[TFTubist]

I have a 2015 Challenger ScatPak Manual at the dealership for warranty repairs (which has been a massive ordeal spanning close to a month now; dealer could give two crispy shits about returning calls not only to me but to Dodge HQ as well and the Dodge customer support is NO basket of roses on that front either) and there's finally been movement on it but it's worrying to say the least. Can I get the community's opinion on this?

A bad lifter has mushroomed the camshaft. Dodge is replacing the camshaft under warranty and the affected cylinder's lifter... but that's it. The rest of the lifters aren't being touched and will be reused... WHAT?? To my knowledge this (and many other knowledgeable sources, albeit maybe not SRT master techs), the cam and lifters mate during break-in. I can think of two reasons why this is no bueno:

1. Since the cam and lifters "mate" together during wear-in using old lifters could ruin the new cam (or make it wear much quicker)
2. They're using a known bad lifter (new updated lifters have been made since this car's release) which very well could develop the same issue on other cylinders and, again, ruin the new cam

Does this pass the smell test to you? How am I not just driving a ticking time bomb at this point? Am I being overly concerned? I really wanted to keep this car for many many more miles but dropping it like a smelly turd at 61k miles seems to be a bit premature.

 

[71Charger_fan]

Hemi uses roller lifters that don't slide on the cam as non-roller lifters do. So, it's generally accepted that they can be reused on a new camshaft. If it was me, I'd probably pay out of pocket for the other seven new lifters and have all new. Although it shouldn't be necessary.

 

[AC TC]

Its a roller setup, its perfectly fine to change just the defective parts.

 

[ImperialCrown]

With the pre-roller flat bottom tappets, it would be necessary to replace all sliding or wearing surfaces. The roller isn't really a wear item.
They are following accepted policy. Your engine should be good.

 

[GLHS60]

Yet here they are , wearing so many so often.

Thanks
Randy

 

[DC-93]

I'd question the oil used. Meet Chrysler MS specs??
Personally, I've always used the same brand as factory fill.
IIRC, Pennzoil was factory fill in 2015.

 

[ImperialCrown]

The correct motor oil meeting Chrysler MS-12633 should be used. No other oil type should be used.
I don't know if lubricants other than Pennzoil meet the specification.

 

[dana44]

Totally agree, if the other roller rockers are not showing any damage, they can be moved around and swapped around, there is no specific roller to lobe mating like the old flat tappets, so there should be no problem with just replacing the one bad lifter and cam.

 

[TFTubist]

Thanks so much for the comments, all. It's really helped my trepidation. I want to have this car around for a LOT longer and it's been a joy so far.

It's been serviced at the dealer since I took delivery (got the mopar service contract), so as far as oil goes, I'd hope that the dealer was using the right stuff. After this debacle, though, who knows?

But the other slight concern is that if the dealer can't pin down the exact cause of the problem, and knowing that there's an updated version of the lifter, I can only think that this is the problem that the updated part addresses. I asked about paying out of pocket to replace the rest and was quoted $1200 which isn't something I have laying around.

Lastly, I'd love if you guys could give me some tips on keeping the 6.4 healthy. I've heard a weird thing or two about not restarting it so soon after shutting off? If keeping things oiled is key, and if I'm not getting any warning lights saying something needs to be addressed, is there something I can manually check weekly or monthly to make sure the oiling is to spec?

Thanks again everyone!

 

[DC-93]

 

[TFTubist]

What oil have you been using since Day 1 ?

Since day 1 the car has been dealer serviced. I'm assuming they'd be using the right oil. I did not see them crack open the bottles of oil to verify.

 

[71Charger_fan]

I had no idea those lifters were so expensive. For the manual trans cars, they list for about $130 each and discount for about $90. I've seen full sets of 16 sold by vendors for less than $500. See Mopar 05038784AC and 05038784AD. I can't imagine any dealer will come close to that price.

 

[GLHS60]

Personally, I'm not convinced the recommended oil is sufficient viscosity wise.

If the stars are aligned I guess so but Zero 40 is still about Zero.

The next number comes from additives that hopefully are all present.

Admittedly I haven't owned a Hemi so I haven't experimented.

I've spoken to several Hemi owners who tried higher viscosity after developing noises.

Naturally the oil didn't cure any problems and no one I talked to experimented prior to noises.

Thanks
Randy

I'd question the oil used. Meet Chrysler MS specs??
Personally, I've always used the same brand as factory fill.
IIRC, Pennzoil was factory fill in 2015.

 

[AC TC]

0w-40...
If its a Dino based oil, yes the base is a 10 oil and then they use viscosity improvers to get a 40 number when hot.
If its a syn its usually the other way around with the exception that most syn bases doesent need any changes to the low number since they already are thermally stable enough to have a large visscosity/ temp span.
- isnt this a 0w-20 Engine?

 

[DC-93]

I thought anything with a "0w" would have to be synthetic?

Last month, when I was looking for 2018 Compass oil, the only 0w-20 on the shelves was synthetic. Got Pennzoil, of course!

I don't know if the lifter issue is viscosity related or additive related.

I do know using thicker oil will not let the oil get up into an engine top end fast enough after a cold start...

 

[valiant67]

- isnt this a 0w-20 Engine?

The 5.7 is, the 392 is 0w-40.

 

[71Charger_fan]

Keep in mind that, in the U.S., after Mobil sued Castrol and lost, synthetic is pretty much a marketing term and some "synthetic" oils are made from group III base stocks which is the highest grade of petroleum base oil.

 

[blackstratus]

The 5.7 is, the 392 is 0w-40.

The 5.7 is a 5W20 engine

 

[valiant67]

The 5.7 is a 5W20 engine

Yes it is. Something else was a 0w20 I had, probably the Renegade 2.4
With the dealership deals on oil changes, I haven't changed the oil in a newer car in 10+ years.

 

[Doug D]

Keep in mind that, in the U.S., after Mobil sued Castrol and lost, synthetic is pretty much a marketing term and some "synthetic" oils are made from group III base stocks which is the highest grade of petroleum base oil.

Agree. Synthetic oil made from Group IV stock is truly synthetic. At best, most synthetic oils (such as Mobil 1) are made from Group III stock which is at best a semi-synthetic oil.