Hey Everyone,
So back in September of Last year, I fixed my 2010 1500 that had a lifter issue. Cam was destroyed, lifter on cylinder #7 was seized, but everything in the engine looked fine. So Took apart the entire front end of the truck and got to work. I used the AMS Racing MDS Delete kit (Found here). I called AMS Racing and talked with them, they were super familiar with the issue and said they see it everyday in their shop. They made that package exactly for this issue. They said they partnered with a company to have their own lifters made that didn't have the same issues that Mopar's has with seized bearings and so on. I looked up reviews and they were all also very positive. So I bought the kit with a new oil pump. So New OEM Mopar Cam (Without MDS), New Mopar Timing set, New melling Oil pump, all new gaskets everywhere, and an MDS delete kit with Tuner. Well the truck has been running better then ever (except for some oil consumption, but that has been like that for a while). Then one day, CEL. Cylinder 7 misfire. My heart dropped. Rough idle, but still drives fine with only minor misfire. I have swapped injectors, (cleaned all of them out while I was at it), swapped coil packs, and replaced spark plugs. Still same issue. The only evidence I have is that Cylinder 7 Spark Plugs were disgusting with buildup when I replaced them. I am pulling the valve covers this weekend to do the final check on lifter travel back there.

Basically, I don't know how to go about this. I know all the work was done right, the 2 guys I did all the work have a combined 45 years of Experience in automotive repair, I also am not to shabby. I am worried that after 6 months of religious checking of oil levels, oil changes, and over all vehicle maintenance, I have had lifter failure again after only 10,000 miles. What are the odds that lifter failure has happened this fast on the same cylinder. What should I do about AMS Racing? I don't want to have to tear down the entire truck again to do this but it is looking like I will have to. Advice?


Thanks for your time everyone.

 

Fouled plugs will give you a miss. I would be interested in WHY the plugs are fouling out. Maybe do a compression and/or leakdown test, see what condition the cylinders are in.

 

yeah, we are gonna do both tomorrow. But the weird thing, it was still missing immediately after I swapped the plugs (twice)

 

What plugs?

Zero compression, it really doesn't matter what plugs are in there, it simply ain't gonna fire.

 

Alrignty, so we have info. Good news, lifter travel is great! second news, did a compression test on all cylinders. 200 on all cylinders......... except cylinder 7. Cylinder 7 had 60 . So I pressurized the cylinder with shop air and started turning over the motor and listening where it was coming from, fingers crossed the entire time not from the oil fill tube (indicates bad rings) but "Lucky" enough, it was constantly coming out of the exhaust, even when the valve should have been closed. So bad exhaust valve. I purchased new head gasket, head bolts, fluids, exhaust manifold bolts (none are broken as they were all just replaced (just to be safe) new exhaust and intake valves, new valve stem seals, and new serp belt (just needed it). Going to lap the valves and replaced all the stem seals. Should be able to do it in a weekend no problem.

I'll let you all know how it goes!

 

Can I ask what the symptoms were to begin with?

 

CEL for Cylinder misfire and very rough. idle. Ended up being a warped head that was allowing Coolant into the cylinder. G05 Coolant (which is recommended by mopar) is a far superior coolant then the normal green stuff but when it burns, it crystalizes. that crystallization built up on the head and on the valves. purchased a re manufactured head and installed it (twice as the first time I got everything done, Napa gave me the wrong head gasket and so coolant started pissing out while I was filling it up. that was last night). after everything, cylinder 7 misfire is now gone, but I have a cylinder 1 misfire, i think its something electrical because im getting other CELs relating to Comms and such. Gonna take another look this weekend to see whats up.

 

Xsparta you sound like a Terminator. Diving back into these things like you have done takes real perseverance!

 

So, after a bunch of testing, the Cylinder 1 had 0 PSI of compression. When I pressurized the cylinder, It would leak out thru the intake at all positions while turning over the motor. Took the cylinder head back off and took it back to the shop where I bought it from. The machinist there told me it sounded like bad/Stuck lifters. So he checked everything on the cylinder head and everything tested perfect (Crap). I brought him the lifters also and he took them apart..... they were completely contaminated and had a bunch of crap in them. The lifters were replaced when I replaced the cam 6 months ago. I used AMS Racing V2 Lifters. So its looking like I need to replaced all the lifters and do a full engine flush per his recommendation. I really really don't want to pull the motor to flush everything so i wanted to get everyone's opinions. What should I do from here? I just want to be done with this. Attached are the pics of what the inside of the lifters looked like.

 

That's a fair bit of crap, and I am curious where it came from. Wonder if it is leftover ground up metal from the previous failure.... in which case, your best option is going to be completely going thru the engine, and having the block boiled out...... Might be easier to just replace the engine, and if there are any external coolers, flush them VERY thoroughly.