Almost killed my 2012 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi
Posting this as a PSA for fellow Hemi owners, because I almost cooked my motor and I want to save someone else the heart attack.
I’ve got a 2012 Ram 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi, 184k on the clock. Truck had been running fine, no warnings, no messages on the dash. I was driving it hard… like I stole it, honestly. No idea the oil was creeping down.
Then one day the check engine light came on and started flashing. I got it home, shut it off. When I cranked it back up… that’s when I heard it. The Hemi tick.
Popped the hood, pulled the dipstick. Oil was ~4 quarts low. On a 7-quart system. I was running on basically 3 quarts of oil. 🥺😐
What I did:
- Topped off the oil immediately, tick and CEL still there
- Pulled codes, found which cylinder was misfiring
- Replaced the spark plug and ignition coil on that cylinder
- Did a full oil change: 6 quarts Mobil 1 5W-20 + 1 quart Lucas Oil Stabilizer
- Started it up … tick was still there, CEL still on
- Drove it carefully (no boot, no high RPMs) for about 50 miles
After that ~50 miles, the tick faded out and the CEL cleared itself. Truck has been running clean ever since. No codes, no ticking.
About the Lucas:
I know throwing Lucas in is probably overkill and some of you will tell me it's snake oil (fair). But honestly, at the point I was at, I was already mentally pricing out a new long block. If Lucas was gonna do anything to help cushion worn bearings or quiet down a noisy lifter while I waited to see if the motor would survive, I was willing to try it. It worked, or at least it didn't hurt. I'll take it.
Next oil change plan:
At 184k I'm thinking about switching to 5W-30 high mileage going forward. The slightly thicker oil should help with worn bearing clearances and ring sealing, and the high mileage formula has seal conditioners that help with the aging valve seals (which is probably part of why these Hemis start drinking oil in the first place). Curious if anyone else made the 5W-20 → 5W-30 jump on a high mileage Hemi and how it went.