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Disturbing Hemi Catastrophic Failure Rumor

32K views 146 replies 59 participants last post by  GrayhemiST 
#1 ·
As most of you already know, I am a Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep tech at a dealership. Occassionally, we talk to Chrysler technical support and hear a few rumors about upcoming recalls, bullitens, and things that just happen.

The other day a coworker was speaking to a tech rep and it seems that some of the newer Hemi engines have a problem with the timing chain guide/tensioner assembly and it's causing the chain to fail in some fashion and evidently it's causing catastrophic engine failure (valves and pistons coming together at high speed).

Now, when asked what "newer" meant, the rep says it is unclear at what point these guide assemblies were installed but he did say that the part is a redesign that was intended to save money. Looks like that's going to backfire.

As of this point, it is also unclear what will be done to identify affected vehicles and what will be done to remedy the problem. I don't know if this is a problem limited to the 5.7 engines or if the 6.4 is also included. I will keep an eye out for more info on this matter and post anything I find. Keep in mind that though the source is a Chryslelr tech rep, it's still just a rumor at this point and I have yet to see this failure for myself.
 
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#37 ·
So will this start happening more and more as the 4th gen RAMs age ??? If this is an issue I would rather take care of it now while everything is running smoothly. Any good aftermarket parts available, like beefed up tensioner and timing chain ??? I really hate hearing about stuff like this, first the pinion nut and now this :i_rolleyes:
 
#39 ·
I've heard of this rumor also, an instructor at the chrysler training center mentioned that 1 or 2 5.7l challengers in the area had some major timing chain failure and destroyed the engines, that was about 6 months ago. I haven't seen anything at the dealer yet.

About a year ago I replaced a timing chain tensioner on a 2009 hemi ram because of a rattling noise, don't know if its related.
 
#40 ·
Hi, Im more active on the Charger and Challenger Z, it seems like this has been an issue we have been seeing on 5.7L only and from around 2010 models on up. I have seen this for the past year on the Challenger site. Seems like alot are switching over to the 6.1L timing set FYI
 
#42 ·
It's not difficult to do, but I have all the right tools and nearly 20 years experience on my side. It's really hard to define what exactly the "average" home mechanic can do, so I would say if you want to upgrade and you aren't 100% sure you can do it, take it to a professional.
 
#47 ·
Not sure I'd be digging into these engines if your still under warranty. The dealer I work at will no questions asked void a warranty if they see any parts on your engine that shouldn't be there.

About a year ago I had a 2007 ram 2500 hemi that had lifetime powertrain warranty on it, it came in because it was spitting tons of oil through the pcv system. He had broken piston rings in cylinders 1 and 3 that took out his cylinder walls, long story short he needed a short block. Well he had this weird ram air intake thing on his engine that had these big 5" air intake tubes that went behind his bumper. The service manager took one look at this thing, found a little bit of water in one of the tubes, called chrysler, they sent someone out to look at it and they voided his warranty right there, nice $5000+ bill for him.

Anyway its true that a timing chain thrust plate is harder to find than a air intake but if you bring your tuck in for a major engine repair and they find that 6.1L plate, unless it was installed by a dealer they have every right to decline your warranty. Just something to think about.

I say if its under warranty, let it blow up, you'll get a new engine. Now when my warranty on my 2012 r/t is over and if i decide not to buy the max care I will put the 6.1L plate it just for some piece of mind.
 
#49 ·
Yes I agree, if you want to maintain your warranty, then run it til it breaks. Will you feel the same about your truck after you get it back? Only time can tell. But for those that don't mind breaking out the wrenches, pullers, and pans and want to do the preventative repair/replacement yourself; go for it man, I sure won't be mad at ya.
 
#51 ·
I would imagine they will update the part and start installing it on new engines once the supply of the old part is exhausted. If a great number of these show up for warranty repair, I would expect to see a bulliten and POSSIBLY a recall.
 
#54 ·
interesting...we're rebuilding an 03 hemi because of failure and one of the first things we noticed was tensioner failure...
 
#62 ·
Yea I actually don't know any techs who actually tattle to chrysler about tuners, intakes, or anything. unfortunately my service manager is a dick and likes to make peoples lives hard sometimes. I'll spend chryslers money any chance I get.

But it is getting harder to hide mods on diesel rams now since they have a 3 page form you have to fill out and list every single aftermarket part on the truck. You even have to tell chrysler if there are stickers on the windows from aftermarket performance companies...stupid.
 
#63 ·
i wouldn't expect a tech to "tattle" on mods, but i wouldn't expect them to loose their jobs either. i am lucky, the dealership i use are mod friendly, and always put everything through on warranty, with in reason. that being said, i have also seen some customers that even god can't make happpy, those people generally good service, but no blind eyes.
 
#65 ·
Quote I found on the Challenger forum.

Timing chain failure on the Dodge Challenger
I have been finding many reports of the timing chain breaking on the Dodge Challenger, mostly in the 5.7L Hemi engines. The timing chain breaks in most reported instances around the 35K-40K mile range.

Once the timing chain breaks, the end result is usually the valves smacking the pistons which bend the valves, damages the pistons and leads to catastrophic engine failure. This often requires a new long block.

How many of you have had the timing chain break? How many miles on the car when when it happened? and what was your experience in getting it repaired?

---------

Known instances of the timing chain breaking on the 5.7L Dodge Challenger just in this forum alone in the past few months:

1. 06/27/2011 -- mileage not mentioned -- ... come to find out the timing chain broke ...

2. 07/19/2011 -- 85,000 miles -- ... and the timing chain broke...

3. 09/27/2011 -- 33,385 miles -- 2009 R/T Motor Broke

4. 11/23/2011 -- 38,000 miles -- Club member's car. Broken timing chain. Car in shop for over two months.

5. 12/07/2011 -- 34,000 miles -- I found this thread the hard way...

6. 12/19/2011 -- 22,600 miles -- 2010 Challenger - Timing Chain Breaks...

7. 01/21/2012 -- 60,000 miles -- Engine went..........

8. 02/02/2012 -- 38,000 miles -- 2009 Challenger R/T lost a second motor .. (Second occurrence. See #3 above. 4,000 miles on new motor).

9. 03/08/2012 -- 50,000 miles -- BLOWN ENGINE 50,000 miles

10. 03/23/2012 -- 14,000 miles -- ... my timing chain snapped

11. 04/04/2012 -- 53,500 miles -- My timing chain just broke today ...

12. 04/16/2012 -- 46,000 miles -- Mine is in the shop with a broken timing chain...

13. 04/27/2012 -- 31,000 miles -- My chain broke back in December of 2011 ...

14. 05/22/2012 -- 37,000 miles -- Here's another 2010 Auto R/T with a broken timing chain! ...

15. 06/13/2012 -- 40,257 miles -- I too have a broken timing chain ...

16. 06/23/2012 -- 38,485 miles -- Guess I can be added to the list ...

17. 06/26/2012 -- 38,500 miles -- Just happened last Saturday ...

18. 08/02/2012 -- 59,134 miles -- ... all of a sudden Bam the engine shuts down

19. 08/03/2012 -- 38,000 miles -- I had this happen at 38000 miles, 2010 R/T Auto

20. 08/10/2012 -- 59,300 miles -- ... timing chain broke again. (Third occurrence. See #3 and #8 above. 16,000 miles on new motor).

21. 08/10/2012 -- 63,000 miles -- ... timing chain broke cruising at 70mph on the highway

22. 09/03/2012 -- 40,000 miles -- ... while driving to dallas my timing chain broke

23. 09/11/2012 -- 24,000 miles -- Welp - chalk up another one ... (first 2011 to be reported here)

24. 09/21/2012 -- 31,100 miles -- This just happened a few days ago ...

25. 10/10/2012 -- 42,559 miles -- Well it's looking like I'm the latest timing chain victim ...

26. 10/24/2012 -- 65,000 miles -- ... driving on the highway 65MPH and "Pop goes to weasel"

27. 11/18/2012 -- 40,000 miles -- Mine just broke...2010 mopar 10, no mods, auto ... (first to break not at highway speeds)

28. 11/19/2012 -- 39,000 miles -- just got another 2010 with 39000 in today ...

The things in common when the timing chain breaks so far are:

1. MDS is activated (auto trans., so 6-speed are excluded)
2. Traveling at freeway speeds
3. 2009-2011 model years affected so far.
4. Limited to the 5.7L motor so far
5. Dodge Challenger only

Things ruled out thus far:

A. 6-speed manual transmissions not affected
B. Other 5.7L vehicles not affected, i.e., Charger, 300, Ram truck
C. New tensioner (white color) has also failed (see #8 on list of failures)
D. New crate motor has also failed (see #3 and #8 on list of failures)
E. Both stock and mod cars affected
F. Both stock tune and Predator tune (with MDS turned on) affected
G. All oil change intervals affected, i.e., 3,000 miles, 5,000 miles, etc.
H. All types of oil affected, i.e., both synthetic and conventional oil

Hopefully this helps you guys. :Wow1:
 
#66 ·
That is an interesting tid-bit about the MDS.
 
#68 ·
Totally unsupported Brad theory -

The Chally is the lightest weight auto with a 5.7 so is most likely to switch into MDS mode sooner and stay in longer. :4-dontknow:
 
#70 ·
Just the post I wanted to read after signing papers for a new 2012 Hemi. Haven't even taken delivery yet, so I guess no need to get too worried with a full warranty in effect, but still not a post I wanted to stumble across when searching a totally unrelated topic. Geez.....

Hopefully for everyones sake a rumour that proves to have no basis. I'm not really worried, but still didn't enjoy the reading.....
 
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