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Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2019 8:50 pm
by MostMint
It is possible this is an exhaust leak - that is what the guy said. So I need to do some troubleshooting. Also I think I still have the old oil filter so I probably need to cut that apart as well.

The bad news is the heads have to come off in order to change the lifters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt2NrbI5Xug

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2019 6:22 am
by GMJohnny
I'm wondering when she is getting the ticking and if it goes away with warming the engine
up. Is this something that just started when it got cold outside?

GM

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2019 6:54 am
by MostMint
Definitely not just when it's cold. I think its all the time. And just changed the oil I was wondering if fresh oil would help but no change

I heard about it in maybe mid-November for the first time, Could have been there before just not reported by her.

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2019 7:55 am
by Basement Paul
Time for a cam upgrade!

-BP

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 9:55 am
by MostMint
OK so I got an automotive stethoscope I just need the car to be here in order to listen to it.

In the meantime here is what the worst case scenario looks like

$360 - lifters Mopar p/n 05038784AD
$290 - camshaft Mopar p/n 53022372AA
$225 - gaskets and head bolts Felpro

$1875 - 25 hours of labor @ $75 per hour. May be a few less hours

$185 - taxes on all this stuff

$2935

I am also looking into an aftermarket lifter so as to avoid the same problem. johnsonlifters.com I need to call them to see if their lifters work with eco-mode cars, then find a dealer. I see Crower has some of their products so if pricing is similar this is a $150 ish upgrade which I will encourage her to get.
I'll call them on Monday

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 9:47 pm
by MostMint
Today I listened to the engine. It sounds like there are many ticks in there. My old Chevy experience tells me more than one lifter is slightly out of adjustment.

So I did some more digging and I see many possible solutions:

1) premium gas
2) different oil / oil additives
3) exhaust manifold studs broken
4) spark plugs loose / replace
5) replace rocker arms
6) replace lifters or cam/lifters

Since you can't tighten down the lifters I'm wondering if a slightly longer or adjustable pushrod would fix this.

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 6:46 am
by Basement Paul
My old boss had a V6 Challenger that had / has lifter noise. BUT one scenario made it a lot worse, and that was a cheap oil change from a lube place. There's probably some benefit to finding out the exact specs (if there are any) for that motor. I'm betting on a Charger forum there's oil-type discussions. An oil change at the dealer quieted his motor back down to "normal" noise. I believe this could be a similar situation with the Hemi.

-BP

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 7:04 am
by GMJohnny
petty.jpg
BP and the King are on the same wavelength.


GM

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2020 7:27 am
by MostMint
update #1:

The fuel pump quit last week. Trying to debug over the phone was difficult, which created an attempt to change the battery. New battery obviously did not fix the problem so the car had to be towed. Rachel found a good local shop and for just under $600 in a few days had the car back on line. Fuel pump is an easy change in this car there is an access point under the rear seat.

update #2:

After the last oil change late last year I cut up the filter and found absolutely no metal in it. This pretty much rules out bad camshaft methinks. I looked into lifter adjustment, and it turns out they are not adjustable you have to get different length pushrods to make this work. There is a kit you can get to measure, then you buy the right length rods. This sounds orders of magnitude easier than removing the heads. But I also learned that the correct viscosity is 5w20 and I had put in 0W20. Quick google search says 0W20 but the owner manual says 5w20. The car now has 1534xx miles and I did an oil change over the weekend. Rachel reports it is much quieter - so time will tell if that was fresh oil or better viscosity.

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2020 12:12 am
by MostMint
In July I put new front hubs on the car. The RF had a tiny bit of play and considering how much she drives the investment was made

Yesterday it got new rear brake pads (168k). The Firestone Pursuit tires showing a lot of wear and will need to come off maybe a bit early. Also I went after the rattles up front installing four plastic rivets, some zip ties, and a new bolt on the under engine tray. Rachel reports huge improvements in the rattling up there I think this was the main problem.
622A1F27-85C2-4233-991A-19AD9702CD70.jpeg

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:42 pm
by Basement Paul
So is the 5w20 oil still holding off the ticking?

-BP

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2020 7:59 am
by MostMint
Rachel reports the rattling up front has stopped.

As far as oil, she stopped complaining so in her words it has stopped or she does not notice it. Plan to listen to it next time it’s here. After problem reported the first oil change Quieted it down for a bit but it returned.

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2021 11:33 am
by MostMint
Updates:

Car now has over 180k and is living in Texas with Rachel.

I did some work on it over the holiday break:
* Rachel hit a deer with the car in October. It was already dead and in her lane so she ran over it. It left quite a mess underneath, cracked some of the underbody panels, dented the A/C condenser a bit, and bent one of the driveshaft loops down pretty good. It took a bit to straighten the floor pan and the bracket
* chased down the rattle up front. Several plastic body panels were loose-ish so I replaced the factory plastic rivets with bolt fasteners, but the real problem ended up being the top strut bolts had loosened. I double nutted them as the nylock no longer appeared to be doing the job.
* replaced the Moog inner tie rod I had replaced about 18 months back. These parts are serious junk - bought a Napa replacement.
* since the Firehawk GT Pursuit tires were worn out I installed the Eagle RSA tires that came on the second set of rims she bought for snow tires. Bummer though one of them had a bulge in the side and that one was replaced with a Firehawk AS. (snow tires were on from mid-November to Jan 3 but they were not going to Texas!)
* The LR had worn out faster than the other tires - I figured it was out of alignment - which it was. This turned out to be an easy adjustment as the frame end of the toe link has an center offset washer that allows you to rotate the bolt and make the adjustment.
* oil and filter were due so they got changed

Of course Hemi had to visit his namesake
IMG_6066.JPG
The bolt had the same pattern on the inside, allowing adjustment of toe link.
IMG_6071.JPG

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 9:25 pm
by MostMint
The car now has over 202k

The water pump Rachel had replaced in late 2019 failed again. This time close to home so the car came in for some repairs.

* Replaced the oil pressure switch (which was reading high and activating the check engine light)
* Replaced the water pump with a NAPA pump. Disassembly uncovered the cheap plastic water temp sensor was also starting to leak. The new pump came with a new sensor, which I assume was the case during the 2019 replacement as well.
* Replaced one of the hoses connected to the oil cooler as it was rubbing on the oil pan and about half worn through

Test drive uncovered the car was leaking at the tee for one of the heater core hoses. I made a fix for that and subsequent test drive uncovered another leak which has to be heater core. There is no sweet smell or fogging the windshield which is a bit confusing. The Charger has aluminum connecting tubes from the engine compartment to the heater core, so I suspect those connections have failed.

* Bypassed the heater core and now discovered the tee in the other heater core hose also has a slow leak.

Going to replace both heater core hoses and she can have someone debug the heater core problem.

Re: 13 Charger Mostmint # 40

Posted: Tue May 03, 2022 1:56 pm
by MostMint
So today I got new heater core hose assemblies and put them on the car. No leaks. 202626 and counting.

I forgot to mention in the prior post that removing the water pump uncovered significant pitting on the front of the timing cover (which also serves as the water jacket behind the pump). I read online that if you don't change the Dex-Cool often enough this can happen. IDK but I do know I didn't want it getting all the way through into the crankcase so I decided to fill these pits with JB Weld.