Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster.
Sorry if this has been asked a million times but I'm desperate........

2009 Dodge Ram 1500
280,000K Was trying to get it to 300
5.7 ltr 2WD
I think the trim was called TRX

I was getting the multiple cylinder misfire code so I took it to the shop. They recommended replacing the spark plugs but they charge an arm and a leg.

I replaced all of the plugs myself with the same Champions that I have been running every time that I have changed them.

Continued to get cylinder misfire codes that sort of jumped around so I changed all of the coil packs.

Once I changed the coil packs, I started gettng a consistent code of Cylinder 5 misfire. I swapped the plugs and coil pack from that cylinder with another one and I keep getting a consistent cylinder 5 misfire message. It only seems to crash if I put a heavy load on it but I can feel that it isn't running right.

Any thoughts? Please don't tell me that I'm looking at a new cylinder head. This all sucks because I just put new tires on it and replaced the manifolds because they were leaking like crazy.

Thanks!

 

Compression test.

 

Are you laughing about the compression test at the shop or recommending one for that cylinder??

Either way is cool but I'm just not sure........

 

Need to check all the cylinders. The smile is because it isn't exactly a fun job. Depending, of course, on your definition of 'fun'.

You could probably do the compression test yourself. Just pull all the spark plugs, disable the coils/fuel injectors, (remove asd relay, if you can... not sure on the 4th gens) test each cylinder dry first, then add a teaspoon of oil, and test again. (record both numbers please) Should be able to rent the gauge from your local auto parts store. (and they give you back the money when you return it.) Or, you can pay someone else to do it. That one is up to you.

 

Thanks for the help, HeyYou.

Update:

I decided to check the intake manifold cover bolts for correct torque since I replaced the MDS/VVT solenoids a few years back. That was probably the hardest job that I have ever done on this truck.

A number of them on the side with the odd numbered cylinders were not torqued correctly anymore. I loosened them all in a reverse pattern and then re-torqued them in the proper sequence according to this pic which I think is correct. I torqued them to 9ft lbs according to a 1A auto video.

When I drove it again, it started to give me a code for cylinder 1 misfire when I though that I had it nailed down to a cylinder 5 misfire. On the way home today it started giving me a code for a cylinder 1 and 5 misfire and an oxygen sensor code. I'm assuming that the oxygen sensor code is because it is dumping raw fuel on the sensor because of the misfire (BTW, can a misfire fry the oxygen sensors and catalytic converter because of the raw fuel being dumped on them?)

Given this, do you still think that I should test compression first or do you think that maybe the next step is to pull that manifold cover again and install new gaskets? I'm not looking forward to doing either but this is driving me crazy.

 

If you're confident that you have a rich condition, then yes, that can damage the catalytic converter and contaminate the oxygen sensors. Passing unburned fuel into the catalytic converter can cause the converter to overheat as it attempts to catalyze the excessive unburned fuel to water vapor. But also keep in mind, a misfire can occur due to a lack of fuel as well. In that case, you're not so much at risk for catalytic converter or O2 sensor damage, but might be at risk for other damage from an excessively lean condition.

Depending on your willingness to spend a bit of money (either with a shop equipped with these items, or to procure the items and DIY), my recommendations would be:

1. Perform a smoke test on the intake system to determine if the intake manifold gaskets, or some other location, is causing a vacuum leak. Either way, if you identify a leak or not, continue to the next step.
2. Perform a cylinder leak-down test on all cylinders to determine if the misfire could be due to a bigger issue than a vacuum leak in the intake system. Depending on what you find here, you may end up needing to remove the intake to fix a deeper issue anyway.
3. If the leak-down test does not identify an imbalance across the cylinders or a cylinder, intake or exhaust valve issue on a cylinder or two AND you found a leak from the smoke test, then fix the leak.

If you don't want to spend money to perform the above tests but are not opposed to renting and performing a compression test, then compression test all cylinders and check for an imbalance across all cylinders. But I'd still recommend this before just replacing the intake gaskets since if you have a compression issue, just replacing the intake gaskets will not likely fix the misfire and it may not be worth investing in the gaskets at that point.

-Rod

 

Thanks for the detailed response, Rod.

I appreciate it.

I think that I just need to bite the bullet and try to get it to the dealership. They probably know more about these than my local Firestone guys.

Like an idiot, I stopped by Walmart on the way home today and bought a bottle of RESTORE hoping to see some difference that maybe would point me towards a compression issue.
I drove it to get the stuff into the system and it almost immediately started shuddering worse than before (kind of like it did once when I got the wrong torque on the intake manifold bolts on my first try).
I changed the oil and drove to walmart and got two oil changes worth of stuff and came home and changed it once and put in a new filter.

After the RESTORE and even after the oil and filter change, the Blue Driver OBD that I use started telling me that now I have a cylinder 6 misfire and that there is an issue with the cylinder 6 reactivation control which is funny because when all of my troubles began, I was getting a lot of cylinder reactivation codes. I originally thought that I needed to change those solenoids again. That code eventually went away and I assumed that it was a red herring and that there was some other issue going on.

For some reason, a cylinder 6 misfire feels worse than any other.

Back to tonight; I kept clearing the codes and driving it and now it tells me that the cylinder 6 reactivation is still an issue and that now cylinder 5 is again mis firing but it feels more like when it started to tell me that 6 was mis firing.

So, it's all over the place.....

Like I said, I think that a trip to the dealership is in order if it makes it that long. Once they figure it out I can decide if it's worth fixing or if I just need to let it go and get something new.

Thank you guys for your help.

 

Can anyone help me locate a discontinued part?

Long story short the bolts on may intake manifold were loose.

The front corner of the cover at cylinder one melted a little. I fixed that with JB Weld and it's holding up well but I'm afraid that something is warped.

Oil soaked the jumper wires for the MDS system and the insulation on most of the wires in the harness are worn off. Electrical tape is not helping and there is probably more deterioration that I can't see where they are all joined in the harness.

The harness is called jumper wiring and is part #4801719AB and it is discontinued and I cannot find one anywhere.

Does anyone have one to sell or know where I can find one other than trying the junk yard. I'm desperate. I really want this thing to run. How is anyone supposed to keep one of these running in the future?

Any help is appreciated and if I need to post this in another forum for this request can the moderator or someone else give me a hand, please?

Thanks to all of you

 

I ordered a harness from Amazon and they were right. That item does NOT fit my truck.

The connector for the camshaft position sensor fits my 2009 one. The connectors for the 4 crankshaft positioin sensors do NOT fit.

I don't know if the end of the harness fits with the connector that makes the whole deal talk to the computers.

I had a thought on a work around unless someone else has an idea other than a a cancellation kit for the MDS.

IF the end of the harness can be plugged into the overall truck system on the end toward the firewall (does anyone know if a 2010 harness fits a 2009 at that end?

IF 2010 crankshaft position sensors fit in a 2009 and work the same, then this harness would plug into them

IF, when it is all hooked up it behaves the same or is controlled in the same way, it should all work, right.

Any thougts?