21 5.7 Hemi; Valvoline EP 5w-20 3k mi

Just did a 1164 mile change 95% of which was towing travel trailer, iron down to 13. Thats putting me about 11 FE per 1,000 miles. I'm gonna guess my end of summer change its gonna drop down even more. It seems to be the pattern now. No noise from the engine other than the injectors. Though at startup i'm starting to wonder if the manifolds are starting to go.

During the winter i will do a mid winter oil change and put in a block heater. Curious to see if there is an exponential curve of iron buildup in the winter.
View attachment 287349
Hopefully you're on the right track. I just posted a UOA on my 2016 and it has really been liking Mobil 1 5w-30.. 2.94ppm FE per 1k miles on a 6600mi change.
 
Just did a 1164 mile change 95% of which was towing travel trailer, iron down to 13. Thats putting me about 11 FE per 1,000 miles.
There is typically 15 to 20% carryover of used oil when the oil is changed. Around 7 to 10 ppm of that 13 ppm iron will be from the leftover oil, so your iron/1k miles is much lower than 11 ppm, and similar to your other summer UOAs.

If the issue is moisture, I'm wondering if the catch can is the problem. Without a catch can, water vapour in the blowby gasses will mostly stay in vapour form and will get ingested by the engine. With a catch can, you'll have a lot of moisture being captured and then just sitting there in the can. After the engine is shut off, some of it will evaporate and create a more humid environment in the intake system. Catch cans have been known to cause blockage of the PCV system caused by water freezing in the lines.

A block heater might help by keeping the blowby gasses warmer. You could also consider insulating the catch can and the lines. I would just remove it entirely. There's probably not much of a benefit to a catch can on a port injected engine anyway.
 
There is typically 15 to 20% carryover of used oil when the oil is changed. Around 7 to 10 ppm of that 13 ppm iron will be from the leftover oil, so your iron/1k miles is much lower than 11 ppm, and similar to your other summer UOAs.

This is why taking a "0 hour" sample, after changing the oil and running for 5-10 minutes, is better than a virgin sample for tracking wear metals.
 
Interesting. When did they fix the lifter problem? I thought it was design flaw with this engine?
I don’t think it was ever fixed. The issue became less common after a certain point (that point is heavily debated), but the issue still exists.
 
Interesting. When did they fix the lifter problem? I thought it was design flaw with this engine?
The lifters were revised again in 2018, which was supposed to eliminate it (though I think it just greatly reduced the rate of occurrence). It's not a design problem with the engine, it's a materials issue with the lifters (primarily, though the odd one has had delamination issues with the SADI camshafts). GM and Ford both have the same problem, with GM having the additional issue of their AFM/DFM lifters failing.

Edit:
Here's a comparison pic of the old (small) needles vs the new (~2018+) lifters with the larger needles:
1751928092374.webp


These new ones were apparently made in Germany (according to the box in the video).
 
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My 2021 5.7 tracks about 2.8 ppm/1000 miles on a 7500 interval running Pennzoil platinum 5-20 since new. (I had one TBN test ran early on to make sure the oil was up to the 7500 interval and not blindly trusting the OLM).

It sees lots of longer heavily loaded runs in the summer and 12 miles one way every day during the week.

Load/summer winter doesn’t seem to change wear metals on UOAs.
 
The lifters were revised again in 2018, which was supposed to eliminate it (though I think it just greatly reduced the rate of occurrence). It's not a design problem with the engine, it's a materials issue with the lifters (primarily, though the odd one has had delamination issues with the SADI camshafts). GM and Ford both have the same problem, with GM having the additional issue of their AFM/DFM lifters failing.

Edit:
Here's a comparison pic of the old (small) needles vs the new (~2018+) lifters with the larger needles:
View attachment 288419

These new ones were apparently made in Germany (according to the box in the video).
Thanks for your reply and for the photos. I would still be hesitant to own a vehicle with this engine. It seems some are trouble free and others aren’t. Again thanks your thoughtful reply.
 
Thanks for your reply and for the photos. I would still be hesitant to own a vehicle with this engine. It seems some are trouble free and others aren’t. Again thanks your thoughtful reply.
We had a small fleet of 2011/2012 trucks at work, which is peak lifter failure era, and most of them failed (there are two, one of which is still in the fleet, that didn't have the issue), but it was at around 200,000 miles on each of them like clockwork. The one Laramie Longhorn got a new engine and is still on the road, the others were all traded on DT's.

Personally, I'd be far more concerned about a GM V8 with AFM/DFM than I would be with a 2018+ HEMI, since the HEMI MDS system isn't failure prone, while the GM lifters are, and they also have the same metallurgical issues with the AFM/DFM and non-AFM/DFM lifters that FCA/Stellantis and Ford do.

But, to each their own of course 🍻
 
I WORK IN A REFINERY AND WE HAVE RAM TRUCKS/HEMIS .... THESE TRUCK ARE NOT WELL TAKEN CARE OF AND NEVER SEE AN OPEN ROAD ... SPEED LIMIT IS 20MPH OR LESS AND THESE TRUCKS IDLE FOR HOURS ..... I THINK THEY GET THEM SERVICED WITH SEMI SYNTHETIC OIL BY THE WINDOW STICKER ..... IVE NEVER SEEN AN ENGINE PROBLEM AND THEY'RE ALL OVER 150K..... NO TICKS OR ANYTHING...... my 2016 ram has 118k. I run valvoline extended protection high mileage 5w30 and either a mobil 113a or mopar 339 filter ........ owned since new and used pup most of the time before that so I hope for the best
 
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