I hope I am following the posting rules

Hello all.

Thank you in advance for any responses / advice

I have a 2012 RAM 1500 with a 5.7 Hemi 200,000 KM

Well maintained

She starting running ruff and throwing codes and $1,000 Cdn (so ~$800 US) later on stuff that I did not need the dealer says #5 is down and she needs a new Cam and lifters.
They want 6K to repair (Cam lifters labour and I guess new swimming pool for the shop) . Wow!

Anyway,

To start this weekend I will be checking it’s compression and pulling the valve cover off first as I do not trust what the Dealer is saying.
Once I am convinced that she flattened a lobe I am looking at 2 options.

Option 1)
R + R the engine myself ( I have done around 20 engines so I am competent )
I will either send the engine to a machine shop for a rebuild or buy a long block from a reputable supplier.

First real Question, any “gotchas” that I should look out for when pulling the Hemi?

From what I can see online from others that after taking off the intake the removal process is the normal “classic” removed front grill rad…etc … detach the tranny Exhaust…etc ..
Detach engine stuff…yada yada yada and lift crane it out the front.

Option 2)

In place Cam and lifter replacement.

I don’t have the manual for torque specs and Head Bolt tightening sequence along with a reference guide to make sure I don’t goof up the cam timing when re assembling. I am sure I will find this online but if anyone knows of a good source or even if anyone has a recommendation of a good manual I would invest a few bucks.

If I do this option I will need the parts and quite frankly this is where I am a bit stuck.

Who do I buy from and how do I get good quality parts. I do not want to invest this amount of time and wind up with the same problem in the future.

Does anyone know of Cam replacement Kit that would include all that I need Gaskets/Cam/Lifters and maybe new chain and tensioner ..etc or do I have to piece and buy this all separately? US supplier is fine as I ship my stuff to Ogdensburg NY ( < 1 hour away)

Again thank you

Scott

 

Hi Scott. Just finished a repair on my nephews 2011 with similar km. See my thread titled Hemi Camshaft
Youtube MMX engine Hemi. Good info there. Would have liked to buy from them but shipping was outrageous to Canada. Nephew ended up buying off Ebay. EngineTech was the name I believe. Surprisingly most parts came in Mopar boxes. We did a mds delete which required the purchase of a tuner. Not many kilos on the truck since teardown and reinstall but so far so good. Here is the cam that came out. Feel free to Pm me if needed. All in all..engine removal teardown build and install went fairly easy and straight forward. There is also a youtube from Jasper engines about hemi removal which I studied a bit before tackling the project

 

 

 

Also for what its worth...this engine was throwing a cylinder 7 misfire code.
i didnt realize Hemis had a camshaft issue until I found many posts and youtube vids...do a search

 

Hello TrueDogman

Thanks for the reply
Yes I saw the Jasper engine swap.
A good video that confirms to me that options 1 is well within my capabilities and tool set up.

No I have not come across MMX .. I will do that now

Again thanks

Scott
Scott

 

I replaced the cam and lifters with non-MDS parts when mine went bad. I did the work my self and parts cost around 800 dollars. The parts came from multiple sources, as no one sells a "complete" kit (there are some that advertise a complete kit, but when you look at the contents, they are not). I did not pull the engine to do the work. I did not pull the oil pan off either (my truck is 4x4 and one of the oil pan bolts is impossible to reach). I purchased a small gadget which disables the MDS function (less than $100) so I did not need to buy an expensive tuner.
Mike Sal

 

Its a toss up whether to pull engine for cam and lifters. We decided to install a new oil pump which pretty much pushed us to pull engine.
Oil pump draws oil thru the sump where it is then sent to the filter and on to lubricate the engine. Figured alot of metal shavings went thru the pump and hopefully most caught by the filter. Our sump had a fair amount of metal shards stuck in the sump screen which we cleaned out. Small amount of gritty paste in the oil pan by the drain.

 

How much of a hassle was it to get that big metal brace off the drivers side that the goes from the motor mount all the way to the tranny? I thought about pulling it to I could jack up the motor to get to the oil pan bolts, but it was just too much trouble.
Mike Sal

 

Left that big bracket in there. Took 4 bolts out holding the engine mount to the block.