[JayFitch]

I have a 21 5.7 A8 with 13,000 miles on it. I noticed the noises closer to seven and 8000, took it to dealerships and they denied hearing anything. One dealership even told me they won’t look into any ticks because HEMIs are known to have them. (Crossed them off the list of places to go in the future).
been looking all over YouTube for hours each day for at least a week now, and it seems like the more I look, the less I can figure out. Is the sewing machine noise early signs of lifters failing, or is it completely normal? I’ve only ever put high octane fuel and full synthetic in my vehicle, followed the proper break-in procedure, and even did oil changes at 500, 1500, and 3000 just to make sure everything will work well on this vehicle.
It did not have that noise when I initially bought the car, and I believe it has gotten louder in the last 4000 miles. video link: 2021 5.7

I understand it could be the rocker arms that have too-much play, but jeez, how common is this? The dealerships make it seem like every hemi has this issue so they don’t want to pursue fixing and replacing them.

 

[Nuke]

Record a short vid clip of the noise that’s got you worried and share it out for us to hear. Dollars’ll getcha donuts it’s just the fuel injectors or some harmless clatter from the valvetrain that isn’t a sign of anything bad so far.

 

[JayFitch]

Record a short vid clip of the noise that’s got you worried and share it out for us to hear. Dollars’ll getcha donuts it’s just the fuel injectors or some harmless clatter from the valvetrain that isn’t a sign of anything bad so far.

It’s in the original post as the link labeled 5.7 2021

 

[Nuke]

It’s in the original post as the link labeled 5.7 2021

You’re good to go. No lifter is imminent from what I heard.

Keep doing whatever you’ve been doing (or not doing), and enjoy the car for the rest of the time you have it.

 

[Xylander]

My 2018 T/A 392 A8 had 2 cams and 3 sets of lifters replaced due to faulty oiling of the camshaft. All in under 18,000mi. My dealership also tried the whole, "all Hemis do this" nonsense. I took it to a 3rd party mechanic and we video scoped the cam and it was plain to see that the lifters were getting stuck and dragging across the cam lobes, with 1 lobe noticeably filed down. Took them the video and had the lifters and cam replaced. I did the same thing the next time it started making the Hemi tick... took back to independent for a scope, brought proof to the dealership... fixed.

I ended up selling it because I wasn't about to be on the hook for cam and lifter replacements every 5,000mi once it went out of warranty.

 

[JayFitch]

My 2018 T/A 392 A8 had 2 cams and 3 sets of lifters replaced due to faulty oiling of the camshaft. All in under 18,000mi. My dealership also tried the whole, "all Hemis do this" nonsense. I took it to a 3rd party mechanic and we video scoped the cam and it was plain to see that the lifters were getting stuck and dragging across the cam lobes, with 1 lobe noticeably filed down. Took them the video and had the lifters and cam replaced. I did the same thing the next time it started making the Hemi tick... took back to independent for a scope, brought proof to the dealership... fixed.

I ended up selling it because I wasn't about to be on the hook for cam and lifter replacements every 5,000mi once it went out of warranty.

It’s so unfortunate that we have to do this damn dance with the service departments. Guess that’ll have to be my route.

Did you take it in due to a similar noise coming from yours? (I assume you watched the video I linked)

 

[Hal H]

My 2018 T/A 392 A8 had 2 cams and 3 sets of lifters replaced due to faulty oiling of the camshaft. All in under 18,000mi. My dealership also tried the whole, "all Hemis do this" nonsense. I took it to a 3rd party mechanic and we video scoped the cam and it was plain to see that the lifters were getting stuck and dragging across the cam lobes, with 1 lobe noticeably filed down. Took them the video and had the lifters and cam replaced. I did the same thing the next time it started making the Hemi tick... took back to independent for a scope, brought proof to the dealership... fixed.

I ended up selling it because I wasn't about to be on the hook for cam and lifter replacements every 5,000mi once it went out of warranty.

there likely were issues with the engine - either debris in the oil galleries from the first cam / lifter failure

FCA's service bulletins note to pull the VVT oil control valve - if there are metal particles on the valve's screens - metal particles are migrated through the oiling system and bearings are damaged as well as debris has ended up in the the oil passages throughout the engine.
-the engine is "condemned" and must be replaced.

A friend had a new '20 Scat Pack and by 2,600 mi it developed severe lifter noises (as if not enough oil supply pressure)

• dealer replaced cam & lifters
• still had noisy lifters after reassembly

the removed the (new) oil filter, cut it open - had metal shavings

due to the engine not having the oil galleries properly cleaned of machining debris (at the assembly plant) - FCA replaced with a complete long block assembly.
it appeared that the upper end of the engine had restricted / blocked oil passages

 

[CE9311]

Failed cam is def not a death sentence. That is if your smart enough not to drive it forever during the failure.

I replaced mine @ 117K miles. Currently now at 172K with Oil samples showing a fantastic low metal wear trend. I checked all MDS screens and VCT Solenoid found no shavings.

Speaking of that, UOA (Used Oil Analysis) is perfect way to determine if you have lifter issues by looking at elevated iron.

 

[TripNic]

@DodgeCares

 

[Xylander]

I have a 21 5.7 A8 with 13,000 miles on it. I noticed the noises closer to seven and 8000, took it to dealerships and they denied hearing anything. One dealership even told me they won’t look into any ticks because HEMIs are known to have them. (Crossed them off the list of places to go in the future).
been looking all over YouTube for hours each day for at least a week now, and it seems like the more I look, the less I can figure out. Is the sewing machine noise early signs of lifters failing, or is it completely normal? I’ve only ever put high octane fuel and full synthetic in my vehicle, followed the proper break-in procedure, and even did oil changes at 500, 1500, and 3000 just to make sure everything will work well on this vehicle.
It did not have that noise when I initially bought the car, and I believe it has gotten louder in the last 4000 miles. video link: 2021 5.7

Yours is a lot louder than mine was. To me, that sounds an awful lot like an exhaust manifold/header leak. Check the torque on your manifolds.

I took mine in when I first noticed it. I was idling at a Wendy's drive-thru and could hear the tick-tick-tick echoing off the wall beside me. That queued me into something was not right. Over the next few days, I tried putting an oil additive in, oil change, and the sound just persisted through everything. It was louder on a cold start.

The dealership never did diagnose what was causing the issue. I simply chalked it up to the MDS system and the known issues some engines have with it. After the 2nd failure, I ordered a non-MDS having Hellcat and by the time it arrived 8 months later, it was time for cam #3, which the dealer replaced before they sold it after I traded it in. Someone out there has a timebomb T/A 392.

 

[JayFitch]

Yours is a lot louder than mine was. To me, that sounds an awful lot like an exhaust manifold/header leak. Check the torque on your manifolds.

I took mine in when I first noticed it. I was idling at a Wendy's drive-thru and could hear the tick-tick-tick echoing off the wall beside me. That queued me into something was not right. Over the next few days, I tried putting an oil additive in, oil change, and the sound just persisted through everything. It was louder on a cold start.

The dealership never did diagnose what was causing the issue. I simply chalked it up to the MDS system and the known issues some engines have with it. After the 2nd failure, I ordered a non-MDS having Hellcat and by the time it arrived 8 months later, it was time for cam #3, which the dealer replaced before they sold it after I traded it in. Someone out there has a timebomb T/A 392.

That really sucks. So that’s when I noticed mine too, being next to a car in traffic and when I went through a drive-thru line. It’s gotten louder, and it does not get better with a warm engine. That video is actually after I drove a couple hours to run some errands.

@DodgeCares

@DodgeCares
Just adding, I’ve been told they didn’t “hear anything” but has gotten louder since then. Any way I can have a good word put in to my local dealer so they will actually put their best tech on it?

 

[ChallyTatum]

I think you are good although on my 2015 RT I noticed the sewing machine noise during decel and my fix was aftermarket pushrods. Now with headers, 3" exhaust and SC'er it is hard to hear any mechanical engine noise.

2015 Challenger RT plus 5.7 6 speed stock pushrod length

Just sharing my experiences with the RT. So my RT now has 1800 miles and it sounds like a sewing machine (significant amount of valve train noise at 1000-2500 RPM, more pronounced during down shifts). I have a 2013 5.7l grand Cherokee and that engine has 60,000 miles on it and the valve...

www.challengertalk.com

I even had my 5.7 cam removed when I installed the 6.2 and there were no signs of abnormal wear to indicate a lifter was bad (added a pic in this thread).

6.2 cam swap into 5.7 M6 forced induction

Sounds like a custom keeper tool is in order. Round stock trepanned to the correct diameter for the keepers with a couple of magnets in the trepanned area. Might work.

www.challengertalk.com

For comparison, the injectors are noisy by themselves. Here is a comparison of my 5.7 challenger and 5.7 JGC.

One thing to watch out for is the evap purge can also cause a tick noise when it is activated.

 

[TripNic]

@DodgeCares
Just adding, I’ve been told they didn’t “hear anything” but has gotten louder since then. Any way I can have a good word put in to my local dealer so they will actually put their best tech on it?

I was just hoping that DodgeCares sees this thread so they can see another example of how moronic their dealers are can be

 

[ChallyTatum]

I was just hoping that DodgeCares sees this thread so they can see another example of how moronic their dealers are can be

Good luck getting a dealer to take a serious look at the "sewing machine" noise. My dealership said it's normal but the pushrod swap remedied it in my case. They also would not fix the whining rear diff unless the sound got worse, which it never did but I eventually swapped out myself because it getting to me.

 

[TripNic]

Good luck getting a dealer to take a serious look at the "sewing machine" noise. My dealership said it's normal but the pushrod swap remedied it in my case. They also would not fix the whining rear diff unless the sound got worse, which it never did but I eventually swapped out myself because it getting to me.

Yea I noticed a whine on mine from day 1. Can't tell if its tranny noise (6M) or rear differential.

 

[ChallyTatum]

Yea I noticed a whine on mine from day 1. Can't tell if its tranny noise (6M) or rear differential.

Most likely the rear diff. My whined at about 40mph and above.

 

[TripNic]

Most likely the rear diff. My whined at about 40mph and above.

Just Lovely

 

[ChallyTatum]

Just Lovely

You should not have to put up with it considering it is a 2021 model and still under warranty. Some folks have been successful in getting the dealership to swap out but I was like F them I will do it myself since my dealership was reluctant. I will say I did beat the crap out of the old diff when I installed the supercharger and I really did not notice the whine getting any worse.

 

[TripNic]

You should not have to put up with it considering it is a 2021 model and still under warranty. Some folks have been successful in getting the dealership to swap out but I was like F them I will do it myself since my dealership was reluctant. I will say I did beat the crap out of the old diff when I installed the supercharger and I really did not notice the whine getting any worse.

Been poking around on the subject and it seems the opinions are mixed on whether the whine is normal, no improvement on a diff swap, some or no improvement with a fluid change, etc.

 

[ChallyTatum]

Been poking around on the subject and it seems the opinions are mixed on whether the whine is normal, no improvement on a diff swap, some or no improvement with a fluid change, etc.

Definite improvement with the swap in my case. Different oil brand and weight made little to no difference.