Hi all,
My name is Johann and I'm from Pretoria, South Africa. I've recently bought a 2006 Commander, 5.7 Hemi and absolutely love this vehicle, but....
I've paid ZAR 60,000 (+/- $4,000USD) for the vehicle and I did not expect it to be be flowless. I knew that there will be work needed on it. The previous owners did not really look after it, but strangely enough, most of the faults I did encounter were typical maintenance neglect. It's more labor than parts and if you look past the seriously, really dirty vehicle, it's actually in a really good condition. 95% of the vehicle is still working quite well. Till now (after owning it for about two weeks) I've done the following maintenance on it:
Driving back home, I had to accelerate quite hard to avoid an accident (we do have quite a lot of unconscious drivers in this country) and the next moment I'm hearing a loud knocking noise from the front. I've pulled over and stop as quick as possible to check what this is. I've researched the "hemi knock" which is usually one of the following:
Keep in mind, I'm in South Africa, not in the US where simple things like head gaskets is only a phone call away. I need to be very sure what the problem is before anything is bolted off. Not to mention the ridicules prices we pay for it.
Now, what I think the problem might be is the timing chain guides broke or the tensioner went soft or broke. I've had a similar issue with a 2005 Mini Cooper S (timing chain tensioner went soft and the chain hit the housing due to chain slop), which made a very similar noise to what I'm hearing on the hemi. Also, the noise seems to be in the front part of the engine. Could this be the issue?? Is there any way to check the timing chain tension without unbolting to much parts which require gaskets or new bolt afterwards??? Any suggestions is welcome, please.
My name is Johann and I'm from Pretoria, South Africa. I've recently bought a 2006 Commander, 5.7 Hemi and absolutely love this vehicle, but....
I've paid ZAR 60,000 (+/- $4,000USD) for the vehicle and I did not expect it to be be flowless. I knew that there will be work needed on it. The previous owners did not really look after it, but strangely enough, most of the faults I did encounter were typical maintenance neglect. It's more labor than parts and if you look past the seriously, really dirty vehicle, it's actually in a really good condition. 95% of the vehicle is still working quite well. Till now (after owning it for about two weeks) I've done the following maintenance on it:
- A seriously good wash
- Engine oil change
- Front diff oil change (this was quite nasty)
- Air conditioner repair (replaced a valve and replaced a missing bolt on a connecting pipe to the cooler)
- Replaced 2 fuses
- Got hold of plastic clips to secure some of the outside trims
- Upper control arms
Driving back home, I had to accelerate quite hard to avoid an accident (we do have quite a lot of unconscious drivers in this country) and the next moment I'm hearing a loud knocking noise from the front. I've pulled over and stop as quick as possible to check what this is. I've researched the "hemi knock" which is usually one of the following:
- Loose exhaust manifold
- Lifters
- Conrod bearing (Spun bearing)
Keep in mind, I'm in South Africa, not in the US where simple things like head gaskets is only a phone call away. I need to be very sure what the problem is before anything is bolted off. Not to mention the ridicules prices we pay for it.
Now, what I think the problem might be is the timing chain guides broke or the tensioner went soft or broke. I've had a similar issue with a 2005 Mini Cooper S (timing chain tensioner went soft and the chain hit the housing due to chain slop), which made a very similar noise to what I'm hearing on the hemi. Also, the noise seems to be in the front part of the engine. Could this be the issue?? Is there any way to check the timing chain tension without unbolting to much parts which require gaskets or new bolt afterwards??? Any suggestions is welcome, please.
