Well, I'm hearing things about these and wanted to know. It's about Hemi's being prone to valve spring problems. Mine has 49,000 miles and I know I've always heard a clicking sound and friends will tell me it sounds like it's about to blow. I've always heard what seems to be that Hemi sound and Hemi click, I don't know lol. How about the tranny behind it? I think the most I haul is a 16ft bumper pull with my rock crawler, '92 Cherokee, shouldnt be over 6,000lbs I wouldn't think fully loaded. I pulled a 22ft with a '95 ext. cab Serria a couple times. I love my Hemi but if they have known problems I'll let it sit till I fix it with known good aftermarket parts. I need it to last a while. Also, I have a Diablo Predator tuner to adjust my trottle response, tires since it's lowered, and gave it the 87oct. tune for pulling my trailer and it helping a little plus getting the temps read. I now have lost my lifetime powertrain because I had to have my tuner lol. Heard if you go back stock tune dealers will still know. I did not know this but I didnt think a small tune would be called the culprit if a piston went. If they have that technology then they should be able to prove the truth behind it and that I don't race it lol.

Edit: Mines a 2008 Hemi Big Horn with 49,000 miles

 

Uninformed people are how stupid rumors get started.

First of all, the Hemi did have a valve spring issue when it was first introduced in '03 (which is why you NEVER buy a vehicle in it's first year of production), but this was fixed with the use of heavy duty valve springs very early in '04 production.

Odds are you are hearing the "famous" or "infamous" Hemi Tick depending on how you look at it. It's NEVER been proven to have any adverse effect or cause a single engine issue. I've had it since day one and my truck runs fine and I have a friend with 165,000 miles on his Hemi and it's had it since day one.

Another case for stupid rumors is the transmission. The 46re was a poor transmission, so much so that it gave the Ram the reputation as having the best V8 engines on the planet mated to the worst transmissions. But the 545rfe transmission is the first Chrysler transmission designed from the ground up by Daimler (Mercedes) and has proven to be a very reliable transmission and at least if not better than transmissions in Ford/GM half tons, it's the first time a Ram has a tranny at least on par with them.

If you've got a single weakness in that vehicle it's the front end, IMO. Especially hauling/pulling you'll probably see suspension/steering components wear out pretty quick. Use the truck for what you bought it for and when you have tie rod ends, ball joints, etc. go out just replace them with a higher quality (Moog, Timken, etc.) component that are greasable and you'll be good to go.

It's ridiculous how rumors go around. I've got a good friend I fish with once in a while who just bought a brand new Ford F250 with the new Power Stroke 6.7L diesel (yeah, I advised him to wait a year for them to shake out any initial issues, but he couldn't wait).
The first thing one of our friends warned him about was that he's heard that the spark plugs strip the threads and fly out with such force that they make holes in the hood with the 6.7.
Yeah, this WAS an issue with the Triton 5.4 engine, but not only have I never heard of it happening in the new Ford gasser engines BUT DIESELS DON'T HAVE SPARK PLUGS!!! The clueless and uninformed just need to keep their mouth's shut, LOL...

 

^^^^^Yeah, what he said haha.

 

That makes me feel better. I can replace front end parts that's no big deal because I haul stuff and pull trailers. I'll also add the 1500 Ram Hemi is a powerhouse. My buddy had a '07 like mine but a 4x4 and he dropped it and got a '05 Chevy of the same basic package but a crew cab and leather. The 5.3 in it however is very sluggish in a truck that big and the engine is a lot quieter. This being the same basic exhaust setup too. Can't beat a good Dodge. I also on a Chodge yea Chodge lol. Im a born Chevy guy, I have a '91 S-10 with a 360 gone 6.7ltr.

 

Dealers can't tell in regards to the tuner. Yeah some may leave "watermarks" but dealers don't have an idiot light that pops up and says...Hey, this guy had a tuner. I'm sure if they sent your PCM to an Electronics Engineer, they would be able to diagnose and tell, but they don't do that sort of thing...ever...
The most they can see is that you have recently cleared codes and/or unhooked the battery because their scanner will show how many miles since the last time cleared codes/battery repacement.etc. They can't prove a thing unless you say something yourself OR leave the tune still inplace when getting service done.

Even though you have the 87oct tune, I'd suggest NOT using 87oct gasoline. Minimum I would use is 89oct with the 87 tune. I know the tune takes into consideration the lower octance rating, but stock Hemi tune will eventually blow up a cylinder running on 87oct just as others have prooved it possible with holes in their cylinders.
Owners manual states the use of 87 should be very limited.
Your limiting your performance severely if there is no predetonation using 87oct, especially when towing when you really need the extra ooomph!

 

yeah I have an 08 big horn edition and have had the tick since day one. I now have 106,000 on it and the motor still runs perfect. Just keep up on maintenance and you will be fine. also if you set back to stock on ur tuner they will not know at the dealer. we went through that with our 06 f250 power stroke. dealer said if it has a tuner the warranty is voided. we set ours back to stock when the turbo started acting up and took it to the dealer they replaced the turbo and covered it under warranty.