Shops quote $4,500–$6,500 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 5.7 HEMI uses Multi-Displacement System (MDS) lifters to shut down four cylinders while you cruise, good for fuel economy on the 401, hard on the lifters themselves. Each MDS lifter rides the camshaft on a small needle-bearing roller. When that roller's bearings wear out, the roller stops spinning and seizes. Instead of rolling smoothly over the cam lobe thousands of times a minute, it skids across it like a locked tire on asphalt, and starts machining the lobe flat.
That's the tick you hear at idle. It quiets down at higher RPM because oil flow and valvetrain loading change, which fools a lot of owners into thinking it's harmless. It isn't. As the lobe wears, that cylinder loses valve lift, the engine starts misfiring. P0300-series codes pointing at one cylinder, and you'll often see the oil pressure dip on deceleration. Meanwhile, every minute of skidding sends fine metal debris through the oiling system.
Caught early, the fix is lifters, a new camshaft, and a pan-drop flush to clear the debris out of the bottom end. Caught late, that metal ends up in the rod and main bearings and the same truck needs a complete engine. The difference between those two outcomes is usually a few weeks of 'I'll get the tick looked at eventually.'
If your Ram / Jeep 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 $4,500–$6,500 quote. Both are real, both are flat-priced, and both are worth more than a bad yes.
Before you spend $4,500–$6,500, 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 $4,500–$6,500 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 $4,500–$6,500 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.
Every kilometre on a seized lifter grinds more metal off the cam lobe and pushes more debris through the oil. The repair bill doesn't grow gradually, it jumps. Lifters and a cam is one job; once the debris reaches the rod and main bearings, the only honest fix is a complete engine. If the tick is there at warm idle, the clock is already running.
No, and you shouldn't want to. If one roller seized, the cam lobe under it is damaged, and the other lifters have the same mileage and the same failure mode. Partial repairs on this engine come back within months. The complete job is the one that lasts.
Both are common on these trucks and both tick. A manifold leak is loudest on cold start and fades as the metal expands; lifter tick stays or worsens once warm and usually brings misfire codes with it. We verify which one you have before quoting, they're very different repairs and you shouldn't pay for the wrong one.
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 $4,500–$6,500 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 $4,500–$6,500 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 $4,500–$6,500. 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