Ram hemi engine tap

[RedNeckRacin]

The "going away" is from the metal in the manifold and head expanding temporarily resealing the leak.

 

[dodge man]

Yeah I致e owned 4 5.7 hemis over the years. Like has already been said it痴 a common complaint. It bothers some people but not others. I have a Dodge Challenger that I store over the winter. If it sits for over a month it will tick like crazy for a couple of minutes. It takes several weeks of sitting for this to happen.

The question is what you hear 渡ormal hemi tick which won稚 hurt anything. On the other hand it might be a bad lifter or something else more serious.

 

[LightningCamaroGuy]

Agreed. It sounds like you have a lifter not wanting to move correctly to me. Maybe a little gummed up or something.

This might sound stupid but try some "GOOD" oil and I'm not talking about your typical over the counter synthetic like Mobil 1 or Vaveline, or whatever but something like Amsoil or Redline. Personally for my pushrod motors I prefer that Motul 5W30 Eco-Nergy oil. Right now in my LS1 I got some Vaveline synthetic and I can't wait to go back to my Motul. Valvetrain is whisper quiet with it and unlike other 5W30 's in my LS1 I don't notice any oil burn off between oil changes. It's sold in Liters instead of quarts BTW.
Amazon.com: Motul 7229 81 Eco-nergy 5W-3 1 Percent Synthetic Fuel Economy Gasoline and Diesel Lubricant - 5 Liter: Automotive

In my Modulars I usually run Pennzoil Ultra. I actually prefer it to both Amsoil and Redline although all are excellent oils.

I don't want to over-simplify a fix for a problem but you never know. OHV motors can be kind of loud especially before they reach operating temps. Without tearing into the motor finding an oil your motor seams to run happier on is the easiest/cheapest way to try and quiet it down in my experience.

 

[KubotainNH]

Not a Dodge but my FIL's Chevy had a lifter noise that sounds similar to this. He read online to put an oil additive in, maybe it was Lucas? Using it the issue went away within a week and never came back. That was at least 5 years ago.

 

[daugen]

I found it interesting that Dodge/Ram looked at me like I was nuts two years ago when I asked for synthetic oil at my first oil change. They only had dino oil at the dealership. The dealer thought synthetic oil was unnecessary. (!)So it started to tap with regular oil, thinking full synthetic might help, and I used Pennzoil Ultra too. No change at all. Viscosity or oil variables not at play it seems.

This truck is still under warranty. I don't believe any engine should tap for more than a second or two. Let's face it, how long should it take for the oil to get to where it's needed?

I'm hoping it's a bad lifter and I hope they can identify it and change it out. If not I will sell the truck.
I maintain 26 engines (3 vehicles) and not one knocks or taps other than this one. Not going to own an engine that does this.
again, two or three seconds, I can just wait and be patient. I get the "hemi tick". Ten minutes of tapping tells me I have a problem.
Yet the next day, started without a sound.

I am not going to keep this truck and have it grenade on me out of warranty. I thought I had bought a keeper for retirement.
Maybe not.
And this truck will sit a lot, I drive my Outback normally and only use the truck for, well, truck stuff.

 

[RandyT]

When looking at oils for my 2011 hemi so time back, I discovered that almost all oils do not meet the Chrysler oil specifications. And at the time none of the synthetics. It calls for like, some SAE classification with some Chrysler spec number, and most oils with that classification don't list the Chrysler spec.

 

[daugen]

When looking at oils for my 2011 hemi so time back, I discovered that almost all oils do not meet the Chrysler oil specifications. And at the time none of the synthetics. It calls for like, some SAE classification with some Chrysler spec number, and most oils with that classification don't list the Chrysler spec.

this is why despite the jacked up price I like to let the dealer put their oil in when they do the change, if they stock it and put it in, must be ok, right?
I hear you, surprising info. Strange oil, 0-40 or something like that.
Part of the challenge is the engineers looking for max efficiency may spec something that does indeed operate more efficiently
but has side effects that they must consider acceptable.
Like using more than a quart of oil between oil changes that has some cars on an avoid list.

I wish I could trust FCA to be honest here but I can't. The dealership thankfully is outstanding. If they come back and say we put a new lifter in, or whatever...,
I will be satisfied until the next time it taps for more than three or four seconds. And I guess I have to start it once a week.

 

[daugen]

Not a Dodge but my FIL's Chevy had a lifter noise that sounds similar to this. He read online to put an oil additive in, maybe it was Lucas? Using it the issue went away within a week and never came back. That was at least 5 years ago.

Now that kind of elixir would certainly rate the name of
Magic Mystery Oil
:thumbsup:

truck has 22k miles on it, like new, has towed a trailer, worked hard, but not too hard, does not burn oil at all,
gas mileage has dropped a little but I have a heavy foot. So it's not like I'm driving it around like a little old man all day.
It started tapping around 5k miles. Minimal at first. Intermittent, not sure if directly related to days parked. Apparently
it must be.

One immediately wonders if some high detergent additive might flush out some gunk that is clogging an oil line.
Something caused that ten minute tap. And then it cleared up totally, so it sounds like a blockage went away.
Pure speculation. Intermittents can drive you nuts.

 

[Btown]

When looking at oils for my 2011 hemi so time back, I discovered that almost all oils do not meet the Chrysler oil specifications. And at the time none of the synthetics. It calls for like, some SAE classification with some Chrysler spec number, and most oils with that classification don't list the Chrysler spec.

Yes, that is because the oil company did not test their oil which cost them big $$$. Just to get the blessing from the auto company. Most oil companies test their oil and they usually surpass the manufacturers specs.

 

[Egon]

Like many have said, hydraulic lifters. In past years I think this might have been quite normal.