Yes the time line is all mixed up. First the engine had trouble at crank but after several tries, would start. Once started it ran perfectly. I would park it in the garage and the next morning would not even fire or would fire in erratic fashion. It is during these episodes that the rocker arm was broken on the #2 intake valve. I replaced the rocker but still had a mis that I could not get rid of. Of course the valve was bent when the rocker was broken but I did not see it at the time. I tried a crank after replacing the rocker and found additional misfires on the back side. I slipped the cover and found a couple of dislocated push rods. I had to use a mirror to see how to replace them. I then tried to crank, but continued to have a misfire on #2. I decided to remove the heads and had them reworked at a machine shop. The vehicle made a trip to town, stopped several places, then came home. Next morning it would not crank. I performed a cold boot and it cranked but with misfires. I shut it down and set ordering a PCM. This is where I am at the present.

I had forgotten about the earlier PCM code as that was at the very beginning of my problem, but when I do a code, I write it down in a service log book. It actually made me feel more comfortable with ordering a PCM and having it programmed. I am into this problem about 500$ right now and the addition of PCM change out will add about 175$ more.

Spark plugs are not Champions and the coil pack came from Advance Auto Parts.

When you say gap the camshaft position sensor, that escapes me, what are you talking about?

 

My theory is that the PCM is firing the cylinders at the incorrect times resulting is a shock which causes the valve springs to vibrate violently allowing the push rods to fall out of the craddle of the rocker. The valve on #2 piston was bent when the push rod did not clear the rocker but jammed on the outer edge of the rocker causing the valve to be held open when the piston rose to the top of the cylinder. The rocker was broken on the side of the cap.

 

I rolled the push rods across a flat surface to make sure they were not bent. All checked out fine.

 

Everything was torqued to specs. Nothing clatters I feel it is oiling fine. This vehicle does not use oil. It runs perfectly except for the times it refuses to crank and then the real problems are created at this point.

 

There is a paper dot that you stick on the end of new crankshaft position sensors then fit them snugly against the timing gear. The gear eats the dot and the sensor is then gapped perfectly. It's probably not a big deals as lots of people fit the sensors without the spacer but I figured it was worth asking. Was the sensor tightened down until contact was made with the gear then backed off very slightly? Perhaps it is worth rechecking the sensor gap?

I think I understand the problem a lot better now and I'd agree with your initial diagnosis that the problem is electrical/electronic in nature.

Have you inspected the engine wiring harness? Yours is a 2007 so I would imagine it is routed the new way but I don't know exactly when the changeover happened and there is a persistent problem with some years of vans melting the wires together in the engine harness causing misfire codes and occasionally damaging engine computers. I cannot search for the thread about melting wiring harnesses right now to check affected years or to link it for you to read but there is one thread about it here and one over at the chrysler minivan fan club forum.

One last thought, and this is a bit of a reach, but it has come up from time to time so I'll mention it. Is it possible that one or more of the new spark plugs are defective? Sometimes they are not handled terribly carefully while under the care of the parts shop and can be damaged before you receive them. Easiest way to verify this is to swap plugs and see if the problem follows. You mentioned it hadn't set any codes, does that mean it doesn't even show pending codes? With a scanner sometimes you can detect the codes before the MIL is lit, this could be useful for parts swapping between cylinders to narrow down the problem.

 

I pulled the PCM out and observed an "oil like" stain that appeared to have drained from the inside of the computer. I wanted to open it up but decided to send it to North Carolina with the replacement unit to be reprogrammed. I am waiting to hear from them. If everything goes well I should hear from them next week.

My local dealer wanted 85$ to help me but the catch was that the computer would have to be in the car and at their location. I would have to tow or haul it to them. They also said that the VIN might not transfer depending on the model. This did not make sense to me because the skim code on the key would not operate properly without the transfer of the VIN. I decided to send it off to the re manufacturer instead as they seemed to know exactly what would be needed. Now I am patiently waiting. I will keep you updated.

 

I am still waiting for a reply from North Carolina on my PCM. I am thinking about calling them before the end of the week. They should have received my package by now. It cost me 23$ shipping to send them.

 

Let me tell you I have been through it! North Carolina kept my computer for three weeks and did not even check it out! I told them to return it which they did. In the mean time, I found a company in Florida ( Auto Module Source) and bought a computer from them. They had it to me in about 4 days. I installed it but before I cranked on the engine, I checked the front rockers and found three push rods out of place. I then pulled the back valve cover and found one push rod out of place. With all those fixed, I cranked the vehicle and it did run fine....it ran great for three days!

On the fourth day, it would not light up the mileage on the dash and the car did not fire at all! I called Auto Module Source and they said send it back. After about two weeks I got the computer back today. I installed it and the dash still does not light up although the vehicle did crank. I ran it up the road for a mile or two with the check engine light on. It is running quite rough but drive-able. I called the computer people who said to return it a second time but the person I was talking with said that the body control module was responsible for the dash reading the mileage. He was a sales person and I did not feel comfortable about his assessment. I plan to do some research on this, talk to my local dodge people and then determine how to proceed. Any suggestion anyone can give would be greatly appreciated.

 

Maybe this is all just a bad dream, and you'll wake up soon. Did you pull the most recent code(s) to see if that tells you anything. If that doesn't lead to the solution, you might want to do a compression/leak-down test, to get the mechanical side diagnosed, one way or the other.

 

The only code it showed was a misfire on the #1 cylinder. I slipped the valve cover and found a broken rocker arm on the intake valve. I purchased a rocker arm from my local dodge dealer, replaced it, put the car back together. and did a test drive. It is still missing on #1!! I have a bent valve for sure like I had the last time. I am done! You can stick a fork in me! I am so done! I packed my tools away, called a couple of shops and found one to take it on. I am now looking for financing to pay the shop bill and buy a new ride. The folks I carried it to think it may be a lifter problem. When the vehicle sits over night, the lifters leak down and provide the slack needed for the push rods to fall out from under the rocker arm. He also thought it could be a oil pump problem but I never saw any sign that the oil pressure was dropping at all. What ever the case, I am waiting to hear what they find out. It will have to have the rear head removed and an intake valve replaced.

I talked with the service manager when I got the rocker arm at the dodge place and they could not or would not give me any clues as to the problem I was having.

As soon as I know something from the shop, I will share it.

I usually can solve most problems, this is very hard for me to give up! It must be something that is rarely encountered. Stay tuned for what I hope to be the final chapter in this nightmare!