[Smackeyacky]

No preference really. The ones in the picture look more "high end" than the ones on both of mine. Mine look the same but don't have the little spring tensioner on the top where it seals the valve stem. The factory ones are like the ones I have on mine. FWIW, when I pulled my 6.1 heads with 165K on it, the valve seals were all still good, pliable and no oil getting past them.

Hmm. I couldn't get the generic valve spring compressor to work on the shrouded valve springs so have to wait for the specialist tool to arrive. If I get the spring off and find the valve seals are good I am all out of ideas. Probably should pop the valve cover back on and proceed with the compression tests. I am trying to order some factory seals but they are confused themselves about which ones fit. I have only ever seen bad stem seals on cars that were abused i.e. no oil changes, no servicing, overheated etc. but that just doesn't look like what I'm seeing on top of the cylinder head which looks about as clean as anything I've looked at over the years.

 

[magnuman]

You really should do the compression check first.....and a cylinder leak down test if needed. Yes, the only way you can do the valve seal replacement with the heads on is with the special tool. You'll also need a compressor and a way to pressurize each cylinder you're working on. Pull one spark plug from each cylinder, bring the piston to top dead center on the compression stroke, insert your spark plug to air hose adapter, pressurize the cylinder and have at it. The most difficult one is the exhaust valve on the No. 8 cylinder.

 

[Smackeyacky]

You really should do the compression check first..... You'll also need a compressor and a way to pressurize each cylinder you're working on.

When I get a chance, the valve cover will go back on and I'll do that compression test. I figure I need to do it anyway before attacking the valve seals to make sure they will hold enough pressure to do the seal replacement.

I did find some suspicious looking RTV around the timing case. Like it's been opened at some stage. The previous vendor (a man who was pretty clearly relieved to be shot of this car) mention something about a cam but I don't see how that could cause negative pressure in the crankcase either, unless they seriously botched something. There is some black gunk on the valve springs. Won't know anything for a few more days.

 

[Smackeyacky]

Not much progress until I get the tools / seals. Filled up the oil ports in the intake manifold today with water to see if they were leaking but no leaks at all so that minor possibility has been eliminated. I'm down to valve seals as the culprit.

 

[Smackeyacky]

Got the valve on #1 exposed, unexpected looking valve stem steal for this year of car. Is there something on the engine that gives an idea of the year? I thought I would see a "hat" style valve stem seal but it looks a lot like the smaller one - it's seriously buggered / doesn't really fit the valve so I'm pretty sure this is the issue, but what replacements are available?

 

[magnuman]

You're right, that's definitely the wrong type seal. The hat type are the correct ones.Can you see any of the others without tearing into it any more? Maybe someone just changed one or two for some reason.

 

[Smackeyacky]

You're right, that's definitely the wrong type seal. The hat type are the correct ones.Can you see any of the others without tearing into it any more? Maybe someone just changed one or two for some reason.

The fun part here is that I have 8 hat style seals (have to wait for the other 8) and there is no way they are going to fit. They won't go down far enough to hit where the valve spring spacer is on this motor. The step you can see under the existing valve seal is waaaaay too big to allow the hat style seal to go on there and even if it did, the brim of the "hat" has nothing to sit on.

I've been digging through photos and thought (maybe) it's a 2009 head but that doesn't make sense since they probably don't work on an early engine. I guess there is the slight possibility the head is a 6.1 unit but if the entire engine was a 6.1 it should have an aluminium intake manifold (at least I think so, it could be an engine from a Jeep for all I know).

I'm going to have to find the cast marks on the head and the block and work out exactly what is going on here.

 

[magnuman]

All of the heads will pretty much interchange. It's pretty east to tell the 09's and the SRT8's from the early ones. The later and SRT8 ones do not have an EGR Valve on the front of the passenger side head. The early 5.7's all had the heads drilled and fitted with EGR's. Port sizes are also larger and different, "D" shaped ones on the later/SRT8 ones. The valve springs in your picture look like stock early springs with the skirt on them to keep them from distorting. Stock, my 05 Hemi had the skirts and stock on my 06 5.7 didn't have the skirts. The later ones, SRT8 ones and aftermarket springs don't have the skirts on them. I have aftermarket springs with the hat seals on both of my 5.7's.....6.1 springs on one and PAC 1232 ones on the other...no problems at all.

 

[Smackeyacky]

All of the heads will pretty much interchange. It's pretty east to tell the 09's and the SRT8's from the early ones.

I am looking for pictures of the different head versions, definitely have square intake ports. I have an inspection mirror here somewhere, will go digging for the casting numbers. I ordered some of the later style seals will see what they look like when they show up.

edit: Almost certainly "Eagle" heads, possibly entire eagle motor from a later car. The sticker on the rocker cover is unfortunately torn, can still see a part of the 5.7 designator (well, it says .7 so guessing that's what it is). https://www.dodgegarage.com/news-api/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/005-image.jpg

 

[Smackeyacky]

Still waiting for parts. Nobody has anything in stock, Chrysler dealer said "nothing available" when I rang them out of desperation on Friday and t he comp cams ones I ordered haven't been shipped yet.

Had some more time to play with the car and there is no sound out of the radio at all. It has a basic in-dash cd changer which says it's tuning channels and whatnot but no sound. Tried a few of the tips from this site (disconnect battery, examine fuses) but nothing obvious pops out. Drivers seat leather is completely stuffed but the other seats look like they will come up with a bit of leather conditioner.

 

[Smackeyacky]

Finally, valve stem seals arrived. Will get through them as time allows.

 

[Smackeyacky]

Got it mostly done. If you're going to do this job you will need a few things to make it more convenient:

1. Your cotton rope being used to feed into the cylinder to hold the valves up better be fairly stiff. I kept having to cut sections off the end when it got too "worked" and couldn't be fed into the cylinder.
2. Buy a mechanics magnet to grab the collets. Much easier than trying to remove them with just your fingers. At one point I dropped one was very lucky to get away with it.
3. I used an old TV antenna to judge when the cylinder was at the bottom before feeding the rope in.
4. The collets were stuck on 5 out of 8 inlet valves, required more force than I was expecting before they popped free. I could have used compressed air on the cylinders to hold the valves up but it might not have worked on most of them.
5. Pack rags around the area where you are working to catch any dropped collets.
6. The valve covers are a bit of a mongrel to remove - 8mm bolts on the exhaust side are mostly hard to reach. I ended up using a deep 1/4" socket and swivels/extensions. You need the deep socket because some of the fasteners have exposed thread that is used by the wire retainers.

All in all it was taking me 30 minutes per cylinder with having to retry the position of the rope. I had the skip the exhausts because the tool I bought couldn't be fastened down on the exhaust side without hitting the wheel arches, A/C lines and wiring harness. Overall it seems like the big hemi is fairly easy to work on other than that.

edit: car is buttoned up, still blows smoke. Misfires detected cylinder 6, which at least narrows down the problem I guess. I can now hear it chuffing, so I either bent a valve or isolated the issue. Either way it looks like the heads will have to come off.

 

[Smackeyacky]

Pulled the manifold again and lo and behold it has what seems like half a litre of oil in it again, after driving around the block. Did what I should have done in the first place and did a compression test: Everything is well over 120psi except #6 which is 0 and shooting vapour. I expected to see a flood of engine oil coming up but at idle it isn't bad. Pulling the head on that side now.

 

[Smackeyacky]

...and melted piston, some head damage but head looks salveagable. edit: Pistons in #2 and #4 missing parts as well . I think I'll be pulling this engine.

 

[magnuman]

Yep, that'll for sure cause problems. If the cylinder wall is not damaged, and the rest of the engine is sound, you may be able to hone that cylinder and install a new piston to make it happy again. Be sure to check EVERYTHING though, before you go forward.

 

[Smackeyacky]

Yep, that'll for sure cause problems. If the cylinder wall is not damaged, and the rest of the engine is sound, you may be able to hone that cylinder and install a new piston to make it happy again. Be sure to check EVERYTHING though, before you go forward.

The cylinders actually look great, no ridges, no scuffing. The water jacket is clogged pretty bad in the back and will need to be flushed somehow. My plan is to pull the other head, then pull the block. I thought I might pop off the sump and change the bad piston out that way, but there are 3 that need replacing on this bank and I'm expecting more on the other side.

It's amazing it ran at all. No noises, no clattering, nothing. The missing pieces of piston crown on #2 and #4 have disappeared without leaving any mark whatsoever, which leads me to believe somebody had a catastrophic failure and buttoned it back up with the pistons broken like that.

Tossing up whether to just find a good S/H 5.7. What I don't understand is how a VVT/MDS Eagle motor is even running in a 2006 unless whoever put it in there changed out the ECU. Where do I find that so I can look at the serial number?

 

[magnuman]

I think, based on your findings and the fact that you're going to end up pulling the long block, I'd pretty much do a complete rebuild.....at least all new pistons and rings, either stock or a slight bore to increase the displacement. If the vehicle has had relatively good care in the past, especially oil changes, the rest of the rotating assembly is probably good and may not need anything. Just be sure to take your time and check everything.

 

[Smackeyacky]

Yes definitely new pistons/rings at the minimum. Needs a water pump and some of the water jacket looks a bit clogged so will rod that out. Bought an engine stand yesterday so just have to phone a friend to help me pull the block. Had a mechanic take a quick look and he said the bores were fine, can still see the factory cross-hatching on them so it's good to go with just replacing the pistons.

The cylinder head on the other hand will need some polishing work to try and get it as smooth as possible, and one of the valves has some slight seat damage so will need to address that (potentially the valve itself is bent but more likely the seat damage is causing problems). In an ideal world I would put a stroker kit in there but money is an issue with this vehicle so a decent repair will do for now.

 

[magnuman]

Yes definitely new pistons/rings at the minimum. Needs a water pump and some of the water jacket looks a bit clogged so will rod that out. Bought an engine stand yesterday so just have to phone a friend to help me pull the block. Had a mechanic take a quick look and he said the bores were fine, can still see the factory cross-hatching on them so it's good to go with just replacing the pistons.

The cylinder head on the other hand will need some polishing work to try and get it as smooth as possible, and one of the valves has some slight seat damage so will need to address that (potentially the valve itself is bent but more likely the seat damage is causing problems). In an ideal world I would put a stroker kit in there but money is an issue with this vehicle so a decent repair will do for now.

Hone the cylinders again to rough up the cylinder walls and remove any glazing that has happened over the years. IMO, no on the stroker unless you're going to get "all in" on hopping it up. You can get good power out of the stock rotating assembly and heads with a good cam, header back exhaust and tune....plus a few more "low yield" performance goodies. I am talking 425-450 hp. and maybe more. If you install forged pistons you can even go with forced induction and/or nitrous oxide injection and get over 500 hp. out of it. All it takes is $$$$$.

 

[Smackeyacky]

Hone the cylinders again to rough up the cylinder walls and remove any glazing that has happened over the years. IMO, no on the stroker unless you're going to get "all in" on hopping it up. You can get good power out of the stock rotating assembly and heads with a good cam, header back exhaust and tune....plus a few more "low yield" performance goodies. I am talking 425-450 hp. and maybe more. If you install forged pistons you can even go with forced induction and/or nitrous oxide injection and get over 500 hp. out of it. All it takes is $$$$$.

Any recommendations on pistons? Can get stock ones deliver here for $500AUD for the set but if forged pistons are close in price I would throw those in. 2009+ piston by the looks of things.
edit: these seem to cheap to be true.

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