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Charger's barely running ... :(

7K views 74 replies 25 participants last post by  Gabe 
#1 · (Edited)
Engine made some rattling noises (almost like knocking/pinging) while coming to a stop after a short romping session, now barely holding an idle, feels like will stall, A/F gauge shows lean 16-17 range.

No Check-Eng light or any other warning light, still showing about 26 psi oil pressure at idle and no more weird noises puttering home, staying under 2500 rpm.

I'm wondering if a loose vacuum hose may cause the issue, although tonight in the dark and without a good flashlight I didn't get a chance to really look around.

All I know is that if this has internal engine damage, the re-build will no longer include the numbers 345 :)

I'd be going BIGGER :)
 
#3 ·
Running PAC 1235 valve springs since the heads/cam install, done march 2009 by the one and only Erik. Install has been flawless since. Haven't heard of these springs breaking but I guess anything is possible. The install has about 24k miles on it so far ...
 
#10 ·
Pretty much. It's still a damn good-looking car, VERY comfortable, awesome in the snowy months, and fast. And will be faster by the time I'm done with it, it seems ... ;)

Sounds like you should probably sell your wheels. You're gonna need the money for other things? ;-)
HA! They're yours :)
Just say when we can hook up. Any Sunday is good for me. Would prefer Sunday mornings.

Fuel pump/ filter clog? Just throwing that out there.
Maybe but I doubt it ...

you lost the timing set or an exhaust spring.
Erik, any vacuum leaks I can check for myself? Would a vacuum leak even cause this? Also, how's your workload? In case the engine has to be worked on, I really don't trust anyone else around here ... if the engine's damaged, I'm pretty sure I want to go bigger (426 ? Lol)

Oh and there's no catch can on this engine anymore ... a casualty of my sell-off spree ... :(
 
#5 ·
Sounds like you should probably sell your wheels. You're gonna need the money for other things? ;-)
 
#7 ·
Catch can come loose?
 
#14 ·
Does not sound good man! I wish you luck pull valve cover x2 what Mike said
 
#16 ·
Could be some of that NH air you maybe picked up the other day........what? (jus' sayin' it could be)


Seriously Gabe, I hope it's nothing expensive. If it is, I know you'll do the job right.
 
#18 ·
Do I just pull the driver side valve cover since it's the easier one to do (from what I've heard) ???
Or because the A/F sensor is installed on that side's exhaust?

Never worked on a Hemi before, but I wouldn't mind doing some exploratory surgery myself ...

Either way, I think the car will end up at Erik's for some time, for whatever the repair might be, plus definitely a 6.1 timing gear set and maybe some other upgrades :)

Erik, let me know when you get a chance, what the turnaround time might be once the car's there ... thanks dude ...
 
#20 ·
Cant tell what it might be the problem from the audio quality. I'm betting possibly a bent pushrod or a bent valve from what it sounds like. If you are not sure which side to take off, take a long screw driver hold the plastic end to your ear and the point or flat tip to the valve cover on each side and listen for more noticable noise. when You find your rattle pull the either pull the plugs and or valve cover and check for wnything out of the norm. Hope this helps. If everything looks good then you might have spun a bearing who know until you do the diagnostics to figure out the problem. I wish I was there to give you a hand.
 
#21 ·
Yeah Gabe- Hearing the video and seeing the AFR hit 13 when you gave it a little pretty much kills that easy out.
I hope it's still easy, but I feel for you. A month ago I spent a rough Friday after I started random misfiring like crazy at WOT, till I priced out a forged, low compression 5.7L based 392 that would handle 13lbs and decided that would be the route to go if all else failed. Took me a month and a half of troubleshooting but ended up with at least one bad coilpack with possibly others going. So no 392 for me. Yet.... :sad:
 
#22 ·
Thanks guys for the help / pointers.

I think the Hemi Gods are trying to tell me something ...

Yesterday morning at the coffee shop, the receipt showed my order number being 426.

This morning I woke up and looked at the clock and it was 4:26 AM ... LOL

I'd love to have a naturally-aspirated 550-600-horse 426 AWD Charger ... :mrgreen:
 
#23 ·
Still no check-engine light but checking with the Predator, there is a stored code P0172 - rich on bank 1 ...

Listening for noise with the engine running, I'm pretty sure the driver-side has more clatter coming thru the valve cover, toward the back of the engine.

Haven't had the chance to pull any valve covers yet ... :(
 
#25 ·
So now that I'm hearing extra noise on the driver side of the engine, do I remove THAT valve cover or the one showing a DTC - the passenger side / bank 1 ?
 
#26 ·
Oh no...doesn't sound good. I feel for you as I had similar noises with my ride to find out I had a broken exhaust spring and bent push rod. Luckily the bore scope reviled no piston damage.

Better get in there soon before it goes from bad to worse.
 
#28 ·
Juess, Gabe, sounds like pulling both the valve covers is in order to see if any valve springs are broke. I'd drain the oil too and see if there's any unusual metal chunks in the pan (i.e.; tensioner) and start pulling a few plugs to rule out any cylinder damage? I think I've read a few posts here over the years of the PAC springs breaking.

Working on the Mrs. about the wheels, if you're serious? I'll PM you.
 
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