5.7 Hemi "issues"?

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'68-340-S

'68-340-S

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Has any one heard of any problems with the 5.7 Hemi? Mine started ticking shortly after I bought it. Also on my second oil change I noticed water on the inside of the oil cap and a little sludge in the dipstick tube.
My coolant res. is on the add line but hasn't gone down from there, it doesn't run hot. It only has 16K miles on it. I'm not as hard on it as I was with my '99. I've heard of two other people who have had similar issues. One of them (from what I've heard) got new heads under warranty... I was also told that he got his old heads back. The other guy has the same issues as me and hasn't had any repair work done yet. On both I've heard that there is a problem with valve clearance.
Any one else hear anything on this?
 
As I understand it from my dealership friends, "the tick" is common in most hemi. Guys who don't have it, will get it eventually..so I'm told..something about the valvetrain...

I've "heard" the vapor buildup in the cap is sometimes normal, depending on weather conditions, but I doubt having it on the dipstick is normal. I have heard of guys getting new heads for it.

Sounds like a trip to the dealer to me.....
 
My brother bought a 2500 HEMI Ram new in 2003. If it could be broken, he would be the one to do it. To date, no problems. The first day he had it, he was doing burn outs in my parking lot! I have heard that you better use the oem reccomended wt oil on the newer ones with cylinder deactivation. I'm in the used car biz. if there is trouble with a certain model, you will find out about it quick. Try finding a GM 5.3 that doesn't knock or one that has a workig fuel gauge.
 
I'm a Parts & Service Director at Earnhardt Dodge in Arizona. Super Dart is correct in that the noise is valvetrain related. It's on all 5.7's, and 6.1's too. Nothing to be concerned about. The moisture on the cap comes from the PCV system and is nothing to be concerned about either. However moisture on the dipstick! That is a no-no. I've checked with my best heavy line tech and we haven't seen any concerns out here with cracked heads or blown gaskets on hemi's. We service over 1600 warranty vehicles a month so if there is a problem we would probably see the trend. I agree though; take it to the dealer and ask them to do a compression check on the engine. Also there is a procedure to pressurize the cooling system and check for leaks, etc. The new Hemi is very tough! Drive it like you stole it!

Tim
 
You will also get some condensation toward the top of the dipstick tube. I have seen this plenty of times because it is so for away from the block and on short trips it doesn't get warm enough to evaporate all of the moisture.

Chuck
 
My buddy has a 5.3 and he found out it's piston slap in the bore due to short skirts on the pistons...he doesn't know how much gas he has eather! I use Castrol synthetic blend 5W20. Mine Doesn't have the multi cyclender crap on it, I think that came out in '06.
I was kind of wondering about that cap setup though. The thing looks funky, But I haven't spilled a drop of oil filling it up...yet.
Most of my driving is at least 20min, by then it's up to temp. I know what you mean about that dip stick tube.
 
The only issues I've heard about were valve spring failures and ticking. Nothing giant or "chronic".
 
no problems with the 5.7 hemi to date at our dealership either. It is a tough motor. condensation on the cap and top of the dipstick is normal. Don't let anyone work on it if it ain't broken. Just my thought.
 
My brother bought a 2500 HEMI Ram new in 2003. If it could be broken, he would be the one to do it
Click to expand...

That sounds like me, LOL. I take care of what I have but I don't by any means baby it.

I use mine to tow my boat, one of the darts to the track and the truck itself probably has 30 1/4 mile passes on it. (Don't read this Tim)

Just passed 45,000 miles and ZERO problems or complaints about the engine.
 
I had one of the first Hemi's in a 2003 4x4. Damn thing ran like a champ. Wish I still had it, like a dumb a$$ I just had to go out and get another Diesel. The new Hemis are tough motors!
 
I'm still driving it. I need to get some anti freeze for it though, when up to temp it's at the add line. I think the battery is about ready to go though. It's starting hard after sitting (not more than 12hrs) and the guage is reading about 3/4 to the max charge. I could test it at work and replace the battery, but it's been to cold. I'm trying to make it untill it gets a little warmer out. I might have to bite the bullet though, I really don't need to take out the Alt. too.
 
:love4: My 2005 ram has always had a tick , only 12,700 miles I love it , when it gets warm it gets better
 
I just bought a SuperChips reprogramer off ebay. I can't wait until that comes in and I get to see/feel the differance... my cold air intake has already helped alot. The cold air is good for 10.5HP, and SuperChips is claiming apx 12.5HP. Headers, cam and torque converter should round it out for me.....in (lots of)time.
 
'68-340S, you're going to love the Superchips. It may only make another 10rwhp or so but on the 04+05 Rams you can drop anywhere from 3-5 tenths at the track with it. It's mostly because it cuts torque management on the shifts.

I'm running the Pacesetter Longtubes as well and they work great with the 6.1L cam swap. My truck went mid 13s down from high 14s bone stock with just the CAI, exhaust, Superchips, longtubes and cam.

If you guys think the tick is bad, wait until you hear an 06+ Hemi with aftermarktet exhaust when the MDS kicks in.
 
Yeah..my o6 with MDS just turned over 16,000 miles. Runs awesome. Has the typical valvetrain noise, but that is purely hemiesque. The lifters make some noise, but remember, they are rollers. I have a AIRRAID cold air unit and Magnaflow dual 2.5" exhaust on mine right now. I like the sound, but i may eventually switch to the flowmaster unit that is specifically for the lil elephant, as the magnaflows are still a little quiet and don't sound as loud or growl when at idle.And its true..the aftermarket exhaust does make the thing sound a little weird when the MDS goes on,but it doesnt bother me. The MDS only seems to run when you are barely on the gas anyways, so it doesnt really matter. Besides, if people(namely non pentastar enthusiast) are dumb enough to think that it is a piece of crap that sounds like its loosing compression for no reason, then whatever. Atleast i know of the beast that lurks inside when the gas is floored, even if they don't. Thats what counts. Has anyone heard what the new GM Displacement on Demand system sounds like with exhaust..not good in short...(sigh)..ok...my tirade is done..i think i will go out and beat the crap out of my mopars now..lol.
 
'68-340-S said:
Has any one heard of any problems with the 5.7 Hemi? Mine started ticking shortly after I bought it. Also on my second oil change I noticed water on the inside of the oil cap and a little sludge in the dipstick tube.
My coolant res. is on the add line but hasn't gone down from there, it doesn't run hot. It only has 16K miles on it. I'm not as hard on it as I was with my '99. I've heard of two other people who have had similar issues. One of them (from what I've heard) got new heads under warranty... I was also told that he got his old heads back. The other guy has the same issues as me and hasn't had any repair work done yet. On both I've heard that there is a problem with valve clearance.
Any one else hear anything on this?
Click to expand...

we had some really cold temps here in ketchikan recently, and my starter made some strange noises, but it lit off and ticked with the best of them, then it made sense of it, and did what a hemi does:cheers:
 
my 05 hemi was tickin when i bought it with 23k onthe clock has 88k on it now 4 yrs later and i hauled a lot including towing my 79 pw 3/4 ton 4x4 with no problems other than rust on rear quarter pass side ticked me off found it 4 days after rust warranty ran out dodge basicaly said oh well your problem now.
 
My 08' started with the ticking right around that mileage and still has it at 45,000. Brought it in countless times to two dealerships when it was under warranty and was told the range from "they can't find anything" to "they all do it"...... Wrote letters to Dodge and everything to no avail. The "Only" plausible explaination I ever got came from one of the guys at Shophemi.com. To the effect - "The tick is caused by the lifters / MDS system and is exclusive to the 5.7L cars with the MDS system. The system operates buy intermitently droping cylinders. It does this my alternating oil flow to the hydraulic lifters via senenoids to cause some to not open. The ticking we hear is the collapsed lifters and selenoids. The MSD only works at idle / low load rpm which why you don't hear it with some load on the motor.
I almost got rid of my car after 2 years simply because it sounded like it was going to fall apart (sounded like a GM). I will never get another 5.7L unless it is manual shift without the MSD..
 
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