There's a method to my madness. Before my truck took a crap I was giving serious thought to adding a ZL1 Camaro or GT500 Mustang to the garage this year for my 50th birthday. As bad *** as those cars are realistically the HP is completely wasted on the street and I'm not a track guy. I do like to trek off up in the mountains and desert gold prospecting so the Raptor in some ways feeds the need for a 50th birthday performance toy plus I can drive it every day in any kind of weather.

 

You say "lifter" as though saying they are only going to install ONE new lifter and re-use the other remaining 15 USED lifters against a brand new camshaft...??? If so, THIS is NOT a dealership or mechanic i want even working on my trucks or cars, EVER..! When you put a brand new camshaft in, you ALWAYS install ALL brand new lifters. If chrysler is going to nickle an dime this rebuild, unload this truck fast...! I cant blame you if you jump ship, if this is the way chrysler is going to fix problems, good to know, because i wont ever buy another dodge if this is how they fix things.

You speak highly of the RAPTOR, do your homework brother, its an overpriced problem child.

 

I'm the first one to complain about the level of competence with dealership mechanics, but I don't think you can assume they have no idea what they are doing. It isn't in the dealerships interest to do a "partial repair"...their costs are covered regardless. My last repair at the dealership was actually very positive. I would expect that the work they are doing is indeed a long term fix.

Looking at this as a straight dollars and cents issue, you are going to take a big depreciation hit on your RAM if you sell it or trade it in. Then you are going to put out a lot more for a brand new vehicle. All of this because something "might" happen with the engine again...and if it does Chrysler "might" not do anything. In an absolute worst case situation where your Hemi completely craps out - very unlikely IMHO - I would think a brand new crate engine at cost would be a lot more economical than trading in and buying new again.

 

Unfortunately Chrysler has chosen to apply cheap band aid fixes since day one. The service manager took some heat agreeing with me a new engine was in order. Chrysler however has chosen to cheap out even in this clear cut case of manufacturing defect during the 36k mile warranty. Clearly I can't count on them to hold up their end of the bargain.

Yep my research on the Raptor continues, bent frames wow. It will never see that kind of use/abuse from me so I'm not too concerned. The homework continues. I do like the Raptor package, BIG wheels from the factory with a lot of travel. Power on par with the Hemi, cast iron block which I like a lot, 4 bolt main bearings, forged steel rods, SOHC's, new rock crawler front diff. Next thing I need to look into is the brakes because my 2004 F150 brakes were absoluet crap. Rotors gone in 30k of light use and massive amounts of brake dust.

 

When I'm up in the Sierra Nevada range 30 miles from knowhere out of cell phone range I don't want to be worrying about a truck engine that experienced a major engine failure and band aid fixes. If they at least tore the engine down, cleaned all that metal out of there, replaced the oil pump, inspected/replaced the bearings, then I would have confidence in the repair.

 

This is the type of stuff that chrys has always had a reputation for. They start doing well and get a good name for themselves and now this...unbeleivable! There should be some of legal protection for costumers who get scresed like this. I can't beleive that chrys chose to do this...this is sad! I use to fix my cars like this as a teen because I couldn't afford new parts but I knew then that is was wrong. Like I said earlier, I would make public what they're doing here. I don't even think that I would pick the truck up or except it. If I did I'd pick it up on a flatbed and document the miles making sure by way of dealership signature of recorded milage. Then I'd go straight to a competiter dealership...ford or chevy and have the engine torn down. If not ford or chevy then a well known reputable shop and document the findings with the milage it had when it left chrys. I could see and understand chrys choosing this way out for high milage lifetime warranty repairs (09's) but not something still within the 36k warranty. Bet other shops will find more damage to other bearings...I'm sure of it!

 

I understand how you're thinking. I once traded in a motorcycle after owning it for 3 weeks because I read a magazine article about valve spring retainers fracturing and causing top end damage. Problem supposedly only occurred with frequent high rpm use...which is how I rode my bikes. I felt I would always have a nagging doubt so I traded it in on a brand new bike...different brand. I used to tour all over North America on my bikes ("sport touring") and trust me if you break down on the Canadian prairies...or Mojave desert...you've got a problem. Bike repairs and dealerships are not as easy to come by a dealerships/repair shops for Big Three vehicles.

Still, I'm trying to put myself in your position and I think at a minimum I would wait until the vehicle was repaired...drive it for a bit....and then do an oil and filter change. Check the oil/filter with a flashlight and look for any signs of metallic particles. I would also insist on talking to the mechanic who does the work--ask for his honest opinion having worked inside your engine.

Whatever you decide, I hope everything works out for the best. It sucks to be put in this position through no fault of your own. Good luck.

 

Well now I found a new 2012 Ram 2500 Big Horn Crew Cab near me with the 6.7L diesel MSRP $54,145....discounted $11,372 man $42,773 that's tempting. Question is will any Dodge dealer even take my Ram 1500 now with these repairs.

 

Well, for what it's worth the "work truck" in my business is my partner's 1996 Dodge Ram 2500 with the Cummins diesel (5.9 litre back then I believe). It has 720,000 hard kms on it (432,000 miles). That Cummins diesel is a great engine.

 

The metal that came off the cam and lifter was not inside the pressurized oil system and it most likely fell to the bottom of the pan. I doubt any of it got into the oil pump and then past the oil filter. When you get the truck back, just keep an eye on the oil pressure, that will tell you the state of the engine. Like many others here have said, drive it for a while and take your time looking for a new truck and just before your warranty runs out, trade it in. Also, stay away from the new CTD until you join some blogs and get the skinny on them.