Rocker arms, lifters, etc

[CameraGuy]

Hello all,

 

I just finished my “185000 mile tuneup” on my 2016 journey rt awd today. The engine has had the infamous rocker arm tapping for quite some time. I finally started getting some low end power loss from it and decided to dive in and do it myself. I ordered 24 rocker arms, 24 lifters, 6 plugs, 6 ignition coils, a pcv valve, and all the gaskets needed as well. 
 

Upon opening the right side valve cover, I immediately spotted a damaged exhaust cam lobe, which showed me where the faulty rocker arm was. After inspecting the rest of the cams, I found both left side cams to essentially be as good as new, and found some heavy pitting on one of the cam lobes on the right side intake cam as well. I drove to the dealership and picked up both right side cam shafts.

 

Once I began, I found the left side to go smoothly, but had some issues with the right side. I ended up stripping three of the exhaust cam bearing cap bolts. Two came out fairly easily, while the third took quite a while, but eventually came loose with a pair of vise grips locked tightly on the bolt head. Had to make another trip to the dealership to replace the bolts. Also, in case you’re wondering, yes I also bought the $15 kit of tools to lock the cam phasers and release the timing chain tension, as opposed to using less than desirable methods of removal.

 

After buttoning everything back up, and hitting the start button, the engine revved extremely high, very briefly, but then idled normally after that. Upon putting my foot on the brake pedal, I realized something was wrong…and found that I had forgotten to reconnect the brake booster vacuum line.

 

After fixing that issue, everything is running quiet, smooth, with no more tapping or power loss. Hindsight being what it is, I kinda wish I had just paid a mechanic to do the job. Lol

 

In any case, I just wanted to share that and hope this may help others fix their issues as well. Feel free to comment, ask questions, etc

 

-CG

[Redtomatoman123]

Congratulations.   Glad to see a high mileage DJ.  Cool that you are able to do that kind of work.  Wish I could.  I just passed 101 K on my 2011 FWD R/T.  So far I have no discernable ticking or engine noise except for what I believe to be momentary lifter clatter on startup after the car hasn't been run for a few days.  Any suggestions to the rest of us on how to avoid ending up replacing the same parts that you did?  I hope to keep my DJ running strong until at least 200 K.  Thanks in advance. 

 

Peace.

[CameraGuy]

Roller rocker arms tend to wear out over time and need to be replaced. It’s also a known issue that they tend to go bad on the right side (bank 1) of the 3.6 pentastar motors. I’m not sure why, but there is a very noticeable difference in discoloration of the parts between the two sides of the motor. The only difference I can think of is the pcv valve on the right side.
 

I will say, that had I done the repairs when the tapping first started, I probably wouldn’t have had to replace the camshaft also. Those are around $350 USD each just for the part. The faulty rocker arm ground the cam lobe down over time and it needed to be replaced. So my advice would be to take care of issues as they arise rather than letting them go to do more damage.
 

Aside from the repairs I did today, I’ve only needed regular maintenance so far. Oil changes, brakes, tires, and spark plugs. Don’t get discouraged by all the posts about issues in the forums. That’s only a handful of people and most don’t post when things are running right. There are a ton of journeys on the road, and I imagine there are quite a few with high mileage. 
 

I’d love to keep mine for another 100k+ miles….I like not having a car payment lol

[John/Horace]

Great you got in done, huge amount of work. I’ve wrestled with timing chains and timing belts on overhead cam engines before.

Not a lot of room for error. Curious where you got your torque specs, Mitchel on line?
 

Your user name should be engine-guy or car-guy now., for sure.!  Rebuilding your engine probably better than a wrecker used engine which may have been neglected.  Are you the original owner of this vehicle, if not how many miles did you put on.

[CameraGuy]

I am the original owner, and put all 185k miles on my DJ. Idk that I’m deserving of such a title…more “mechanically inclined” than anything. I found a great 2 part video on YouTube posted by “motor city mechanic” that went through everything, including the torque specs and the proper order of tightening all the bolts. 
 

I had done the intake manifold and spark plugs before, but hadn’t dived any deeper into the motor on this vehicle before (rebuilt a couple old motorcycles) so I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything. My main concern was messing up the timing, but after seeing him use the proper tools and how the cam phasers didn’t come off the chain, it just made sense to use the proper tools and do everything the right way.

[CameraGuy]

I didn’t take a many pics, but got a couple with the covers off and a couple of the damaged cam shaft. I’m the pic of the camshaft, both lobes should be the same length….you can see how the bad rocker arm just ground it down over time and why you shouldn’t leave things too long.

[2late4u]

the motor city mechanic does a great job showing and explaining his videos   another mechanic i watch is fix it angel   even tho he works on all kinds of cars he does such a great job without talking except for a few oh shit comments and does most of it holding a camera and works with just one hand....

Edited October 1, 2021 by 2late4u

[CameraGuy]

Just now, 2late4u said:

the motor city mechanic does a great job showing and explaining his videos

Yes he does, though it would have been more helpful if he had shown everything with the engine in a vehicle, rather than out on a stand. That made everything look so much easier…especially turning the crank to line up the timing marks (I could only get at it from underneath the car), and working on anything on the right side of the engine, which is tucked up under the dash a bit in our journeys.

[Corgalas]

Did dodge ever change their OEM rockers that caused this issue?  

I'm set to take my Journey in to a dealer to have the rockers and cams replaced due to the ticking. I just don't want them to use the same faulty OEM rockers that caused the problem in the first place.  

Anyone know if dodge updated the part? 

 

[CameraGuy]

On 10/3/2021 at 5:36 PM, Corgalas said:

Did dodge ever change their OEM rockers that caused this issue?  

I'm set to take my Journey in to a dealer to have the rockers and cams replaced due to the ticking. I just don't want them to use the same faulty OEM rockers that caused the problem in the first place.  

Anyone know if dodge updated the part? 

 

I can’t say for certain, though someone in one of the YouTube videos I watched claimed that they did. I’m not sure that the rocker arms are to blame though. They have bearings in them, and bearings wear out over time.