USB Endoscope: amzn.to/2xXHVOf

Hi Eric! Big fan of the channel. I was the metallurgist assigned to the 5.7L project at Chrysler. Was part of the development team from the beginning. Retired now. I did a lot of the fracture analysis of engine parts during the development phase and from warranty returns. Never saw this failure mode before on a hemi. Usually see valve problems from cam lobe wear due to an incorrectly hardened lobe or a broken valve spring. Valve usually makes quite an impression on the top of the piston. Not seeing that here. I would look for a fatigue crack in the machined ring groove. Part lasted a long time so possible causes might be difficult to isolate. Just fyi. Engine is still junk. Stay safe. Keep truckin'.

Up for less than 15 minutes and it already has over 2K views...thats when you know you're doing something right

"this couldn't go horribly wrong, so we'll keep the camera running..." - my day is made.

"Red sky in morning, sailor's warning” "Dead Canary in a a coal mine" "Sparkplug with the pushed-in electrode" All potential harbingers of death! Thanks for the video Eric! Let's hope the guy gets another engine. Another 4 part engine replacement video coming up! 👍

Combination of K&N cold air intake and someone RAMming the gas pedal to the floor. lol

Those battery posts look like the owner takes good care of this one.

I’ve been itching for a video for daysss now. Finally!!!

One of the best instructional videos you’ve done in a long time

Hey Eric! Always a good day to see a notice for an SMA video!!

Way back in 1978, I was amazed that we had borescope for looking inside the J79 engines on F4 Phantoms. Very expensive tool that is super cheap now and very useful still.

I really enjoy your no-nonsense approach to to engine diagnosis, I wish there was a tech around my area like you.

Glad to see another SMA video. Happy Mothers Day to Mrs O. !

There's your problem lady!

the valve tried to dodge the piston but the piston rammed right into the valve

Just a comment to help yours stats. Love the videos. Thank you for all the education you have given me through your videos.

Came across your channel by accident, liking the videos and the way you diagnose weird and wonderful complaints. keep up the good work.

Those borescope cameras are a great tool to have. I bought one last year for my new-to-me LS3 before a rebuild. But just like you, I had issues getting to see the entire 360º as the rigid ones are a PITA to position properly. Also, they tend to magnify issues - I thought I had massive pitting on the cylinder walls, but once I got the head off I realized they were smooth as can be and it was just staining. But in cases like yours they can save a ton of work and time in diagnosis.

The second I saw the bent over spark plug, I had flashbacks from when I broke off the top ringland of my Miata. Low speed pre ignition is an evil force.

All your videos are interesting and exciting Eric! Thanks!

Seen that on a hemi before ): The little camera is a time saver. Thanks for all the time and editing on videos.

If my battery cables looked like that, my truck would never start. Good luck on the big HEMI!!!

Seen a few Hemi's self destruct. One was due to cylinder deactivation. Driving on the highway for a bit 4cyl mode and then when it jumps back to v8 a surge of heat makes the it drop a valve seat and eats the cylinder and piston.

Thanks for the ride into the Hemi don't get down that way very often! Great job.

Thanks Ponch, great video as usual.

"Can't you just vacuum out the chunks? The top of the ring looks fine."

As soon as I saw the K&N sticker and aftermarket coils I knew this wasn't going to end well.

Great camera scope diagnostic! I'm glad you didn't have go that crazy and waste too much time with that. I guarantee that customer don't love that truck enough to do any rebuilds or engine swaps unless it's of sentimental value to him. I know these Hemis are known for broken valve springs that cause low compression but I've never seen something so severe that a piston cracks so bad like that. Awesome video my man!

Hey Eric Thank You for sharing your experience and time. Great Video on 5.7 Ram with broken piston top. Sincerely Jeff.

80/20 rule she still got 87.5% of cylinders working 🤣 it’s a keeper.

Wow, look at the crusty's on that battery!

Great vid, simple diag but still good to show how to use bore scopes and follow through on visual inspection!

Thanks for showing us, I've never seen a broken piston like that.

Judging by the cold air intake...I'll bet there's a "tuner" on this truck and all it needs is another 200.00 race engine from pick n pull.

After working on cars for 10 hours a day, I sit down to zone out to tiktok, then a SMA notification pops up. Me: tiktok can wait. SMA is life!

From looks of the battery pretty much tells the whole story! Keep up the great work Eric...

Eric is the best mechanic. I've thought of shipping my car from Michigan to his shop to have him work on it :-)

Love watching him work. He's very detailed in his videos and I always am able to learn something new from him. He is so very knowledgeable. Also love seeing Mrs O in some of the videos. He is a very honest mechanic and I wish I lived in his neighborhood so I could get my vehicles fixed correctly. Hard to find a good mechanic and an honest one also. Very detailed in all his videos. That makes it enjoyable to watch and less my attention.

According to the AERA handbook - that kind of damage is usually caused by detonation or preignition. Teardown and inspection should reveal the cause, but at what cost? The end result is the same "You need an engine". The why is left to us car geeks who just want to know why. Good find and good stopping point!

Hello, Hope you are doing well. Love the show. Was a certified ASE mechanic in the late 1980's. Went to to school for more of a industrial Electrician, controls etc. I have been doing a lot of Robotics repair for the last 20 years. I'm employed at Honda Manufacturing here in Alabama. We build the Pilot, Passport, Odyssey and Ridgeline. I found you show during the shut down. I love the way you trouble shot this Electrical issues. The way you develop your starting point. This is a skill that some people have issues with. I like all of your Equipment for testing. The test light and a good set of prints is a great tool. I watch another show called Nick's Garage love it. He had a issue with a Voltage Regulator on a 1970 Ford Torino Cobra Jet keeping the primary side of the coil hot with the ignition switch off. I would love to see the prints trying to locate some to trace the circuit. I think that would be a great show, white board the prints and trace it through. Thanks

Thanks for taking us along.

Fun an exciting is the call tot he customer at that point. Guess it's another hemi off the road and off to the big crusher int he sky. Great diag Eric.

I enjoy a carnage video when it's someone else's engine!

Man, I like your honesty.

Hi Erick (sorry if that is not your name), I like your videos. You explain the problem and solution in simple way. Keep it like that! Please also post videos about easy fix things as I am new to car repair. Stay healthy!

As soon as I saw the hot air intake and the MSD coils I knew where this was headed.

Wow, the barf-o-cam was really moving today!

As always the best salution . Couldn't agree more

A good diagnosis comes from good methodology. Well done.

5:13 motoroscopy , 7:26 Doctor O. Maintains control over the situation as he continues examining the patient

Looks like the motor was fed by Stuntman on Neutral Drop.

Considering it's not a real expensive endoscope it's pretty good resolution. Nice job Eric !

Great channel. This guy lives in a different world of mechanics. I can't imagine myself using a tablet to diagnose the problem and Reading codes. With the stuff carbureted I work with I just have to check if I have spark and if I'm getting fuel.

Somewhat typical damage resulting from LSPI events (Low Speed Pre-Ignition), possibly triggered by that carbon build-up on the crown of the piston. It could have smacked a stuck valve also, but I'm on the LSPI train from the damage seen.

Chrysler - Feeding mechanics and their families since 1925.

Carnage! Thanks for sharing Eric!

Nice job there. That Endoscope just paid for itself. Great Luck on it being the first cylinder you took the plug out of. 👍👍

Of very specific interest to me since I own this truck.

The empty NO2 bottle in the front seat was the dead giveaway.

Excellent vid, nice clear look inside that most people don't get to see, some good comments 👍🏽

Man i just got a dodge ram with the hemi 5.7. I hear good and bad things about the hemi motors. I hope nothing like this happens to mine. Love your channel keep making these videos. Thanks big E

Same reason why my truck is in the shop now. My truck only has 42000 miles on it

It’ll buff right out

“You can see what I see and we’ll all see what we see.” This guy cracks me up in every video.

now I love to see this kind of content.. awesome...

The poor thing finally noticed that Dodge changed its name to Ram--broke its heart and piston.

These 5.7 hemis for what Ive seen can be pretty reliable. The 2 guys I know had problem with these is because they NEVER did any maintenance to them.

Eric, my brothers have just finished refurbishing a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab (looks like the same blue as that one) with the "big" 5.7 Hemi. We are in Texas so my truck has NO RUST. They bought the truck REALLY cheap with a dead engine (thrown piston rod, cracked block). The old block and oil pan had been "repaired" with JB Weld! They rebuilt the engine (donor block, new bearings, rings, lifters, oil pump, bearings). Had the heads done by a local machine shop - new valve guides, valves, planed and Magnafluxed. New radiator, water pump, thermostat, hoses, belts, spark plugs, oil pan, fuel pump. Replaced vacuum lines. Inspected differential and replaced diff fluid. Dropped transmission pan, new filters - pan gasket - and rear trans seal, fresh fluid. U-joints are new from previous owner as were the control arms, all front end parts inspected and tight, all wheel bearings good. New Raybestos rotors and Wagner pads front and rear, flushed brake fluid. New Gabriel shocks all around (original Mopar were still on the truck). New O2 sensors, replaced one catalytic converter with a used one (the blown engine helped kill that cat.) New crank sensor, cam sensor, IAT sensor and MAP sensor (only the knock sensors are old.) Replaced all blower blend doors, blower motor (freezing cold AC!). New ignition switch and drivers door window switches. New Kenwood stereo, Pioneer amp, Kicker speakers and subwoofer. New headlights and tailights. The old Ram sure doesn't look or drive like a 16 year old truck! It was a project truck, it kept my brothers sanity while dealing with the passing of our father last summer - they needed to wrench on something in the shop. I get a cool restored Ram to drive and we kept a Mopar out of the junkyard/recycler for a few more years. Even with all the parts we purchased, with careful shopping the total expense is still lower than a newer truck in worse condition (brother volunteer labor, of course... I had to provide the beer.) Thanks for inspiring us! "If WE can do it, you can do it!" PS: I'll be sending a SASE to SMA to get some stickers, and I'll put one on the Ram!

Thanks for sharing your time and knowledge love your videos

It prob dropped a valve seat. I have worked on quite a few of those 2008 and down Hemi's. The valve seat drops, bangs around and blows a piston out, sends metal throughout the intake and out the exhaust. It is fixable in most cases by pulling both heads, installing a new piston/rod assembly with a cylinder hone, reman head and reassemble everything. You then have to make sure you either replace the intake or shake all the kibbles nd bits out of it. Not worth it in a 16+ year old POS truck.

The sadist in me want's you to record the phone call when you break the news to the owner!

I can see the piston skirt broke plain as day. A piece or pieces hit the spark plug closing it contributing to a misfire for that cylinder. Last Hemi ram I diagnosed has a dead number 7 cylinder with no compression. Sent the customer to an engine repair shop. Great video. Richard's Mobile Auto and Air

new to channel but subscribed and just heard "the money light is on". Man, is that so true.

When gen 3 hemi gets too hot the rings like to butt up and blow the crown off the piston like that. They are gapped a little tight. It's a failure mode with power adders... ask me how I know hahaha

Anybody else find themselves tilting their screens screens while watching this trying to get the glare off the AllTell 😊

This one didn't hurt too much. Had a 98 same with the 5.7 and only went through 3 transmissions LOL True story. Great Vid !!

My Grand Cherokee is an 03/04 (depending on whether you are talking parts or sale year). Not had a great life, but this one makes me sit up and take notice. I'd like to keep "O' Red" for several more years, if I can. I'm glad I saw this one; if something happens to it, I know we can put a new engine into it if need be. Not yet, though. It's a faithful truck.

Interesting that your Autel has no missfire counters for a 2004. I just used my 906BT on a 2001 Dodge 2500 and it had missfire counters under the special functions.

CHRYSLER - Company Has Recommended You Start Learning Engine Repair

Truck looks like it was ridden hard and put away wet...... excellent use of the camera. Great video Eric!

The endoscopes are a great tool to have. Bought one, but with the flexible line (which doesn't help with control. Added a wire to stiffen it). Helped to save me from pulling apart a blown motor with the same issues. Funny thing is... Looked the same as what you had. Wasn't worth fixing considering it had already had all the valve springs changed 2x.

Can you tell us the ending of the story and what the customer decided to do ... hate not knowing ....

I had this similar damage to a 2003 Kia Rio and oddly enough it was 3 days after the first & only time I took it to jiffy lube oh well it had a ton of miles

"The money light" LOL! That's the first time I've heard it called that! Ain't that the truth? Love it!

We believe you Mr. O! Once you see that different shade of grey you know whats broke. Thank you for the vid!

Tell Scotty I've seen this in Toyotas, too.

Aww thats a painful site. Break the news to him easy Eric

Obrachukka, I'm dyin for a new vid here! Whaddaya, busy workin and enjoyin the beau-t-ful weather or somethin! Chasin after Wendy Peffercorn?! You're killin me smalls!

I used to inspect pressure vessels, and we used a boroscope with a joystick. Made it super easy to point the thing exactly where you need it. But it was also thousands of dollars.

good old Ringland failure

Chrysler: Company highly recommends you start learning engine repairs 😂🤣

As soon as I saw the K&N intake..yep she's been hammered on!

As always its SMA: Sound Mechanic Advice !!

Looks like the Neutral Drop boys put some of their “special additives” in that engine!

Geez, looks like the piston was chunked. i can see one of the piston rings, the top land is broken off.

Hoping the customer opts for a replacement engine. My favorite SMA videos are the engine swaps. Could use a nice 5 part swap series right about now Dr. O!!

Added to watch later. As in watch when I get to work!

I’m curious if the ring gap closed and the ends touched.

There’s your problem lady !!!

old time engine guy showed me a cool trick with those inspection scopes. he snapped a fishing hook so he had a straight shank with the eye on it, taped it up so the eye was at the "base" of the camera part, tied some line to it... braced the whole works on the head with one hand and slowly manipulated the fishing line with the other while watching the screen, he was even able to turn it around somehow, maybe by holding the line steady and plunging the lead to the scope in more... i don't quite understand that part of it, but there you go. The high end borescopes have a sprung trigger that will move the camera in a similar fashion like a mechanical finger.