i own a 2004 dodge ram with the 5.7 hemi im not sure if im the first to do this.. but i was driving and noticed a slight surging and rattle when i was sittin in drive at idle. went to a store came home noticed a ticking noise.. drove into the garage... the ticking came into a thunk thunk thunk... had it towed to the dealer.. i have airraid intake on my truck and the dealer claimed that a foriegn object got sucked in my intake and went into cylinder #4 and pounded the spark plug gaps completly shut causing a misfire, and that got pounded further damging the head and so on.. #4 is down to 50 psi compression,, they took the plugs out put new ones in flushed the cylinder out and started it.. slight misfire and a slight ticking and the compression went to 55 psi ... but what i think happened was that the valve keepers came loose and the motor dropped a valve causing the slight ticking..(piston hittin the valve, when i shut it off the valve prety much fell further, when i started it i think a fragment of the valve came apart and was jaming between piston and cylinder / head.. i dunno if my theory is right because the spark plugs went dented up meaning sumthing hard was in there.. like seriously would anything that hard geti thru the intake.. ive had it on a long time and theirs no screws only hose clamps that hold it together.. i dunno guys .. any opinons.. if its the intake they wont warranty it... so i dunno any help?

 

Is there anything from the intake that would have come off like they said? It probably dropped a valve like you were thinking.

 

i dont think anything from the intake woulda came off the system consisted of 3-4 hose clamps and used the stock intake box bottom.. i dunno maybe the throttle body or sumthing like that woulda came apart.. im prayin its a valve cause this aint gonna be cheap if i have to pay for it... damn you intake lol!!

 

I'd offer to pay the labor to have the dealer pull the valve cover and inspect there (you might want to be there for that), on the condition that they reimburse you if it turns out to be a warranty claim.

 

I think I would also have the valve cover removed...and would also be there live and in person. If you know anyone in the plumbing business "major firm" contact them to see if they have a mini camera used for pipe inspections. You could find out all you need to know by inserting the cam through the plug opening. I found that I had a air cleaner wing nut stuck in valve. Took all the guess work out and I didn't have to tear anything down until after I had confirmed the problem. It's worth a shot.

 

Sounds like the dealer is looking for an excuse to not cover this under warranty. I've read threads on another dodge sites where several owners with the "hemi tick" ended up with broken valve springs. You may have a tough battle ahead. I'll keep my fingers crossed that everything works out for you.

 

That's a good suggestion. If they don't want to warranty the engine let then prove to you that something from the intake did in fact break and cause the problem. It would seem to me that the burden of proof would be on the dealership. If the cylinder is empty of anything that looks like it came from the intake, they owe you an engine. If they get real crappy over it, I'd get a lawyer.

 

chances are that if you damaged a valve that bad, you probably also damaged the piston. They'll no doubt opt for a replacement crate motor. You would be money ahead if you got a boroscope (1/4' dia. snake with a lighted camera on the end of it. They can take pictures and video on some, and save them to floppy or vhs. I use them at work occasionally. You could feed it in through the oil fill cap and through the spark plug hole. It would be worth your money to see if you could find one at a rent all tool shop. Most private owners won't let loose of them because they are very expensive to buy. Then you have some ammo for the dealer. Make sure you do this before you even contact the dealer. This could end up going back to the reps in detroit for approval and verification of the problem. Make sure if you do use the boroscope that you record the vin # of your truck with it too as part of the evidence.
You can also record this electronically to attach for e-mails and such, I did this with a olds intrigue my wife drives, and even though the car is out of warranty, gm sent me a buying credit of $500 to keep me as a customer. The front stabalizer bar snapped. I bought a dodge instead!!

Hope this works out for you, I'm sure this isn't the only one this has happened to. A guy I work with has a 2002 or 03 1500, had some wiring problems, they ended up putting a whole entire new wire harness in the truck from front to back--he bought the extended
warranty--also had the entire front end steering linkages rebuilt--he's already paid for ext. warranty!!!

 

I purchased the extended service contract (ext warranty) so im hoping that they would cover it.. i check my air cleaner and noticed everything was tight and the filter was fittin snug.. i cleaned the air filter a month before the happened.. and yes i had the hemi tick.. and the noise it was making sounded more of an exageratted version of the tick..i drove it in my drive way and i was the soft tick (hemi tick) then while it was idling it just a lil louder just slightly tho.. i put the truck in drive and it stalled.. started it back up and that tick became a thunk thunk.. the spark plugs were dented on the gapper ( lol) which looked to me like sumthing metal .. not a pebble or dirt..and yes their is piston damage and most likly ring damage.. hence 55 psi in #4 piston.. well they are tearin the head off it on monday.. and going from there i plan to take that day off college to be there.. (this really blows cause im a young guy going to college) the mechanic thats working on it is a long time friend of my step father.. so maybe that will help a bit.. anyways gotta run .. lol they cant give me a rental vehical either ( im not 21) so im currently drive a ford ranger.. i hate that ranger comon fix it!

later dan

 

I'm not sure which hurts worse, the blown motor or havin to drive the ranger--oh well, its gets you to school and back!