Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi - Misfire 

USB Endoscope: amzn.to/2xXHVOf

Hi Eric! Big fan of the channel. I was the metallurgist assigned to the 5.7L project at Chrysler. Was part of the development team from the beginning. Retired now. I did a lot of the fracture analysis of engine parts during the development phase and from warranty returns. Never saw this failure mode before on a hemi. Usually see valve problems from cam lobe wear due to an incorrectly hardened lobe or a broken valve spring. Valve usually makes quite an impression on the top of the piston. Not seeing that here. I would look for a fatigue crack in the machined ring groove. Part lasted a long time so possible causes might be difficult to isolate. Just fyi. Engine is still junk. Stay safe. Keep truckin'.

Up for less than 15 minutes and it already has over 2K views...thats when you know you're doing something right

"Red sky in morning, sailor's warning” "Dead Canary in a a coal mine" "Sparkplug with the pushed-in electrode" All potential harbingers of death! Thanks for the video Eric! Let's hope the guy gets another engine. Another 4 part engine replacement video coming up! 👍

Way back in 1978, I was amazed that we had borescope for looking inside the J79 engines on F4 Phantoms. Very expensive tool that is super cheap now and very useful still.

There's your problem lady!

Seen a few Hemi's self destruct. One was due to cylinder deactivation. Driving on the highway for a bit 4cyl mode and then when it jumps back to v8 a surge of heat makes the it drop a valve seat and eats the cylinder and piston.

Eric, my brothers have just finished refurbishing a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab (looks like the same blue as that one) with the "big" 5.7 Hemi. We are in Texas so my truck has NO RUST. They bought the truck REALLY cheap with a dead engine (thrown piston rod, cracked block). The old block and oil pan had been "repaired" with JB Weld! They rebuilt the engine (donor block, new bearings, rings, lifters, oil pump, bearings). Had the heads done by a local machine shop - new valve guides, valves, planed and Magnafluxed. New radiator, water pump, thermostat, hoses, belts, spark plugs, oil pan, fuel pump. Replaced vacuum lines. Inspected differential and replaced diff fluid. Dropped transmission pan, new filters - pan gasket - and rear trans seal, fresh fluid. U-joints are new from previous owner as were the control arms, all front end parts inspected and tight, all wheel bearings good. New Raybestos rotors and Wagner pads front and rear, flushed brake fluid. New Gabriel shocks all around (original Mopar were still on the truck). New O2 sensors, replaced one catalytic converter with a used one (the blown engine helped kill that cat.) New crank sensor, cam sensor, IAT sensor and MAP sensor (only the knock sensors are old.) Replaced all blower blend doors, blower motor (freezing cold AC!). New ignition switch and drivers door window switches. New Kenwood stereo, Pioneer amp, Kicker speakers and subwoofer. New headlights and tailights. The old Ram sure doesn't look or drive like a 16 year old truck! It was a project truck, it kept my brothers sanity while dealing with the passing of our father last summer - they needed to wrench on something in the shop. I get a cool restored Ram to drive and we kept a Mopar out of the junkyard/recycler for a few more years. Even with all the parts we purchased, with careful shopping the total expense is still lower than a newer truck in worse condition (brother volunteer labor, of course... I had to provide the beer.) Thanks for inspiring us! "If WE can do it, you can do it!" PS: I'll be sending a SASE to SMA to get some stickers, and I'll put one on the Ram!

Those battery posts look like the owner takes good care of this one.

80/20 rule she still got 87.5% of cylinders working 🤣 it’s a keeper.

"this couldn't go horribly wrong, so we'll keep the camera running..." - my day is made.

As soon as I saw the K&N sticker and aftermarket coils I knew this wasn't going to end well.

Love watching him work. He's very detailed in his videos and I always am able to learn something new from him. He is so very knowledgeable. Also love seeing Mrs O in some of the videos. He is a very honest mechanic and I wish I lived in his neighborhood so I could get my vehicles fixed correctly. Hard to find a good mechanic and an honest one also. Very detailed in all his videos. That makes it enjoyable to watch and less my attention.

After working on cars for 10 hours a day, I sit down to zone out to tiktok, then a SMA notification pops up. Me: tiktok can wait. SMA is life!

The second I saw the bent over spark plug, I had flashbacks from when I broke off the top ringland of my Miata. Low speed pre ignition is an evil force.

According to the AERA handbook - that kind of damage is usually caused by detonation or preignition. Teardown and inspection should reveal the cause, but at what cost? The end result is the same "You need an engine". The why is left to us car geeks who just want to know why. Good find and good stopping point!

the valve tried to dodge the piston but the piston rammed right into the valve

Wow, look at the crusty's on that battery!

If my battery cables looked like that, my truck would never start. Good luck on the big HEMI!!!

Hi Erick (sorry if that is not your name), I like your videos. You explain the problem and solution in simple way. Keep it like that! Please also post videos about easy fix things as I am new to car repair. Stay healthy!

Seen that on a hemi before ): The little camera is a time saver. Thanks for all the time and editing on videos.

Judging by the cold air intake...I'll bet there's a "tuner" on this truck and all it needs is another 200.00 race engine from pick n pull.

Those borescope cameras are a great tool to have. I bought one last year for my new-to-me LS3 before a rebuild. But just like you, I had issues getting to see the entire 360º as the rigid ones are a PITA to position properly. Also, they tend to magnify issues - I thought I had massive pitting on the cylinder walls, but once I got the head off I realized they were smooth as can be and it was just staining. But in cases like yours they can save a ton of work and time in diagnosis.

Glad to see another SMA video. Happy Mothers Day to Mrs O. !

“You can see what I see and we’ll all see what we see.” This guy cracks me up in every video.

Looks like the motor was fed by Stuntman on Neutral Drop.

As soon as I saw the hot air intake and the MSD coils I knew where this was headed.

Thanks for showing us, I've never seen a broken piston like that.

I had a simular problem with a 1957 Dodge D100 with a flathead . Driving to work one morning and was in a hard pull and bam. Went on to work, drove it home pulled the head, those old flatheads were pretty easy to work on. The number 3 piston was shattered. Pulled the oil pan, figured i would replace the bad piston, and the rings pulled the number one piston it fell apart when i pulled it out . I replaced 5 pistons (should have replaced all 6) sure enough the number 6, the one i didnt replace the ring land broke hammered like crazy, dead mis. Pulled plug same thing. Replaced the last piston and the old truck ran great for a long time. About 5 years, sold it to a relative, he drove it for about a year gave it to his kid, blew the engine in less than a week. Ran it without oil

Hey Eric! Always a good day to see a notice for an SMA video!!

Somewhat typical damage resulting from LSPI events (Low Speed Pre-Ignition), possibly triggered by that carbon build-up on the crown of the piston. It could have smacked a stuck valve also, but I'm on the LSPI train from the damage seen.

I’ve been itching for a video for daysss now. Finally!!!

One of the best instructional videos you’ve done in a long time

"Can't you just vacuum out the chunks? The top of the ring looks fine."

Combination of K&N cold air intake and someone RAMming the gas pedal to the floor. lol

Detonation, cam out of phase or timing issue. Those engines fail quite often. You are right, pull and replace.

As soon as I saw the K&N intake..yep she's been hammered on!

Of very specific interest to me since I own this truck.

5:13 motoroscopy , 7:26 Doctor O. Maintains control over the situation as he continues examining the patient

Eric is the best mechanic. I've thought of shipping my car from Michigan to his shop to have him work on it :-)

"The money light" LOL! That's the first time I've heard it called that! Ain't that the truth? Love it!

Chrysler - Feeding mechanics and their families since 1925.

Fun an exciting is the call tot he customer at that point. Guess it's another hemi off the road and off to the big crusher int he sky. Great diag Eric.

My Grand Cherokee is an 03/04 (depending on whether you are talking parts or sale year). Not had a great life, but this one makes me sit up and take notice. I'd like to keep "O' Red" for several more years, if I can. I'm glad I saw this one; if something happens to it, I know we can put a new engine into it if need be. Not yet, though. It's a faithful truck.

Came across your channel by accident, liking the videos and the way you diagnose weird and wonderful complaints. keep up the good work.

The empty NO2 bottle in the front seat was the dead giveaway.

Tell Scotty I've seen this in Toyotas, too.

This one didn't hurt too much. Had a 98 same with the 5.7 and only went through 3 transmissions LOL True story. Great Vid !!

I once had a 351 Cleveland on dedicated LPG that was missing on one cylinder with the same bent over spark plug, replaced the plug and after another hundred or so miles a different plug would go the same and start missing. this happened 3 or 4 times. Time to pull the heads off, I found the valve guides had been working their way down the valve stems and out of the heads, they were getting chipped off by the flare on the head of the valves and the pieces were bouncing around in the combustion chambers closing the gap in the plugs.

I enjoy a carnage video when it's someone else's engine!

Same reason why my truck is in the shop now. My truck only has 42000 miles on it

The K&N air filter told me everything I needed to know about the cause---young kid driving the snot out of it, holding it to the rev limiter as much as possible

I really enjoy your no-nonsense approach to to engine diagnosis, I wish there was a tech around my area like you.

These 5.7 hemis for what Ive seen can be pretty reliable. The 2 guys I know had problem with these is because they NEVER did any maintenance to them.

It prob dropped a valve seat. I have worked on quite a few of those 2008 and down Hemi's. The valve seat drops, bangs around and blows a piston out, sends metal throughout the intake and out the exhaust. It is fixable in most cases by pulling both heads, installing a new piston/rod assembly with a cylinder hone, reman head and reassemble everything. You then have to make sure you either replace the intake or shake all the kibbles nd bits out of it. Not worth it in a 16+ year old POS truck.

old time engine guy showed me a cool trick with those inspection scopes. he snapped a fishing hook so he had a straight shank with the eye on it, taped it up so the eye was at the "base" of the camera part, tied some line to it... braced the whole works on the head with one hand and slowly manipulated the fishing line with the other while watching the screen, he was even able to turn it around somehow, maybe by holding the line steady and plunging the lead to the scope in more... i don't quite understand that part of it, but there you go. The high end borescopes have a sprung trigger that will move the camera in a similar fashion like a mechanical finger.

I can see the piston skirt broke plain as day. A piece or pieces hit the spark plug closing it contributing to a misfire for that cylinder. Last Hemi ram I diagnosed has a dead number 7 cylinder with no compression. Sent the customer to an engine repair shop. Great video. Richard's Mobile Auto and Air

When gen 3 hemi gets too hot the rings like to butt up and blow the crown off the piston like that. They are gapped a little tight. It's a failure mode with power adders... ask me how I know hahaha

It’ll buff right out

For someone who is constantly bad mouthing the Chrysler mini vans, I don't see too many in your shop. Yes, wiring issues have been a problem, but overall, a good running vehicle. The 4 speed trany is bullet proof & the 3.3/3.8 is the modern equivalent of the 225 slant 6 in terms of reliability. Easy time diagnosis, easy to repair is what I look for in reliable transportation.

We have articulating borescopes in aviation but I bought a Teslong borescope on Amazon for home use. It has two cameras, one of them is on the side so you can see the valves. Its still 5mm so it fits everywhere. The resolution is true HD and it has it's own 5" screen. You can save the videos to an SD card and upload it to your computer. I had the same one you're using and for $120, the Teslong one blow it out of the water.

Looks like the Neutral Drop boys put some of their “special additives” in that engine!

Wow, the barf-o-cam was really moving today!

Considering it's not a real expensive endoscope it's pretty good resolution. Nice job Eric !

My brother-in-law's Charger had the same issue. 5.7 liter, granulated piston!! Fiat Chrysler is paying for the repairs if your customer is the original owner. Good job!!!

CHRYSLER - Company Has Recommended You Start Learning Engine Repair

Can you tell us the ending of the story and what the customer decided to do ... hate not knowing ....

Could be LSPI. But this engine wasn’t turbo charged or direct injected. LSPI can blow the ring ridges off a piston, but this form of pre-detonation usually happen on turbo charged or small direct injection gasoline engines. Unless customer was lugging the engine, or it got really HOT, this form of pre-detonation probably didn’t happen. Looks like the metal just fatigued and broke. My buddy Tim the mechanic says that the 5.7 Hemi has several issues with the cam rollers. They stop rolling, and can tear up a cam in short order. Sounds like a metallurgy issue to me. He showed me one and there’s no bearing I could see. Just a pin through the roller. Ugh. Great video!! I love your very methodical and structured troubleshooting!! Thank you!!

Anybody who lives close to this shop needs to send your problems to him. I'm saying this from a professional view. When I retired I had 2 ASE Master certifications and every certificate that Ford offered, and more. This man is The Best and people like him are very rare. Subscribe to his channel and click the like button for every video. He deserves to make money, I hope a lot because mechanic work is hard, hot, and nasty.

Aww thats a painful site. Break the news to him easy Eric

The poor thing finally noticed that Dodge changed its name to Ram--broke its heart and piston.

You are right, why doesn't matter at this point, it's broken. Another nice thing about the camera, you can show the customer the video, he can see it is broken, too. You're right, replace the engine or junk the truck. Buying a remanufactured engine for a 16 yr old truck does not seem to make sense. It should be easy enough to find one pulled from a wreck and just swap it out.

Hello, Hope you are doing well. Love the show. Was a certified ASE mechanic in the late 1980's. Went to to school for more of a industrial Electrician, controls etc. I have been doing a lot of Robotics repair for the last 20 years. I'm employed at Honda Manufacturing here in Alabama. We build the Pilot, Passport, Odyssey and Ridgeline. I found you show during the shut down. I love the way you trouble shot this Electrical issues. The way you develop your starting point. This is a skill that some people have issues with. I like all of your Equipment for testing. The test light and a good set of prints is a great tool. I watch another show called Nick's Garage love it. He had a issue with a Voltage Regulator on a 1970 Ford Torino Cobra Jet keeping the primary side of the coil hot with the ignition switch off. I would love to see the prints trying to locate some to trace the circuit. I think that would be a great show, white board the prints and trace it through. Thanks

The sadist in me want's you to record the phone call when you break the news to the owner!

I asked Scotty and he said, while spitting, "Toyota! Toyota! Toyota!"

🤣 Eric, you spent so much time trying to show the extent of the piston damage, and I'm betting that most of of us "MotorHeads" were saying "Ok, it's broken... Yes, we agree... Enough already! How much damage is acceptable? None! Pull Out, Man!" 🤣 Oh, well. Your customer can't claim you weren't thorough about it! 😊

Thanks Ponch, great video as usual.

So what your saying is get a magnet grab the pieces out and stretch the plug out. Then either drive it or sell it.

Likely that Kand N air intake boosted the HP so much the HEMI could not handle it. Lol

Thank you Eric ❤ got a 2007 5.7 litre hemi in a 1947 International pick up with issues…ticking noise and maybe misfiring 😢

I used to inspect pressure vessels, and we used a boroscope with a joystick. Made it super easy to point the thing exactly where you need it. But it was also thousands of dollars.

Interesting that your Autel has no missfire counters for a 2004. I just used my 906BT on a 2001 Dodge 2500 and it had missfire counters under the special functions.

Anybody else find themselves tilting their screens screens while watching this trying to get the glare off the AllTell 😊

Man i just got a dodge ram with the hemi 5.7. I hear good and bad things about the hemi motors. I hope nothing like this happens to mine. Love your channel keep making these videos. Thanks big E

You should tie 2 fishing lines on the endoscope. With a stick front and back side, that way you can direct that cam alittle better when you go in a hole. I tried it. Works great.

Chrysler: Company highly recommends you start learning engine repairs 😂🤣

There’s your problem lady !!!

I currently own a 2003 5.7 Hemi. My truck did the same thing on cylinder 3. Twice in a couple of months actually. It’s most likely carbon build up just breaking off and beating it. Hasn’t done it in a while now, and I’m sitting at 195k miles, and it still runs great now. I’ve just been using seafoam and marvels mystery oil in my fuel every now and then to clean out the carbon build up ever since it happened.

Hey Eric Thank You for sharing your experience and time. Great Video on 5.7 Ram with broken piston top. Sincerely Jeff.

I guess the piston... uhm... RAMMED itself into the valve and broke it..

I had this similar damage to a 2003 Kia Rio and oddly enough it was 3 days after the first & only time I took it to jiffy lube oh well it had a ton of miles

Just a comment to help yours stats. Love the videos. Thank you for all the education you have given me through your videos.

Excellent vid, nice clear look inside that most people don't get to see, some good comments 👍🏽

good old Ringland failure

Geez, looks like the piston was chunked. i can see one of the piston rings, the top land is broken off.

The head gasket had a leak. The coolant leaking inside the piston caused it to get brittle. The stippling on the top looks like a leak. Eventually the side cracked and broke off slamming that spark plug shut with extreme force. No wonder it was missing. Great diagnosis. Saved time. Junk. Glad to tell you what happened. And those battery posts? I would be ashamed to drop my car off looking like that. Poor maintenance.

Yikes! My 2011 work truck is in the repair shop for multiple misfire. Hope it’s not an engine change out 😩 I’ll find out more on Friday 🤔 Thanks Eric for another great video 👍

I wanted to see it running with the old spark plug regaped.

If this were my truck, I'd have Eric O driving to the local Pick n Pull and get me the lowest mile engine they had in the yard and pay for the install. From the limited view of the truck, it didn't look crusty, so a bone yard engine would be good enough until the God of NY Salt came calling.

You could drive as a local around the town clunker in small town usa, vac out chunks it would fire for awhile, but explosive power stroke would eventually take ring out. Chances are some of those chuncks scored the cylinder wall also. Its a short hop to the salvage yard unless you replace piston. Which means a rebuild. The trucks probably worth more in salvage parts if body is straight to a recycle yard. Im to old now, but i always found it very satisfying to rebuild an engine, and while your at it you can juice em up abit with better than factory stuff. The down side, wont get money back out on trade or sale and where is the transmission rear end tires body etc.