Ditto! But in my case, closer to 30K miles accrued since the racket reared its noisy head. I've been driving the beast exclusively in ERS ever since. The beast? Well... some disclosure: I'd somewhat desired that this engine would puke its guts out given its sordid history. Alas, the harder I beat it, the loader it roars. I'm not sure what to make of that. I routinely tow a 32 ft, 8000 lb travel trailer with the truck and frequently do back and forth through the Rockies. It does not quit! It just pulls and pulls and pulls. Eight point five percent grade going east out of Hope, BC. Four grand plus on the tach, engine temp maxed, oil temp maxed, tranny crying for relief and all for better than ten minutes. Get over the top and it's like nothing ever happened! Done that climb numerous times with this beast. Get home weeks later and it operates like "ya, so what!" Notwithstanding the tick/rattle BS this thing exhibits, Ive become somewhat enamored to its Timex persona.

What's wrong with it? Earlier posts in this thread reveal my misguided focus on the timing chain and tensioner/guide as the culprit for the annoying cacophony. I missed the boat in that regard (mitigating circumstances) and am now 99.999 percent convinced that the real culprit is the cam phaser. Yep, shoulda, coulda, woulda when I did the chain but it was only subsequent to that mechanical exercise that it became apparent. This has been on my to-do list for over a year now but... I'm not in any hurry because... the beast doesn't seem to care!

 

The infamous "Hemi tick" is a colloquialism assigned to earlier, non-MDS 5.7 Hemi motors. My son's '03 Ram had it and, among other theories, the oil filter was often blamed. At over 100,000 miles now it hasn't been heard in some time.
I suspect that the "head bolts" you refer too are really the exhaust manifold bolts, and yes, in that vintage they sometimes broke and produced a sound like a noisy hydraulic lifter under load.
Because of issues with the 5.7 Hemi motors in cars, I've found that techs will usually first suspect worn timing chain tensioners are causing this problem. Unfortunately, there are a number of folks who've had them replaced to no avail.
As Chillypond stated, I think you'll find that for this rattle at coast down the ultimate culprit will be the cam phaser. I know of three 5.7s with this problem that was only solved by replacing the cam phaser.


Best regards,
Dusty


2014 Ram Big Horn 1500 Quad Cab2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP70, 3.92 LSD, factory dual exhaust, 20” wheels. Now at: 056193miles.

 

I never really notice OTHER 5.7's with the noise.. i wonder what % have the Rattle... id guess like 20%

 

I started noticing this problem on my 2010 in the spring of 2012 on the first good day I could have the windows down. In the following two months my dealer had one other Ram with the same symptom. The issue was elevated to the Tech Center and during a Chrysler training session the service manager told me that two other dealers had vehicles with the same symptom, for a total of seven trucks (out of nine dealerships). I think this problem was much less than 1 percent of vehicles, which , I think, partially explains why it was difficult for techs to isolate in the field.


In my experience I have only found owners of 2010s and 2011s with this problem.


Best regards,
Dusty


2014 Ram Big Horn 1500 Quad Cab2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP70, 3.92 LSD, factory dual exhaust, 20” wheels. Now at:056208 miles.

 

Far, far less. So few, in fact, that the FCA bean counters likely deemed it to be a non issue. Loss of customers in this instance would not outweigh the potential costs associated with engineering a solution to this relatively obscure issue. Just another 'sux to be you' for some truck owners.

 

Dusty, don't forget the first MY (2009) of the 4th gen 1500s. The "beast" was manufactured in early Dec, 2008. These were the dark days of Chrysler LLC (Cerberus) and many auto pundits expected the company to do a face plant in the new year.

 

CHILLYPOND...
I love it that you posted this up. I bought a used 2014 Bighorn Hemi last August... and I don't have any issues after 42K miles... but I like to read up on the forum of things to look for. I skimmed this thread for about an hour before getting to this post from you, and I had to chuckle.

 

I suspect that the "head bolts" that were supposedly replaced were in fact, exhaust manifold bolts. These were indeed an issue on the 4th gen Eagle HEMI engines. There was no recall but dealers were fixing the problem based on customer complaints.

 

lol...

 

I've been going through the exact same thing with my 2010 Challenger R/T. For some reason dealerships can't hear it but everyone else can. Sounds like a 10 speed bicycle when peddling backwards. I no longer drive my car in automatic because it's an embarrassment.