5thGenRams Forums

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Lifters loud on Hemi?

^^^ interesting, my truck has been at dealer going on 2 weeks have complained about it. Since 200 miles on it. Mines on drivers side also. It’s just 1 not all of them on that bank. Even then I’m suspicious it’s the lifter, it could be something else.

I will admit my patience is getting thin. More the lack of communication about it then anything. Also the lack of Atleast asking to put me in a loaner or if I need one. Star case from ram cares Was started the day it was brought in to dealer. Then was told at beginning of this week the tech sent a star case himself... yet to hear anything more.
with all that’s going on right now in the world. I’m giving the benefit of doubt.
In my frustration if they don’t find/say it’s normal. I’m either just going to let it go or cam it and be done with it.
Warranty has no value if it doesn’t fix legitimate complaints people paying a lot of their hard earned money for a product.
 
I've been lucky to see the inside when the master tech tore more than one down .. the oil pump is not strong enough it seems -- and these engines do NOT like idle time (he has rebuilt 3 local Police Dept's vehicles -- they idle all day then they full throttle them .. oil pressure drops below 10 psi when idling on most models which starves the lifter area. I was shocked, to say the least, when I realized these engines were still push rods too.

The oil starvation causes the cams to wear down .. you should see some of the grooves the lifters make on the cams. The one he showed me today has at least 3-4 mm wear and made the "oval" lifter look more like a "spade" from the wear. :(

Reminds me of one of my project cars .. I swapped from 5w30 to 10w30 (thicker) and that seemed to help my valve area (because the engine ran hotter than a stock engine - on purpose). Not saying anyone should try that on our Hemi's, but it isn't just related to the trucks, the Chargers and the Durangos also have the same issue.
 
I am new to this forum, but have been trying to research a definite engine knock when driving. I have a 2019 Laramie I got brand new, 10 miles on the odo on Oct 1st 2019. I have only 5600 miles on it now and I noticed what sounds like a light knock anytime I am driving and then give it a little gas from speeds of 25 mph or more, usually after coasting. I noticed this within the 1st 200 miles on the truck. At around 1,200 miles, took it in for a minor cosmetic paint flaw (noted on delivery and owed to repair) and also had them do the 1st oil change since I was planning a long trip from NY to FL and back. My dealer told me they did not see anything wrong with the engine. Personally, I don't even think they even did the oil change since the truck drove exactly the same and still had the mild knock on acceleration. I put another 4,000 miles on that trip to Florida and other than the knock on light acceleration, it drove fine. When I got back, the Pandemic started and I left the truck in the driveway only taking it out for 15 minute drives to get groceries every two weeks. I got the wiper recall last week and my dealer had me come in the next day and I had them do the 2nd oil change (this dealer gives you unlimited ones for the 1st year). I mentioned the knock and they said you have to make another appointment for that since I was in the "Express lane" for recalls and an oil change (very inconvenient since I was already there) . Funny how they did sell me a tire rotation. After nearly two hours, I got the truck back, the engine felt so much smoother (so I could feel the fresh oil this time) but I still had the knock. I had tried many different gas brands, all top names like Shell, Exxon/Mobil and BP to name a few and tried all grades of gas (From NY to Florida), currently there is BP 93 octane in it. I really love the truck but I am concerned that this knock is damaging the engine the more I drive it. Can this be due to defective lifters? I would appreciate any suggestions.
 
Just a quick update on my truck. I picked up my truck Thursday we just had. Adviser at dealer said and paper work shows all lifters were replaced. only been a few days, have zero engine noise.

As I’m in multiple threads on around this subject I’ll make my own. Give my impression and XP of all this.
 
I find that kind of weird since unless there was damage they could have adjusted any loose lifters and if the lifters were damaged why didn't they also replace the push rods?
 
Odds are its not the lifters you are hearing but the natural sound of the hemispherical design. The valves are on a different angle on Hemis this produces a very distinct sound when the noise bounces off of things and comes back to you. If you dont hear it at idle with the windows down and only when there is something for the sound to bounce off of I bet this is what you are hearing.

I have had several Hemis over the years and the first I thought I had lifter noise till I talked to an old school dodge mechanic. If you do some research on the hemi design you will find this info.
you are dead wrong...if you think the current 5.7 has true hemi heads(like the 426) you might want to do some research...
 
Last edited:
^^^As I do agree. There is a distinctive noise from the modern day hemi design. Big ports big valves
 
Do you tow anything? If so does it knock more when you are towing?

I don't tow anything. I hear it every time I drive, not at idle but under light load, usually after I let off the gas and accelerate again. It goes away after a few seconds of accelerating. Then comes back. I do not hear it at idle nor do I hear it from a dead stop to acceleration. But once up to some speed, I get it each time I give it gas for just a few seconds and then it stops. I would call it a typical engine knock if it was low octane gas, but I have premium in there now and have had used it on several fill ups, which it really shouldn't need in any case.
 
^^^Sounds like spark knock. Which is weird as hemis are super knock sensitive. I would set up appointment with tech and go for a ride. If it’s doing it all the time. Wouldn’t hurt, should get some answers or star case and such.
 
I am new to this forum, but have been trying to research a definite engine knock when driving. I have a 2019 Laramie I got brand new, 10 miles on the odo on Oct 1st 2019. I have only 5600 miles on it now and I noticed what sounds like a light knock anytime I am driving and then give it a little gas from speeds of 25 mph or more, usually after coasting. I noticed this within the 1st 200 miles on the truck. At around 1,200 miles, took it in for a minor cosmetic paint flaw (noted on delivery and owed to repair) and also had them do the 1st oil change since I was planning a long trip from NY to FL and back. My dealer told me they did not see anything wrong with the engine. Personally, I don't even think they even did the oil change since the truck drove exactly the same and still had the mild knock on acceleration. I put another 4,000 miles on that trip to Florida and other than the knock on light acceleration, it drove fine. When I got back, the Pandemic started and I left the truck in the driveway only taking it out for 15 minute drives to get groceries every two weeks. I got the wiper recall last week and my dealer had me come in the next day and I had them do the 2nd oil change (this dealer gives you unlimited ones for the 1st year). I mentioned the knock and they said you have to make another appointment for that since I was in the "Express lane" for recalls and an oil change (very inconvenient since I was already there) . Funny how they did sell me a tire rotation. After nearly two hours, I got the truck back, the engine felt so much smoother (so I could feel the fresh oil this time) but I still had the knock. I had tried many different gas brands, all top names like Shell, Exxon/Mobil and BP to name a few and tried all grades of gas (From NY to Florida), currently there is BP 93 octane in it. I really love the truck but I am concerned that this knock is damaging the engine the more I drive it. Can this be due to defective lifters? I would appreciate any suggestions.

If you aren't familiar with the MDS (cylinder deactivation) system this could also be what you are describing or be related to it. I suggest enabling the green "ECO" light on your instrument cluster so you know when the system is activated and try to duplicate the concern. You can then disable the MDS by using the gear limit switch on your steering wheel and setting it to 8 (so all your gears are still available) and then see if the concern still occurs in the conditions you listed above.
 
If you aren't familiar with the MDS (cylinder deactivation) system this could also be what you are describing or be related to it. I suggest enabling the green "ECO" light on your instrument cluster so you know when the system is activated and try to duplicate the concern. You can then disable the MDS by using the gear limit switch on your steering wheel and setting it to 8 (so all your gears are still available) and then see if the concern still occurs in the conditions you listed above.
So if it is the MDS system, would it result in a few seconds of engine knock when the system goes on and off? Also, would the MDS system kick in going a slow 25 mph? I will need to check this. Being in a Quarantine state and not driving much, my truck is three vehicles back in my driveway, so this may take until the weekend before I can test this (once I figure out how to enable the eco light as mentioned in below post). Thanks for the info.
 
^^^ it’s def different. If you are unknowing off it will make you crazy. Yes can happen at about any speed even lower then 25. Try disablement of it with gear select and drive around see if it goes away
 
So if it is the MDS system, would it result in a few seconds of engine knock when the system goes on and off? Also, would the MDS system kick in going a slow 25 mph? I will need to check this. Being in a Quarantine state and not driving much, my truck is three vehicles back in my driveway, so this may take until the weekend before I can test this (once I figure out how to enable the eco light as mentioned in below post). Thanks for the info.

To me it feels like a slight shudder and an audible "knock" sound when cylinder deactivation is active and the truck is attempting to accelerate with very little throttle input. There seems to be a range of a few millimeters that the pedal can move before the requested acceleration causes all the cylinders to activate which then causes a slightly louder noise when the solenoids are de-energized (assuming fail safe to all cylinders active). I've seen the system stay active all the way down to a full stop before all cylinders reactivate at a standing idle.

This is my first vehicle with this type of system so the feel and noise was a bit concerning to me before I found out what was going on.

On the subject of lifter noise, replacing the Mopar oil filter with a good quality K&N or Puralator has made the biggest difference in noise at idle for me.
 
What up fellas ... Im new. And im super pissed today. I switched over to RAM after being a long time Ford Owner. I own a 2020 Ram 1500 limited. The loud knock started this weekend ... I parked the car the rest of Memorial Day weekend, had it towed back to dealer first thing Tuesday. I indeed had a collapsed lifter on valve 3 - creating misfires and loud knock. The dealer is going to "fix" the issue. I spend $60K on a truck , have it for 5 months, 6400 miles and im stuck with a bunk *** engine. BS. I wanted a new engine put in, but they wont do it. I may end up selling the damn thing and going back to Ford
 
So I have taken two trips to PA from NY and logged about 600 miles over the last two weekends. I did experiment with the Eco light to see when MDS kicks in and out. I definitely noticed a more pronounced and frequent knock when lightly accelerating in Eco mode (4 cylinder) and it goes into 8 cylinder mode. When I engaged the shift points on the steering wheel to -8, thereby bypassing Eco mode, it was quieter, knock wise when accelerating lightly. But, when accelerating harder from let's say 50 MPH to 65 MPH, I could here some knocking for a second or two. This required a harder press of the accelerator, but I could hear it. I tried this many times, on level as well as hilly roads. So I thought I had it figured out with the Eco mode cycling on an off but now I am convinced that is not entirely the issue. Can the dealer tell by hooking it up to a scan tool if the lifter(s) is/are bad? I have a feeling this is going to be a tough dealer fight since it took me quite a bit of road time to finally hear the differences under different driving modes.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top