[CUUDA]

2007 3.5 used with 80,000 miles that sat on my engine stand for nearly a year.

First installed after new head gaskets, timing belt and waterpump. I do this on all used engines.

Ran great after install. Parked it for a couple months waiting on other parts. Went to crank it and made all kinds of racket and sounds like it has no compression. Spins freely as if valves are open??

After several cycles and revolutions the thumps of compression start to return and it will fire up.

Engine light flashes random misfires.

Kill it and restart it a time or two and allow it to warm up and it cleans up and runs perfect!?? No Noises!!?? Drive it around without issues for the rest if the day.

Next morning same damn thing!!!!! 😡

The noises sound like banging rods and a loose flexplate or a rattling catalytic convertor.

EVERYTHING was torqued to spec and it did not do this until it sat for 2 months waiting on parts.

I am leaning towards the lifters loosing prime overnight. When I spin it over enough the oil pumps back up and compression is back up then it fires up. Once warm it runs perfect.

I am about to riddle it with 12 gauge slugs!!!

 

[CUUDA]

I would Hate to destroy it!!

https://i.imgur.com/Xz7VXBF.jpg

 

[reefstar]

https://i.imgur.com/Xz7VXBF.jpg

It very well could be the rocker arms. Did you replace them?

 

[CUUDA]

It very well could be the rocker arms. Did you replace them?[/QUOT

Yes I did... But not the lifters!

 

[reefstar]

It very well could be the rocker arms. Did you replace them?[/QUOT

Yes I did... But not the lifters!

I'll bet the lifters had orange caps on them. Do you remember?

 

[CUUDA]

Don't remember. The one I pulled has the orange but those were silent. That engine has a light bottomend knock. I have a crank kit for it.

I just walked out there and hit the key and the sonuvabeach cranked and ran perfect! 🙄

 

[reefstar]

Don't remember. The one I pulled has the orange but those were silent. That engine has a light bottomend knock. I have a crank kit for it.

I just walked out there and hit the key and the sonuvabeach cranked and ran perfect! í*½í¹„

Still sounds to me like the rocker arms. Chrysler has upgraded them a couple of times, the new ones have yellow caps.

The reason the car just started fine was likely because when you turned off the engine last time, the lifter wasn't under pressure, so it didn't bleed down.

 

[reefstar]

Don't remember. The one I pulled has the orange but those were silent. That engine has a light bottomend knock. I have a crank kit for it.

I just walked out there and hit the key and the sonuvabeach cranked and ran perfect! í*½í¹„

Here's a simple trick you can use to help isolate sounds. Take a section of garden hose or any kind is tubing. Hold one end up to your ear, and then aim the other end at different points of your engine. You'll be surprised how easily you can isolate where a noise is coming from.
Also a cheap mechanics stethoscope is worth WAY more than it costs.

Mechanics Stethoscope Engine Diagnostic Tool Amazon.com: Mechanics Stethoscope Engine Diagnostic Tool: Health & Personal Care

 

[circ1977]

Don't remember. The one I pulled has the orange but those were silent. That engine has a light bottomend knock. I have a crank kit for it.

I just walked out there and hit the key and the sonuvabeach cranked and ran perfect! ������

Cant explain away the knocking noise but i had one 3.5 in for service that sounded like every other broken timing belt I've ever heard, except it wasn't ! I would of bet all the money in my pocket at the time that is what it was , it ended up being ****ty gas ! It left me dumb founded but it was a car from a auction yard that had old or contaminated gas in it , that was all that was wrong with it. Sounds like this car has been sitting for awhile, any chance that gas is trash?

 

[reefstar]

Cant explain away the knocking noise but i had one 3.5 in for service that sounded like every other broken timing belt I've ever heard, except it wasn't ! I would of bet all the money in my pocket at the time that is what it was , it ended up being ****ty gas ! It left me dumb founded but it was a car from a auction yard that had old or contaminated gas in it , that was all that was wrong with it. Sounds like this car has been sitting for awhile, any chance that gas is trash?

That's a reasonable thought. It's worth a shot. Top off your tank with some 92 octane and see if it helps (if you can't drain it). Sea foam it at the same time.

 

[CUUDA]

Got busy on other stuff.

Yeah I put 10 gallons of premium in it. It still does it. Literally spins over like no spark plugs in it. 0 compression.

I did swap the oil pan off the knocking engine so I could install a oil cooler on the donor 3.5. The donor engine Did not have the oil cooler. Did not see any difference in oil passages from one pan to the other.

I even put a Mopar oil filter with ant-drainback valve in it. Can't figure out why the oil drains back into the oil pan and the oil system loosing all prime??

Still Stumped!

 

[reefstar]

Got busy on other stuff.

Yeah I put 10 gallons of premium in it. It still does it. Literally spins over like no spark plugs in it. 0 compression.

I did swap the oil pan off the knocking engine so I could install a oil cooler on the donor 3.5. The donor engine Did not have the oil cooler. Did not see any difference in oil passages from one pan to the other.

I even put a Mopar oil filter with ant-drainback valve in it. Can't figure out why the oil drains back into the oil pan and the oil system loosing all prime??

Still Stumped!

Changing the oil filter and pan wouldn't cause a lack of compression without a lot of other issues first.

Are you sure the starter is engaging?

Have you gotten anywhere with it?

BTW, after rereading... why did you change the rocker arms, but not the lifters? You pulled the lifters and put them into the new rocker arms??

 

[CUUDA]

I changed the complete rocker assemblies.

Engine spins. I believe the oil is draining back and oil system is losing prime.

I need to video it and post. I have swapped many 2.7-3.5 and never experienced this. Just did a 2.7 to 3.5 swap on my dads $900 2008 Charger.

Once the oil pressure rises it starts up normal and runs perfect. Overnight it looses prime and the same crap allover.

About to put a match to it and let it burn!

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

 

[reefstar]

I changed the complete rocker assemblies.

Engine spins. I believe the oil is draining back and oil system is losing prime.

I need to video it and post. I have swapped many 2.7-3.5 and never experienced this. Just did a 2.7 to 3.5 swap on my dads $900 2008 Charger.

Once the oil pressure rises it starts up normal and runs perfect. Overnight it looses prime and the same crap allover.

About to put a match to it and let it burn!

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Could be something in your oil pan blocking your intake tube. (I've seen that before)

But even without oil pressure, you should still have compression. So you're saying the engine is free spinning?

Once you put your plugs in, you're gonna have compression.

Has your timing belt slipped a tooth?

By the way, before you put a match to it, let me know! LOL.

 

[CUUDA]

Engine is complete. Nothing in the oil pan. New water pump, head gaskets and timing belt.

Plugs are in! Thats what gets me!!

Sounds like connecting rods flopping around until oil pumps up. I tried getting video this morning but it cranked up with just a little miss then ran perfect????

I can bet tomorrow it will do it allover again. I will have the phone recording to catch it.

 

[CUUDA]

Hmmm. Maybe I need to keep the camera with me.. Seems everytime I have the camera ready it doesn't act up...

Wonder if the bitch got some Christine metal in her?? 😂😂

 

[CUUDA]

Little update.

Added the Zmax and seems to have corrected the issue. A entire week and it starts up at the bump of the key.

On that note,
I picked up a Shaker hood for a cool $250. Looks decent!

https://i.imgur.com/bo2Gdd4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QqvNcYG.jpg

 

[CUUDA]

Got it inspected and tagged. Went for a 100 mile drive parked it. It did fine throughout the drive. Next morning this,

Dodge 3.5 Issues. - YouTube

 

[reefstar]

Got it inspected and tagged. Went for a 100 mile drive parked it. It did fine throughout the drive. Next morning this,

Dodge 3.5 Issues. - YouTube

Sounds like a bad starter to me. It's cranking over very slowly.

 

[CUUDA]

Nah... Not the starter. At the begining of the video you can hear horrible clacking sound then the oil pumped up and the clacking went away.. Then you can hear it spin over like it has no compression. At the end of the video it starts hitting compression.