Dodge Hemi running bad

[Farmwithjunk]

A quick update;

The truck is in the shop. A.S.E. Certified mechanic. Former Dodge dealership tech will be working on it. He's very familiar with the Hemi. Valve cover is off. Intake valve spring on #1 cylinder is broke. Valve NOT dropped (YEAH!) Valve sealed and compression holding tight. (YEAH again!) Spring is $11 and change. Labor $260 to $280 . Truck should be back at home by 5PM.

If you're ever in Mt Washington Kentucky and need help with your ride, contact Goins Automotive at 502 538 7200. VERY professional, VERY well run business. Prices are great. Work is warranted. It's a shame they aren't in the tractor business!

 

[Z-Michigan]

Makes sense now. In my area of mid-Michigan diesel has not been below $2.79 in the last year, and has been mostly 2.99. Good news is that it hasn't gone above $3.09 if you know where to buy it. Gasoline has swung from $2.49 to $3.59 in the same time period.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Good news just got better. The truck is done! It took less time to fix than first estimated. Mechanic charges actual time spent and not "flat rate" from a book. Total bill for new valve spring installed.......? $254.40

Back in the day when I would have attemted this repair myself I wouldn't have done it for double that price. So rare to find a REAL BARGAIN in todays world.

Thanks to the guys at GOINS AUTOMOTIME, Mt Washington Kentucky (502) 538 7200/(502) 955 7200 Quality work at a low price! What a novel idea!

 

[john_bud]

Glad you're back among the living! Finding it's a cheap solution is a great thing.

jb

 

[Dmace]

Good to hear the truck is up and running, and at a great price!

Now I need to take a closer look at the springs on my 03 HEMI Ram.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Good to hear the truck is up and running, and at a great price!

Now I need to take a closer look at the springs on my 03 HEMI Ram.

I'll try to post a picture of the broken spring later on tonight. The 2 halves essentially screwed themselves together. That might have prevented the valve from dropping. I don't see what kept it from coil binding and bending a push rod or rocker arm, but thank GOD for small miracles.

The shop owner and I spent a good bit of time researching to see if Dodge issued a service bulletin on the springs. None found.

I'm putting this shop on speed dial! With what can happen at an auto repair shop these days, I'm amazed this place isn't swamped with business. It's a father/son operation with 6 mechanics besides them. They bought a failing business with a bad rep. That was 10 years ago. The owner said they're just now crawling oout from under the bad reputation. I'll do my part to get the word out. Good, reliable, friendly, and low prices. Hard to beat.

 

[podagrower]

Just a quick question FWJ. Are the coil packs and plugs accesable from the outside of the engine on the Hemi?

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Just a quick question FWJ. Are the coil packs and plugs accesable from the outside of the engine on the Hemi?

Yes. Each cylinder has a coil pack. It is essentially the end of a plug wire. Each cylinder has a "sister" cylinder on the opposite bank. That cylinders coil pack fires the second plug. The plugs are directly at the top of ech cylinder.

"Accesable" is a rather difficult way of describing access to a couple cylinders. They're directly underneath the power brake booster. It takes a contorsionist with long skinny fingers and patience of a rock to get at them.

6 out of 8 cylinders are a piece of cake.

Yesterday was the first time in 2 years I drove the HO Turbo Cummins truck without a loaded trailer behind it. The Hemi is s strong running motor but that Cummins is like a top fuel dragster after driving that gasser.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Yesterday was the first time in 2 years I drove the HO Turbo Cummins truck without a loaded trailer behind it. The Hemi is s strong running motor but that Cummins is like a top fuel dragster after driving that gasser.

What's the power rating on the 03 and is it 5.9L?

We have a 2006 5.9L, rated I think 325hp / 605lb-ft, loaded in a Ram 2500 4x4 quad cab. I don't find it all fast in acceleration. I'll bet it needs 12+ seconds to go 0-60. I do find it very smooth, I love that inline-6 turbodiesel thrum, and most importantly, it doesn't slow down perceptibly when towing 5000lbs of 3-horse gooseneck.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

What's the power rating on the 03 and is it 5.9L?

We have a 2006 5.9L, rated I think 325hp / 605lb-ft, loaded in a Ram 2500 4x4 quad cab. I don't find it all fast in acceleration. I'll bet it needs 12+ seconds to go 0-60. I do find it very smooth, I love that inline-6 turbodiesel thrum, and most importantly, it doesn't slow down perceptibly when towing 5000lbs of 3-horse gooseneck.

I'd have to look up the specs on the '03. I don't recall what the HP/torque ratings are. BUT... the low end power is what makes them so impressive. With the exception of the last couple days, this truck always has a 25' gooseneck hooked to it, usually loaded to give 9,000 to 11,000 tow load. I've had simular loads behind the HEmi. It does a decent job, but no where NEAR the performance of that Cummins. (Both are automatics) The Hemi does have a slight advantage (unloaded) in midrange acceleration, and about even on top end. Where the diesel shines is in that stump pulling low end.

The '03 and prior Dodges have one flaw that makes me tend to favor driving the '04. (Besides the "free gas" my employer provides) Dodge 4X4's prior to '04 had issues with the steering box. They'd wear a bit and tend to make the truck wander back and forth. Driving the '03, I needed to saw the steering wheel a bit to maintain a straight path down the road. Dodge issued a service bulletin explaining the "fix". After a few miles of running the truck empty, and realizing it wasn't a big load causing the truck to handle bad, I'm on the case, getting that steering box adjusted as soon as possible.

The '04 (with the Hemi) is a much more mild mannered "everyday driver", all things considered.