten by the uncleaned debris.

 

[seth tree man]

So you joined an A body forum to ask a question about your Dodge truck? lol
Dealerships are surprisingly lacking in knowledge.

Yes I am just checking I thought I was crazy

 

[Cuda416]

My son works at a dealership and has done a lot of 3G Hemi replacements. If the cam goes his default is to recommend the engine get replaced. They will also replace the cooler and in some cases the intake.

Also agree with @middleagecrisis on calling corporate. Remember, dealerships are NOT corporate and if they get enough complaints, things start going bad for them.

Lots of times is the service advisors don't know ****.

 

[1MeanA]

I've seen cases where there have been class action lawsuits about a vehicle issue yet the dealer has no knowledge of the problem...just recommends replacing parts, the exhaust, transmission or update the software. At one time I thought my BMW or Jeep or Porsche dealership would be the best place to take my vehicle for issues but I found out more than a few times that I was wrong.

 

[Cuda416]

So 2012 ram 2500 with 54xxx miles
Lost cam /lifter dealership did the repair and did not clean the engine and now 59xxx miles and need a new engine.

what is your thoughts they say the top end doesn't connect to bottom end and the metal and lifter Bering left in the engine did not cause the bottom end failure.

View attachment 1716432981

you know, it could actually be the case where the dealership was not authorized for lack of qualified per Chrysler requirements, to perform an engine replacement. To do certain things they have to have techs certified to specific levels. If not, corporate will tell them to pound sand or not allow those warranty claims.

 

[TT5.9mag]

Anything the oil touches inside the engine will be contaminated if the cam and lifters **** the bed. Sounds like the service writer doesn’t know his *** from his elbow. Find a new dealership.

 

[Ant]

what is your thoughts they say the top end doesn't connect to bottom end and the metal and lifter Bering left in the engine did not cause the bottom end failure.

First off, sorry for your predicament.

Second, I'm going to be honest here, so don't take offense. You are dealing with a dealership and sadly dealerships don't hire many professional mechanics anymore, they hire professional parts changers. These parts changers rush to beat the quoted book-time without any care for future issues.

Third, from your statement and mileage, I suspect something else is going on here.

So 2012 ram 2500 with 54xxx miles
Lost cam /lifter dealership did the repair and did not clean the engine and now 59xxx miles and need a new engine.

What was in detail damaged on the cam and how were the lifters?
How often do you change your oil?
What noises did you hear at 54, 000 miles?
Also, I can't see your blurry warranty quote, what was the diagnosis with the bottom end?

 

[Desoto291hemi]

I’m not certain that a cam and lifter change qualifies for an engine replacement ?
There is limited information from you about what damage was done to begin with .
And then the engine is completely destroyed 5,000 miles later .

5,000 miles,,,,right around the time the oil was changed again maybe ?

13 year old truck with 54,000 miles,,,,,not driven a lot I guess ?

And I don’t know how anyone would know it wasn’t cleaned out properly unless someone was there watching the whole repair ?

Tommy

 

[Cuda416]

I’m not certain that a cam and lifter change qualifies for an engine replacement ?
There is limited information from you about what damage was done to begin with .
And then the engine is completely destroyed 5,000 miles later .

5,000 miles,,,,right around the time the oil was changed again maybe ?

13 year old truck with 54,000 miles,,,,,not driven a lot I guess ?

Tommy

It does when the lifter roller grinds the lobe to a pulp and there is metal in the pan etc. No way to clean that cheaply. Engine replacement is the easiest and cheapest way to go.

remember, our price is not the dealer price by a long shot.

 

[slantsixdan]

the lifter roller grinds the lobe to a pulp

Judging from what I see (a lot) in certain Reddit forums where dealer and non-dealer techs hang out (like r/JustRolledIntoTheShop), yup, that's right. Here's one example; the comments are interesting.

 

[Cuda416]

Judging from what I see (a lot) in certain Reddit forums where dealer and non-dealer techs hang out (like r/JustRolledIntoTheShop), yup, that's right. Here's one example; the comments are interesting.

Yup, the needle bearings get stuck and that's all the wrote.

 

[Desoto291hemi]

It does when the lifter roller grinds the lobe to a pulp and there is metal in the pan etc. No way to clean that cheaply. Engine replacement is the easiest and cheapest way to go.

remember, our price is not the dealer price by a long shot.

Maybe so , But how do we know for sure ?
We don’t know anything,,,,,no evidence was presented .
I’m not saying it wasn’t negligent repair,,,but we don’t know .

Was it not cleaned out thoroughly ,,,,or was it ?

He said he needs a new engine now,,,,did it explode ?
We don’t know .

If it laid down on the way home,,,,that’s good evidence .
5,000 miles later,,,,who knows ?
Is it knocking,,,,did it completely lock up ?

Blurred lines here,,,we don’t know what happened .
Even the repair order is so blurry you can’t read it .

Tommy

 

[seth tree man]

I’m not certain that a cam and lifter change qualifies for an engine replacement ?
There is limited information from you about what damage was done to begin with .
And then the engine is completely destroyed 5,000 miles later .

5,000 miles,,,,right around the time the oil was changed again maybe ?

13 year old truck with 54,000 miles,,,,,not driven a lot I guess ?

And I don’t know how anyone would know it wasn’t cleaned out properly unless someone was there watching the whole repair ?

Tommy

They told me they did not clean it and sadly I only know what they tell me but when it went down this time I took it to the shop in Tennessee dodge dealership and this was what they found

 

[Cuda416]

Maybe so , But how do we know for sure ?
We don’t know anything,,,,,no evidence was presented .
I’m not saying it wasn’t negligent repair,,,but we don’t know .

Was it not cleaned out thoroughly ,,,,or was it ?

He said he needs a new engine now,,,,did it explode ?
We don’t know .

If it laid down on the way home,,,,that’s good evidence .
5,000 miles later,,,,who knows ?
Is it knocking,,,,did it completely lock up ?

Blurred lines here,,,we don’t know what happened .
Even the repair order is so blurry you can’t read it .

Tommy

The OP literally said the original problem was a bad lifter which took out the cam. Thats always going to result in metal in the oil passages. It costs way too much to clean an engine at a dealership . The most cost effective fix is a new short block. As I mentioned there's lots of reasons they wouldn't or couldn't do it and they all suck for the customer.

Edit : in the interest of not spewing BS, I clarified with my son who works at a dealership. If the metal makes it to the oil control valve the engine gets replaced. He says that's actually pretty rare.

 

[dogbreath]

correct , metal on oil control valve = new short block or engine

 

[Ant]

They told me they did not clean it and sadly I only know what they tell me but when it went down this time I took it to the shop in Tennessee dodge dealership and this was what they found

View attachment 1716433380

I see. At this point, the sad reality is, just the lifters can be covered by the warranty if they had a warranty in the first place. The parts warranty will not cover any damages caused by the defective part, that is unfortunately how the parts game works. However, you are free to try and sue the manufacturer of the parts for the damages, but good luck with that.

Modern day Chrysler or Shitlantis have no pride and a bunch of the new parts are made by the lowest bidder in whatever bumblefuck country that's not in North America or Europe.

Sorry for the negative truth, I wish you luck.

 

[Desoto291hemi]

I’m not trying to belittle the ops problems in anyway .
I’m just trying to get more information .

We all would have to assume that the truck has a lifetime power train warranty ?
I think the original warranty was what ,,,36 months or 36,000 miles ?
Or maybe the powertrain was 5 years or 60,000 miles ?
And I think one was offered for 8 years or 125,000 miles ?

But all of those timelines have ran out .
The only warranty he would have is the repair warranty from when it first went down .
I’m not sure what that is ,,,most dealers offer 12 months on most repairs ?

I’m not trying to argue,,,just get information .

Tommy

 

[seth tree man]

I’m not trying to belittle the ops problems in anyway .
I’m just trying to get more information .

We all would have to assume that the truck has a lifetime power train warranty ?
I think the original warranty was what ,,,36 months or 36,000 miles ?
Or maybe the powertrain was 5 years or 60,000 miles ?
And I think one was offered for 8 years or 125,000 miles ?

But all of those timelines have ran out .
The only warranty he would have is the repair warranty from when it first went down .
I’m not sure what that is ,,,most dealers offer 12 months on most repairs ?

I’m not trying to argue,,,just get information .

Tommy

Cams and lifters went out in November 2024 I got truck back and it was not right hard start I took back to the dealership and they said it was typical in the 5.7 but long story short as of
May 17 2025 lifter Bering was found in the oil pan