Shops quote $5,000–$9,000 for this one, and the quote usually isn't the ripoff, the job really is that big. Here's what's actually failing, what the correct repair involves, and the honest part: this is not a job I do in a driveway.
The 6.4 392 HEMI shares the MDS cylinder-deactivation system with its 5.7 sibling, and shares its weakness: the MDS lifters ride the cam on needle-bearing rollers, and when a roller's bearings fail it stops spinning. On the 392 the consequences come faster, bigger valvetrain loads mean the seized roller doesn't just wipe the lobe, it galls the cam journal, smearing hardened metal where precision surfaces used to be.
You hear it as a tick at idle and feel it as a car that's lost its punch below 2,500 RPM, the damaged lobe isn't opening its valve fully, so cylinders go soft and the computer logs P0300-series misfires. Pull the dipstick and the oil often looks metallic, because that's exactly what's in it: needle bearings and cam lobe, ground fine and circulating through your engine.
Here's what owners need to know before walking into a dealership: this failure is routinely quoted as a complete engine replacement, because a deep valvetrain repair is unattractive flat-rate work. But an engine caught before the debris reaches the bottom end doesn't need replacing, it needs a camshaft, a full set of lifters, and a thorough pan-drop flush. The diagnosis that separates those two outcomes is precisely the work worth paying for.
If your Dodge is doing any of these, this is the likely cause:
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See how that range compares across Mississauga, Oakville, Milton, Brampton and Etobicoke in the GTA Repair Price Index, honest shop & dealer ranges for the jobs people actually get done.
MDS Lifter & Camshaft Replacement is on my published list of jobs I turn down. It needs a hoist, a press or a machine shop, and I work out of driveways with hand tools. That list is public on my trust page. I'd rather lose the job than learn it on your engine, and you should be suspicious of anyone who says yes to this over the phone.
So here's what I can genuinely do for you, holding a $5,000–$9,000 quote. Both are real, both are flat-priced, and both are worth more than a bad yes.
Before you spend $5,000–$9,000, have someone independent confirm that's actually what's wrong. This is a diagnosis, not the repair, no hoist, no lift, nothing comes apart. I scan it, test it, look at it with you, and tell you straight whether their diagnosis holds up. If it does, I say so and you go pay them with confidence.
Book the second opinion →At $5,000–$9,000 on a car that might be worth not much more, plenty of people replace instead of repair, that's a completely reasonable call. If that's where you're heading, get the next car measured before you hand over money: 150 published points, at the seller's location, written report the same day.
Book a pre-purchase inspection →Tell me what you've been quoted and what the car is doing. $100–$250 flat, at your location, and you get a straight answer either way.
Rather just have the quote read? The free quote check tells you whether the number is in line, no visit needed.
Jobs on this car that ARE mine:
Not so you can do it yourself, so you can tell whether the shop quoting you understands the job:
That's the job. It's why this one belongs on a hoist instead of in a driveway, and it's why $5,000–$9,000 usually isn't a ripoff, it's a big repair honestly priced. What's worth checking is whether that's really what your car needs.
Get the diagnosis confirmed firstPlain version: MDS Lifter & Camshaft Replacement needs equipment a driveway doesn't have, a hoist to get under it properly, a press or a machine shop for the parts that come out, and a controlled space for an engine or gearbox that's in pieces for days. I work out of driveways with hand tools. That's not false modesty, it's the published limit of what I take on, and it's listed on my trust page alongside the warranty.
What that means for you: this page is here to tell you what's failing and what it should cost, so you walk into a shop knowing the job instead of nodding at a number. And if you want that number checked before you pay it, that part I can do, $100–$250 flat, at your location.
The 392's higher valvetrain loads mean the window between 'tick' and 'engine' is shorter than on the 5.7. Galling spreads, debris circulates, and once metal works into the rod and main bearings, the dealers quoting a complete engine stop being wrong. Right now, with a tick and misfires, your engine is most likely saveable, that's a time-limited statement.
The damaged cam lobe isn't opening its valve fully, so that cylinder contributes a fraction of what it should, and low-RPM driving is where you feel a soft cylinder most. The misfire codes and the flat low-end are the same failure wearing two disguises.
Minimally, gently, and only if you must. Every revolution circulates more metal through the oil system. If the car can sit until the repair, let it sit, that single decision can be the difference between a valvetrain job and an engine.
No. MDS Lifter & Camshaft Replacement is on my published list of jobs I turn down, it needs a hoist, a press or a machine shop, and I work out of driveways with hand tools. I'd rather lose the job than learn it on your engine.
Two things, and both are real. A second-opinion diagnostic at your car, $100–$250 flat, at your location, so somebody independent confirms that's actually what's wrong before you commit to a $5,000–$9,000 repair. And if you're weighing replacing the car instead of fixing it, a pre-purchase inspection on the replacement, $149–$399 flat, at the seller's location.
Because the useful part isn't the wrench. It's knowing what's actually failing, what the correct repair involves, and that shops quote $5,000–$9,000 for it, so you walk in knowing the job instead of nodding at a number. If you want that number checked before you pay it, that part I can do.
Send it over for a free second opinion. I'll tell you straight what the job actually involves, and if their quote is fair, I'll tell you that too.
Get a Free Second OpinionOther makes:
I'm not the guy who does this repair. I'm the guy who tells you whether you actually need it, before you spend $5,000–$9,000. Second opinion at your car, $100–$250 flat, in Mississauga, Oakville, Milton, Brampton and Etobicoke.
Book a Second Opinion Inspect a Replacement CarYour options on this one