So..my 2000 ram has crossed over the 147k mile mark, and developed a very bad misfire on cylinder 8 the beginning of this week. After replacing several censors, new cat, wires, plugs, and coil, there appeared to be no other fix but to do the good old plenum gasket fix. My kit arrived today, and we started breaking the engine down.

1330 Hours - removed 12th intake manifold bolt, manifold is removed. While I am celebrating that I finally got the intake off, my father is in the background yelling profanities. I look over to see him frantically waving at me to come look at whatever it is he sees. And I look, and see this:



A bent pushrod, on cylinder #4. Oh and did I mention that my plenum gasket was completely blown and needed replacement? I guess I was finally right with my diagnosis..sort of. Atleast now I have an excuse to make some...er modifications. Please talk amongst yourselves. I know it's been forever since I've posted .

Ninja Edit : It appears that in my moment of excitement, I published this in the 3rd gen ram section, and my ram is obviously a 2nd gen. I apologize and ask that this post be moved to the appropriate forum.

 

Did the rocker arm come loose or something or did you over rev it and float the valves? They usually don't bend for no reason.

 

Valve spring was broken between 2nd and 3rd coil at the top. It *appears* that the valve is frozen, though I'm not really sure, didn't want to tap it and have it fall into the cylinder. Won't know for sure if the valve is bent until we pull the head tomorrow. Weird because I've never heard any ticking, and this cylinder has never thrown a misfire code. Had the #8 cylinder not been giving me trouble, I would have never taken the intake off. I have no clue how long the motor has been running like this at all. Definitely has left me scratching my head.

 

Umm, aren't the valves resting on the cam? meaning that they can't fall in because they stop at the cam? I thought they just pulled straight out when there isn't a push rod holding them down too.
If you're pulling the head(s) then get them tested for cracks since that's a common problem with these engines.

edit: I had a brain fart the other day, I was thinking he was worried about the lifters falling into the engine.

 

Naw man, lifters roll on the cam, and push the push rods which actuate the rockers against the springs will, which has a valve stem in the center of it (the spring that is) which opens the valves in unison with the cam.. the valves don't touch the cam at all- the lifters are the only thing that does..

That is one ugly lifter valley yo!!!! This happening of yours goes right back to my biyatching about these engines.. they are too dang tough to tell when something is really jacked up.. they'll just run and run.. not good, drink gas, not produce power for the displacement, but they will floggin' run forever.. huh..

 

Yeah its pretty messy, between the oil, and coolant and trash. I have my work cut out for me to get that cleaned up. Kinda scary to know that all it would have taken was that valve deciding it was going to fall and my motor would have been toast. Although it did break a spring, I must admit that I have a new found respect for a V8 motor that can run as well as this one did with a cylinder out of play. Funny thing was it wasn't the pushrod that threw a code, it was the misfire on #8 from the blown plenum gasket that made the CEL turn on. The irony is thick with this one lol.

 

Oh that looks lovely! By the look of the oil, you might have had a slight head gasket leak as well. Its kind of milk shake looking.

 

I know it is only money and time, but with a bent push rod and 147K, i would give serious consideration to pulling the motor and rebuilding it rather than just pulling the head.

 

Look at the plus side, there's no sludge!

 

It all depends on how sloppily you removed the intake, or whether you drained the radiator when you pulled the intake, but you shouldn't have that kind of coolant in the lifter gallery/valley. You need to shop vac or towel that all out.

You'll need to verify head gasket integrity too. Since you are already pulling one head, might as well pull the other and replace the head gaskets. Check a manual for head bolt torque and the appropriate procedure for tightening them down for a good seal. New valve springs aren't that expensive about $10 a piece, and you can rent-to-return a valve spring compressor from most parts stores.

I'd pour at least 2 quarts of oil over the cam, lifters, rocker arms, and as much of the crankshaft as you can and let it pour straight thru the pan into a catch pan. Also pull all of the pushrods, put them in a gallon freezer bag with some oil in it, and squirt the oil thru the pushrods by squeezing the bag to get any coolant out if them as well.

You have a mess in there. Clean it right, or you'll risk grenading the internals.