5.7 Hemi cams

[SteveG4]

Great thread, one that I will need to reread a few times. Experience is speaking here. I'm not sure consensus was had, though I do believe the usage of a 0W-40 oil in this engine would make me sleep better.

Hardening and or general metallurgy does appear to be an issue; perhaps it's an industry-wide quality issue?

Come to think of it, what were the thoughts or reasons behind the applicable MS oil spec(s) surrounding the 6.4L HD truck and possibly the SRT engines? The spec I'm speaking of calls for rated 0W-40 oil. Was it MOFT, besides others? Thanks.

 

[OVERKILL]

Great thread, one that I will need to reread a few times. Experience is speaking here. I'm not sure consensus was had, though I do believe the usage of a 0W-40 oil in this engine would make me sleep better.

Hardening and or general metallurgy does appear to be an issue; perhaps it's an industry-wide quality issue?

Come to think of it, what were the thoughts or reasons behind the applicable MS oil spec(s) surrounding the 6.4L HD truck and possibly the SRT engines? The spec I'm speaking of calls for rated 0W-40 oil. Was it MOFT, besides others? Thanks.

All of the SRT engines have called for 0w-40 since the beginning. Was originally M1 0w-40, then the SOPUS watered down one after the Fiat takeover. The 6.4L HD engine appeared to continue that trend, calling for the same SRT 0w-40 for whatever reason.

With everybody and their grandmother going overhead cam, there does seem to be some QC issues with pushrod components. Both GM and FCA (previously DC) have had lifter issues and it appears that FCA had cam core issues, which GM has avoided by using billet cores rather than SADI.

The issue with SADI cores overall has been an intermittent problem since the late 90's from what I recall. Once the industry began moving away from pushrods, it became quite difficult to get quality cores, the production of which I believe was off-shored. This was particularly problematic for flat tappet applications (which use SADI cores) and was one of the reason for the "WE NEED MORE ZINC!" response to failures, which, in reality, didn't solve anything. Even stock replacement camshafts, for which normal levels of ZDDP were more than sufficient, were suffering failures. QC issues from the main aftermarket brands were widespread which had to do with the quality of the cores they were receiving.

This really isn't "new". GM had a rash of issues with SADI flat tappet cores during I believe the early 80's? Stock broomstick cams would lose lobes and camshaft replacement was common. Ford and Dodge didn't have the same problem, likely due to using a different supplier.

 

[Zee09]

Has this issue been resolved on 2021+ vehicles?

 

[OVERKILL]

Has this issue been resolved on 2021+ vehicles?

The lifter issue was supposed to be resolved several times now, lol. The part has been revised at least three times. Supposedly, yes, it is "fixed" now, I believe in 2017 or 2018+ vehicles, but I'm not sure if it has been completely eliminated or not. I think they need to start using billet cam cores IMHO.

 

[Zee09]

The lifter issue was supposed to be resolved several times now, lol. The part has been revised at least three times. Supposedly, yes, it is "fixed" now, I believe in 2017 or 2018+ vehicles, but I'm not sure if it has been completely eliminated or not. I think they need to start using billet cam cores IMHO.

That is what bothers me.
Not really knowing if you buy a new one is it really fixed or makeshift fixed..
I had a RT Challenger but did not keep it long enough for these issues to surface. Thanks overkill

 

[OVERKILL]

That is what bothers me.
Not really knowing if you buy a new one is it really fixed or makeshift fixed..
I had a RT Challenger but did not keep it long enough for these issues to surface. Thanks overkill

Keep in mind, it's only a very small percentage of vehicles that will ever be impacted by the issue, even back before the multiple lifter revisions. Of our 2011/2012 DS's, only one had a lifter fail, the others, which are now higher mileage, some considerably (north of 200,000 miles) have not.

 

[TeamZero]

The reason to stay away from Ram. For as long that engine has been out they can’t get their act together. As a consumer I’d be pissed.

lol.....its not near as big an issue as you make it out to be. We hardly do any ,and are a large dealer.

 

[OVERKILL]

lol.....its not near as big an issue as you make it out to be. We hardly do any ,and are a large dealer.

Yup, that's been my observation, and the same from the techs I've asked. While they do have to do cam and lifters every once in a while, it's not a common issue.

 

[BornSlippy]

Yup, that's been my observation, and the same from the techs I've asked. While they do have to do cam and lifters every once in a while, it's not a common issue.

Overkill,

As a sort of related question, where do you buy Ravenol in Canada?

 

[OVERKILL]

Overkill,

As a sort of related question, where do you buy Ravenol in Canada?

First batch I bought on Amazon, the shipping was insane. Second batch I bought through Blauparts, had it shipped to an American address and had it picked up. That was much better!

 

[CarDoc66]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that one picture of the cam showing a chunk that has spalled out? Not sure how lifters could cause that, it looks more likely to be really poor metallurgy or hardening of the cam.

I agree, or a poor quality casting.

 

[CarDoc66]

Yup, that's been my observation, and the same from the techs I've asked. While they do have to do cam and lifters every once in a while, it's not a common issue.

I was at a dealer up until a year ago. We did some cams but not an epidemic. You have to remember Chrysler puts hemi’s in everything and anything they possibly can fit it into, so there are A LOT of those motors out there.
FWIW, the police cars and customers with poor OCI habits are the worst offenders.
I’d be willing to bet the police cars use the cheapest bulk oil they can find (most local departments do their own maintenance around here and it’s minimal at best).
I’ve seen many 200k+ mi hemis purring away with original valve trains.
I also noticed that people who drive them like they stole them, with good maintenance, have less issues.
I love my VVT 5.7. Smooth, efficient, torquey and it sounds sooo good. The VVT version responds well to tuning too.

 

[BornSlippy]

I was at a dealer up until a year ago. We did some cams but not an epidemic. You have to remember Chrysler puts hemi’s in everything and anything they possibly can fit it into, so there are A LOT of those motors out there.
FWIW, the police cars and customers with poor OCI habits are the worst offenders.
I’d be willing to bet the police cars use the cheapest bulk oil they can find (most local departments do their own maintenance around here and it’s minimal at best).
I’ve seen many 200k+ mi hemis purring away with original valve trains.
I also noticed that people who drive them like they stole them, with good maintenance, have less issues.
I love my VVT 5.7. Smooth, efficient, torquey and it sounds sooo good. The VVT version responds well to tuning too.

Straight from my 2019 RAM 1500 Owner's Manual;

"Heavy Duty Use Of The Vehicle Change engine oil at 4,000 miles (6,500 km) or 350 hours of engine run time if the vehicle is operated in a dusty and off road environment or is operated predominately at idle or only very low engine RPM’s. This type of vehicle use is considered Severe Duty. "

Change it often, and get on the go pedal.

 

[CarDoc66]

Straight from my 2019 RAM 1500 Owner's Manual;

"Heavy Duty Use Of The Vehicle Change engine oil at 4,000 miles (6,500 km) or 350 hours of engine run time if the vehicle is operated in a dusty and off road environment or is operated predominately at idle or only very low engine RPM’s. This type of vehicle use is considered Severe Duty. "

Change it often, and get on the go pedal.

I swear by “driving like you stole it”!