Good morning, Jason Stewart,
Sorry to hear you are down on your luck, but you have my word I will work hard and see if we can get this figured out for you.
So HEMI's especially the 5.7 have always had a tick. It is referred to as the "Infamous HEMI Tick" and Dodge admits and says it is normal. It is even in your owner's manual I believe.
What you're describing to me is something more than a tick. There is a lot of things that can cause a tick or a know all from exhaust to lifters no top end and bottom end damage.
Does it sound like it was coming from one side of the motor or the other?
I would check the condition and level of the oil as well as making sure it is getting oil pressure. Check for metal pieces in the oil such as sparkles if the is mechanical damage. Pull the dip stick and hold a bright light see if you can see and metal. Just so we can rule those things out. If they did an oil change and used the wrong oil and/or a cheap filter this will make a tick since cheaper filters don't have an anti-drain back valve. This valve keeps the oil in the motor. Especially if they were starting it and shutting it back off without it building the proper oil pressure the lifters will knock on the cam until proper oil pressure is reached.
The fact you went into the shop with a slight tick that went away after warm-up and came out with a motor that sounds blown is very strange.
A broken stud will make it very loud and not seat the gasket right.
Some people put the gasket in and almost immediately rev it before the gasket warms up and blow the gasket back out. Got to let it warm up and then re-torque the bolts.
If a heat shield is loose from snapped bolts, it will rattle and make noise especially if it's coupled with an improperly sealed manifold.
I have also seen flat rate guys take out the bolt and studs for the manifold and put a prybar against the flange of the manifold and drop the gaskets in, so they don't have to take the pipe off the manifold saving time and possible broken bolts. Unfortunately, you can't clean the surface of the manifold or the engine to get a good seal for the gasket. The other problem with that is it can break the bolts at the end of the manifold causing an exhaust leak there and it will be very loud as well.
Unfortunately, it's also possible something was dropped in the motor like a bolt. Let's hope not.
Lifters are a possibility as well.
If it were me, I would check the oil for any metal indicating engine damage as well as making sure there is oil pressure. My information is telling me you should have 25-100psi @ 3000 rpms with a minimum of 4 psi at idle.
A quality oil change with Castrol, this is the brand I use. Your vehicle takes 7 quarts of 5W20. Use a good filter like Wix which has this valve in it.
Next try to run it and see if you can hear if it is isolated to a certain side of the engine. As it runs and gains oil pressure see if it starts to get quieter.
I would also make sure every bolt for the manifold and heat shield are on and where they should be. Also make sure the bolts that connect the rest of the exhaust to the flange on the manifold are not broken. I am sending a couple images from the Mopar Catalog showing all the bolts and where they should be.
Also how well do you know this shop? Do they do good work or is it kind of a clown show if you know what I mean? A lot of people can work on a vehicle but inexperience with a job like this can cause big issues when you run into an unexpected problem. You might want to have it towed to a better shop.
My assumption is they messed up this job somehow. There is no way to cause internal engine damage from doing this job unless something was done wrong, or they dropped something in the motor.
Like I said the only other thing I can think of is oil related mostly with the lifters. These lifters are hydraulic roller type lifters and can collapse. If a lifter has collapsed, you should have a misfire on one of the cylinders.
If they have an EVAP Smoke machine they can stuff it in the tailpipe tight with a rag with the engine off and fill the entire exhaust with smoke. This will find an exhaust leak quickly.
See if you can get down there and check these things or have them check them. Let me know what you can come up with. We need to start the process of elimination.
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Wednesday, March 8th, 2023 AT 6:50 AM
