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2014 DGC Ticking Noise, Likely Rocker Arm? Estimated Repair Cost at Independent Garage?

21K views 24 replies 9 participants last post by  LEVY 
#1 ·
Our 2014 DGC has developed a ticking noise. From what I've seen online, looks/sounds like a bad rocker arm and it seems to be a very common problem.
A. Can this be put off a bit or is does this need to be fixed immediately?
B. What should I expect an independent garage to charge for this service? The repair didn't look that difficult online. I'd love to DIY it, but I'm currently in condo and don't have a garage.
 
#2 ·
Don't put it off, or you'll be replacing the camshaft also. Sorry, I have no idea of the cost
 
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#4 ·
+1 on Sunvanse’s advice.

My 2014 developed a bad rocker a few months ago. It was throwing a misfire code on cylinder 3.

We drive it for a few hundred miles while I was learning to diagnose it. Those few hundred miles chewed into the back bank exhaust cam causing me to have to replace it.

You really need to figure out which cylinder is causing the misfire.

You could get by without removing the cam if it is cylinders 5 or 6. You MAY be able to do it without removing the cam if it is cylinders 3 or 4. I wasn’t confident I could do it but I had to remove the offending cam so it was a moot point for me.

I don’t think you can do it without removing the can (which involves unhooking the timing chain) if it is cylinders 1 or 2.

There is little room for error when working with the timing chains on the 3.6 Pentastars. I’d have never got through it without some great YouTube videos & help from folks here.

Let me know if you’d like me to find those videos and how I can be of help.
 
#5 ·
Sorry....I forgot to address your question regarding cost. The independent, mechanic with a very successful business that we've used for years said he wouldn't do the job. I suspect it would take an experienced mechanic a full day to complete. It would probably be $1000 at a dealer with their high labor rates.

Removing resetting the timing chain requires a special tool that may have to be purchased by a non-Chrysler mechanic. It was ~$30 for a cheapy, plastic replica of the Chrysler endorsed tool. The Mopar rocker arms for one bank were ~$75-$100 if I remember correctly.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the replies!

So far, no CEL, no misfires, runs great, idle is a little rough but it does have 123,000 miles on it.
Just had the spark plugs replaced about 700 miles ago. Ticking started about 500 miles after that.

Q: Can anybody recommend an independent garage for this rocker arm repair in the St. Petersburg / Pinellas County FL area?
 
#7 ·
I diagnosed my broken rocker by listening to the valve train through a mechanic's stethoscope through the valve cover. I didn't hear a ticking like you're hearing but when I put the stethoscope on it, cylinder 3 clearly had different noise in the valve train than did cylinders 1 or 5.

Since you can hear a ticking without a stethoscope, I'm sure it will be easy to isolate if you use a stethoscope to listen to your cylinders through your valve cover.
 
#8 ·
Q: how did you access the valve covers to listen? It looks like the plastic intake covers everything, including the valve covers.

Also, the ticking noise is totally absent when the engine is stone cold. Start to hear the ticking after about 10-15 minutes of driving. After about 30 minutes the ticking was louder and seemed to mess with the idle. Still no CEL. Ambient temperature lately has been around high 80's.
 
#9 ·
@914rrr Put the mechanic's stethoscope directly onto the plastic valve cover as close to where you think the center of the cylinder would be. Below is a picture I just took to illustrate where I'd put the stethoscope if I were listening to the valve train on the bottom/left/Bank 2.

Regarding cylinder 2 underneath the passenger side of the valve cover: there is plenty of space around the oil fill spout to listen through a stethoscope. See the left most arrow in the below picture.

Regarding cylinder 4 underneath the middle of the valve cover: If you pull back on the radiator hose, there is a nice space between the 3rd and 4th bolts (counting from the passenger side) that secure the valve cover to the head. I'm pointing to the area in the below picture where I'd put the stethoscope.

Regarding cylinder 6 underneath the driver's side of the valve cover: You'll probably need to put the stethoscope against the side of the valve cover rather than on the top. See the right most arrow in the below picture.

My offending rocker arm made a jingling sound when I listened to it. The other two cylinders sounded the same. Since the cylinder that sounded differently was also the one throwing the misfire, I figured it was a pretty safe bet something in the valve train was causing the misfire. Since rocker arms are known to go bad on these 3.6's, I ordered a new set of Mopar rockers and lifted then started tearing down the engine.

I don't think the rockers and lifters are unique to each bank.
Rockers: P/N = 0518-4296-AH-008
Lifters: P/N = 0518-4332-AA-001

Unfortunately, I also had to order an exhaust cam because it took me so long to diagnose the misfire and we kept driving it in the mean time.

You should consider replacing the valve cover gasket while you're in there. Additionally, if you take out the valve chain sprockets, you'll see two bolts located underneath those sprockets. I believe they are associated with the oil galleys?? Nevertheless, both of those bolts were loose on my Bank 1 head. It would've been a bad situation if one of them would've worked itself all the way out and fell down into that timing chain abyss!! :) Those bolts were nice and tight when I checked them on Bank 2.

Let us know what you find out.
 
#10 ·
Definitely get this done ASAP if you're paying out of pocket.

Dealer we had our '16 T&C done at, told me that out of pocket, it's a $3500 job. Then again, they didn't mess around. They replaced all the rockers, lash adjusters, and cams (gaskets and so forth too, of course). Didn't have to ask for it, they just did it all. We had less than 10 miles left on the factory warranty.

I'd also recommend having all the rockers replaced at the same time. Would totally suck to replace the bad one(s), then have another fail in a month - happened to my son and DIL on their '16 GC. Fortunately their extended warranty covered it (the extended warranty people refused to replace them all the first time around, so it's kind of their fault anyway).
 
#13 ·
I consider myself very fortunate. I found a close by independent garage, husband and wife team, that knew exactly what was wrong based on my description. Caught the offending rocker arm (#3 intake) before it seized, so no cam damage. They squeezed me in to their schedule and only took a few days to tear down, diagnose, and fix, along with a few other things like previously mis-installed oil filter / cooler assembly. Total labor was only 3.8 hours including rocker arm, intake seals, sparkplug tube seals, installation of oil filter / cooler and synthetic oil change along with checking for other noises, fluid levels etc. Total bill parts (all OEM , including oil / filet cooler assy @ $292) and labor was $ 881.82 !!
 
#14 · (Edited)
That’s awesome!! I’m glad you caught it early and are up and going again!!

FYI...regarding the oil filter adapter assembly. Keep an eye on it. I’ve had two go bad on my 2014.

If you have basic tools and physical mobility, it’s a job you can do on your own.

Motor City Mechanic on Youtube has a very detailed video on how to replace it. It can save you a few hundred in labor if it goes bad again.
 
#15 ·
Yeah, I'd love to do it myself, but I'm currently in a condo and can't work on it in a carport. Saw videos online, and it didn't look all that hard to do. Thanks for all the advice!
I'm surprised it only took him 3.8 hours. That's a lot of stuff to take off to get to it, and it was on the back cylinder bank.
 
#17 ·
Could be an exhaust leak too, that makes a ticking noise if it's between the manifold and head.
 
#22 ·
I have one of three cats going on my Jeep. One, right at the exhaust manifold, has a hole in it and there's a definite tick on acceleration. It's not a labored tick though.
60334
 
#18 ·
I'm wondering if anyone has done a failure mode analysis on the failed rocker arms? It seems like cylinder #3 failures are fairly common. What exactly is causing the rocker arms to fail? Lack of oil, poor design, manufacturing defects, etc. ? My mechanic saved my failed one if anybody needs symptom descriptions..
 
#23 ·
I'm wondering if anyone has done a failure mode analysis on the failed rocker arms? It seems like cylinder #3 failures are fairly common. What exactly is causing the rocker arms to fail? Lack of oil, poor design, manufacturing defects, etc. ? My mechanic saved my failed one if anybody needs symptom descriptions..
5W-20 oil. :)
 
#19 ·
I still have my failed rocker as well. I’ll ship it to Chrysler or any hobbyist who wants to figure it out.

That said, if Chrysler is wanting to fix the issue I’m sure they have access to plenty of samples removed by dealership mechanics and won’t need mine! 😁

Any hobbyists??
 
#20 ·
You can send these guys your rocker arms and they will Cryogenically case harden them for $2.50 a piece. Not sure what kind of tempering you want on a rocker arm, if they are cracking or shattering then they must be too hard.
 
#21 ·
They don't appear to advertise that service anymore (can only be found by direct link) and the site hasn't been updated since 2007. Doubt they still do it, and if they do, the price is likely different now.
 
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