First time posting...hopefully this is the right place. I have a 2006 SRT8. It has around 111,000 miles on it. I've always used Mobil1 0W-40 oil, changed every 10,000 miles or so. I am currently deployed in Afghanistan, and my wife who is 7 months pregnant is dealing with some engine issues on the car. Had an oil change at Firestone a few months ago, and immediately leaving the shop heard a noise and the check engine light came on. Went back and they said that it was an engine issue and they wouldn't look at it, but they did turn the check engine light off (how nice of them, right?). She added a Lucas Oil Treatment and the sound stopped for a short period of time, but came back again and now won't stop. We were told by mechanic friends that it may be a lifter, might be a wrist pin, multiple other things. However, the car went into the Dodge dealership this past Friday and they say it's a bad Cam Bearing and that we'll need to replace the engine. Obviously with me being deployed 6,000 miles away, I cannot take care of this issue on my own, but I'm hoping someone on this site has experience with this issue and/or has some advice for us. There was a video of the sound posted on my Facebook page that I'm going to try and post here, but not sure if it will work or not? Hopefully someone can help us out because I'm pretty hesitant at putting that kind of money into a new engine.
10,000 between oil changes. questionable move 1
Oil change at Firestone. questionable move 2
Sound after they chage oil but lets them get away with it. questionable move 3
Adds lucas oil treatment to stop a noise that need investigating right away. #4
Waits a few months with the driving with the noise asking for non specific advice. #5
Finaly goes to someone (dealer) and gets bad news.
Well, sounds like Way back in step 2 is where it was broken, now it sounds destroyed.
Sorry but firestone may have messed up, but beyond that, its now a very expensive repair.
You now have no recorse against Firestones obvious mistake. Only options are scrap it or fix it at your expense saddly.
__________________
Returned 2006 Silver SRT8 (vanished into the unknown!)
2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland
2009 Jeep Patriot Rocky Mountain
1982 Kawasaki KZ1100 Spectre
^^^take it easy...the guys all the way in Afghanistan serving our country and his wife is pregnant. She probably has no clue how to approach the situation let alone Firestone probably treats their female customers like their idiots.
If she's been driving it with that noise for months now I find it hard to believe that the engine is bad...as it would of self destructed by now.
Has the sound gotten worse?
Any oil consumption?
is there a significant loss in power?
Blue smoke coming from exhaust?
Thanks rsoto80. I think it's kind of amusing that I'm 6,000 miles away defending SVRSRTCDN's right to use horrible grammar and misspell so many words and chastise my situation, but guess that's just the type of person he is!
Anyway, let's clear a few things up...
To answer SVRSRTCDN's questions: 10,000 between oil changes. questionable move 1 - It is very common to go 10,000 miles on 7 quarts of synthetic 0w-40 oil. Not sure which engine you have, but everything I've read says you can go 10-15K miles between oil changes with that type of oil.
Oil change at Firestone. questionable move 2 - This is one of the only places where we're stationed that has 0w-40 oil and will do it at a decent price. If I was home instead of saving lives on the battlefield, I'd do it myself, but I don't have that luxury. So my pregnant wife has to do what she has to do while I'm gone. By the way...I won't be able to make it home to see my first child, a daughter, be born...so keep that in mind when you're sitting AT HOME and trying to rub in how stupid my wife and I are with this situation.
Sound after they chage oil but lets them get away with it. questionable move 3 - She went back to them and they wouldn't touch the car again, so she took it to another mechanic, and their advice was to add the oil treatment since the car was over 100,000 miles. This stopped the sound, so we figured maybe that mechanic was correct.
Adds lucas oil treatment to stop a noise that need investigating right away. #4 - As I said in your 3rd "questionable move", this was done on the advice of a mechanic.
Waits a few months with the driving with the noise asking for non specific advice. #5 - The noise was gone for a while, and once it came back, that is when she took it to the dealership. The noise wasn't going on for months.
Now...rsoto80...to answer your questions.
Has the sound gotten worse? - the sound has not gotten any worse, been the same. I have the video now, but can't upload it to the site for some reason. Our internet here is pretty horrible, so probably don't have a good enough connection. Any oil consumption?- Nothing out of the ordinary. Had an additional oil change when the sound came back (done at a different location than Firestone) but no leaking or low oil or anything. is there a significant loss in power? - She hasn't said anything about loss of power, but obviously I'm not there to drive it to see? Blue smoke coming from exhaust?- she said there is no smoke coming from the exhaust.
The car is back in our garage now and we're waiting to hear on Monday what kind of money we're looking at for a new or rebuilt engine. I'm going to try and get that video uploaded so you can hear the noise, but no promises.
While the first post was a bit aggressive. I regret to say he is right. 10k on one oil change is such a bad idea. No matter what brand or type the oil is. 15k is a joke, litteraly. 5-6k miles or 3-4 months. Period. Especially an srt8
And i 100% guarantee the nearest dealer whether it be dodge or not can service your oil. Also, you can always buy the oil from an autozone or whatever and bring it to a local mechanic to change. Goodluck! Ps thanks for your service!
Thanks rsoto80. I think it's kind of amusing that I'm 6,000 miles away defending SVRSRTCDN's right to use horrible grammar and misspell so many words and chastise my situation, but guess that's just the type of person he is!
We are all very grateful for your service to our country. Sorry you are having problems with your car! SVRSRTCDN is from Canada by the way.
Anyway, let's clear a few things up...
To answer SVRSRTCDN's questions: 10,000 between oil changes. questionable move 1 - It is very common to go 10,000 miles on 7 quarts of synthetic 0w-40 oil. Not sure which engine you have, but everything I've read says you can go 10-15K miles between oil changes with that type of oil.
The reputation of Mobil 1 is much better than it actually functions. Since ILSAC GF3,GF4, and GF5, they have reduced actual viscosity and protection additives in the oil. NEVER good to go over 4-5k max with these oils! I have a lot of oil samples from Mobil 1 with bad results even at 5k
Oil change at Firestone. questionable move 2 - This is one of the only places where we're stationed that has 0w-40 oil and will do it at a decent price. If I was home instead of saving lives on the battlefield, I'd do it myself, but I don't have that luxury. So my pregnant wife has to do what she has to do while I'm gone. By the way...I won't be able to make it home to see my first child, a daughter, be born...so keep that in mind when you're sitting AT HOME and trying to rub in how stupid my wife and I are with this situation.
Being so far away is a tough thing and dealing with a problem like this is not easy. I do question what Firestone did but it may be a correlation to the noise but not necessarily a causation in this instance.
Sound after they chage oil but lets them get away with it. questionable move 3 - She went back to them and they wouldn't touch the car again, so she took it to another mechanic, and their advice was to add the oil treatment since the car was over 100,000 miles. This stopped the sound, so we figured maybe that mechanic was correct.
The addition of Lucas is a chemical called Polyiso-butylene or PIB. After 2-3 days of running this material, it completely breaks down and has no longterm good effect to the oils. This is the same as motorhoney or STP for that matter. Not a good choice regardless of what the mechanic shop told her to do. By the way, I am saying this because I am a Tribologist and make and design lubricants for a living.
Adds lucas oil treatment to stop a noise that need investigating right away. #4 - As I said in your 3rd "questionable move", this was done on the advice of a mechanic.
As stated above. There are much better ways of dealing with this than Lucas.
Waits a few months with the driving with the noise asking for non specific advice. #5 - The noise was gone for a while, and once it came back, that is when she took it to the dealership. The noise wasn't going on for months.
Now...rsoto80...to answer your questions.
Has the sound gotten worse? - the sound has not gotten any worse, been the same. I have the video now, but can't upload it to the site for some reason. Our internet here is pretty horrible, so probably don't have a good enough connection.
Any oil consumption?- Nothing out of the ordinary. Had an additional oil change when the sound came back (done at a different location than Firestone) but no leaking or low oil or anything.
is there a significant loss in power? - She hasn't said anything about loss of power, but obviously I'm not there to drive it to see?
Blue smoke coming from exhaust?- she said there is no smoke coming from the exhaust.
The car is back in our garage now and we're waiting to hear on Monday what kind of money we're looking at for a new or rebuilt engine. I'm going to try and get that video uploaded so you can hear the noise, but no promises.
Thanks again!
If you would like to have your wife give me a call or you can give me a call, we can see what the situation is and I can talk to the service advisor at the dealership that she went to. This can determine whether it is someone who knows what they are talking about or just trying to get money from you and take advantage of your poor situation.
If I can help you in any way, please feel free to call or have your wife call. I work with the US Military on the civilian side through the Pentagon and Fort Belvoir Va. I will not try to sell her or you anything. It is just my way of helping with the situation you are stuck with now.
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