New engine, really?!?!

[LonghornLove]

Let me provide a little background to the story. I bought my 2019 Longhorn about 5 months ago. ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I recently started hearing a ticking sound coming from the driver side wheel well, especially on a cold start. I did a little research and realized it’s probably the common cracked exhaust manifold and/or bolts issue many 5.7L have. With 59,800 miles on it, the bumper to bumper warranty is no longer in effect but the powertrain warranty still is (barely). So I took it in to the dealership yesterday for them to check it out. I get a call this morning confirming that I do have a cracked exhaust manifold but what happens next takes my breath away. The SA also shares they heard another sound coming from inside the engine and determined it’s a cam issue and the engine will need to be replaced. WTF! I need a new engine?! He told me that it isn’t that uncommon and he has a 5.7L Durango in his shop right now with 17,000 miles that has the same issue and is also getting its engine replaced. The good (no, great) news is that it’s completely covered under the powertrain warranty, nothing out of pocket from me, and I’ll get a 3 year 100k warranty on the new motor. I’m pretty freaked out since this is the first vehicle I’ve ever owned that needed to have its engine replaced. My natural reaction is to immediately get rid of it once repaired but it’s honestly my most favorite vehicle I’ve ever owned and I don’t feel the same way about the other truck brands to replace it with. I guess I’ll be keeping it long term unless I continue having issues with it. I’d be interested in hearing if anyone else has had their motor replaced and how did things turn out afterwards.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Shoot, I'd be ecstatic if I had to get my engine replaced with only 200 miles left on power train warranty so I didn't have to pay for it's and have a brand new engine with fresh warranty.

 

[stronbl]

Longhrnlove - Drive it for a while and see if you still love it. If so, keep it. I have a 2013 Porsche Cayenne diesel that had the engine replaced at around 20,000 miles. It leaked oil all the time and as best as Porsche could determine, the lift holes used to lift out the cast iron block somehow cracked. It took awhile to replace the engine since everting had to come from Germany. And I was like you, best vehicle I owned (at the time - now it's my Ram 1500 diesel). Anyway, at 110,000+ miles I still have and drive the Cayenne and the replacement engine has been just fine. Good luck and I hope it all works out for you.

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

I would be doing the Snoopy dance if someone told me this! Heck, I have 40k on the clock, I would reset it.

 

[6of36]

I don't know how they could determine you need a new engine, without tearing it down. What do they think is wrong, that can't just have parts replaced? I too would be very happy, with a brand new engine for free.

 

[LonghornLove]

I don't know how they could determine you need a new engine, without tearing it down. What do they think is wrong, that can't just have parts replaced? I too would be very happy, with a brand new engine for free.

I don’t really understand it either but if I didn’t do it and I had engine trouble in a few months, I’d be kicking myself. Not brand new, a remanufactured engine from Chrysler I was told.

 

[Scap]

I popped an Ecoboom motor (my fault) in 16. Drove it another 5 years with no issues related to the motor.

 

[HSKR R/T]

I don't know how they could determine you need a new engine, without tearing it down. What do they think is wrong, that can't just have parts replaced? I too would be very happy, with a brand new engine for free.

It's not hard to determine. The only thing you wouldn't be able to determine, without opening the engine, is the severity of the internal damage.

 

[6of36]

It's not hard to determine. The only thing you wouldn't be able to determine, without opening the engine, is the severity of the internal damage.

That's my point. How do they know it needs a motor without opening it up? Especially when the OP never heard the noise, the dealer did.

 

[kdoublep]

They know something or they wouldn't offer an engine. Lol

 

[HSKR R/T]

That's my point. How do they know it needs a motor without opening it up? Especially when the OP never heard the noise, the dealer did.

If s lifter failed and there is damage to the cam, replacing the entire engine is the recommended course of action. Getting metal shavings throughout the engine is hard to clean up

 

[Cbty2050]

If s lifter failed and there is damage to the cam, replacing the entire engine is the recommended course of action. Getting metal shavings throughout the engine is hard to clean up

No, just because the cam/lifter fails the engine needs to be torn down to determine if the metal has traveled throughout the engine. There is a STAR case for this exact thing. I would take the engine if the dealer is willing to replace.

On another note, a 658 mile 5.7 Ram was towed in on Tuesday. Engine failure, locked up tight.

 

[Darksteel165]

I got my engine replaced under warranty\recall on my 2014 Kia Optima around 60k miles.
They then gave it some crazy long warranty and I sold the car the next year because I didn't want it to break on me again.

All in all re-manned engines are generally better then new engines as they have already been broken in and metal already expanded\broken in.
Make sure you get the documentation for the new engine, and request what the warranty is on it, generally it's a year or so when something major like that is replaced but can sometimes be more (the warranty on me got extended to 15 years unlimited miles for the engine so would of lasted until 2029 if I kept it) (get it in writing)

If you enjoy the truck I would just keep it, if anything it's more reliable now.

 

[HSKR R/T]

No, just because the cam/lifter fails the engine needs to be torn down to determine if the metal has traveled throughout the engine. There is a STAR case for this exact thing. I would take the engine if the dealer is willing to replace.

On another note, a 658 mile 5.7 Ram was towed in on Tuesday. Engine failure, locked up tight.

True, but if the dealer is going to replace it under warranty, I sure as hell ain't going to go storming into the dealer demanding they open it up first.

 

[Darksteel165]

True, but if the dealer is going to replace it under warranty, I sure as hell ain't going to go storming into the dealer demanding they open it up first.

Unless they are scamming OP, and getting an engine for someone else, or not qualified to replace the engine and leaves it worse off then before.

Ram approved an replacement engine so the dealership must of submitted some kind of proof for the approval.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Unless they are scamming OP, and getting an engine for someone else, or not qualified to replace the engine and leaves it worse off then before.

Ram approved an replacement engine so the dealership must of submitted some kind of proof for the approval.

Why do people jump straight to worst case scenario. If they are a CDJR dealer, then they are qualified to replace the engine. And you can't order an engine for someone else's vehicle. Not saying some dealers might not do shady ****, but this is a stretch. If OP is really concerned they may not actually replace his enginez he could easily mark it somewhere to verify when he gets it back. They aren't going to be looking for inconspicuous marks to replicate in a replacement, and with almost 60k milesz it should be pretty obvious it has a different engine in it

 

[Darksteel165]

Why do people jump straight to worst case scenario. If they are a CDJR dealer, then they are qualified to replace the engine. And you can't order an engine for someone else's vehicle. Not saying some dealers might not do shady ****, but this is a stretch. If OP is really concerned they may not actually replace his enginez he could easily mark it somewhere to verify when he gets it back. They aren't going to be looking for inconspicuous marks to replicate in a replacement, and with almost 60k milesz it should be pretty obvious it has a different engine in it

Customer 1 comes in needs a new engine outside of warranty
Customer 2 comes in and doesn't need an engine but has an active warranty
Dealership gets a replacement engine under warranty for Customer 1 via customer 2, dealership gets the engine for free and charges customer full value. customer 2 has no idea and on paper claims their engine was replaced and gets whatever extended warranty it might come with.

It's called fraud, it's not hard to do and can get done.

Ram isn't going to authorize an engine replacement without an engine tear down of some sort just by someone saying it sounds noisy... They obviously did enough troubleshooting to get a replacement approved and a remanned engine is better then an engine with 60k miles on it.

 

[Cbty2050]

Ram isn't going to authorize an engine replacement without an engine tear down of some sort just by someone saying it sounds noisy... They obviously did enough troubleshooting to get a replacement approved and a remanned engine is better then an engine with 60k miles on it

Dealers do not need approval from the manufacturer to replace a Hemi under warranty. When that engine is returned for warranty, all documents need to match(block info and so on). The dealer needs to tear down the engine to failure and document(photos) of the failure and attach to the claim. The big thing is the oil control valve for VVT, remove that and check for metal. If there is metal, gets new engine. No metal rebuild/repair.

IF they do an analysis of the engine and find replacement wasn't needed the dealer will be charged back. There are engines that need prior approval for replacement, but the 5.7 isn't one of them.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Dealers do not approval from the manufacturer to replace a Hemi under warranty. When that engine is returned for warranty, all documents need to match(block info and so on). The dealer needs to tear down the engine to failure and document(photos) of the failure and attach to the claim. The big thing is the oil control valve for VVT, remove that and check for metal. If there is metal, gets new engine. No metal rebuild/repair.

IF they do an analysis of the engine and find replacement wasn't needed the dealer will be charged back. There are engines that need prior approval for replacement, but the 5.7 isn't one of them.

How dare you refute his conspiracy with facts.

 

[RAL]

Dealers do not approval from the manufacturer to replace a Hemi under warranty. When that engine is returned for warranty, all documents need to match(block info and so on). The dealer needs to tear down the engine to failure and document(photos) of the failure and attach to the claim. The big thing is the oil control valve for VVT, remove that and check for metal. If there is metal, gets new engine. No metal rebuild/repair.

IF they do an analysis of the engine and find replacement wasn't needed the dealer will be charged back. There are engines that need prior approval for replacement, but the 5.7 isn't one of them.

So this means they won’t change the engine unless they are pretty sure they need to do so.