Pawlik Automotive Podcast Apr 20, 2026

2014 Ram ProMaster 2500 Van Camshaft

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Car

Ram ProMaster

They’re working on a 2014 Ram ProMaster 2500 van. The van was making a loud tapping sound from the engine, and the shop is figuring out which internal engine parts are worn.

Part

camshaft

The camshaft is a rotating part inside the engine that times the opening of the valves. If its surface is worn, it can cause a tapping noise and poor valve timing.

Part

rock arm

The rock arm is part of the valve system that moves the valves when the camshaft turns. If it wears out, it can make the engine sound like it’s tapping.

Concept

cylinder bank

On a V6 engine, cylinders are split into two sides. Finding which side (front or rear bank) is making the noise helps the mechanic figure out what part is worn.

Car

3.6 liter Pentastar

The 2014 Ram ProMaster 2500 in the episode uses a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. The Pentastar is a widely used Chrysler/now Stellantis engine family found across multiple brands, and it’s the platform where this cam/valvetrain tapping issue is described as common.

Part

lifters

Lifters help the camshaft’s motion get transferred to the valves smoothly. If they’re worn, the engine can start making tapping noises.

Concept

V6 engine, transverse mounted

Transverse-mounted means the engine is turned sideways in the engine bay. That can make it harder to reach the timing parts and cam area.

Part

timing covers

Timing covers are the protective panels over the timing chain area. They can be awkward to remove because they’re tucked near other parts.

Part

spark plug tubes

Spark plug tubes are the channels that hold the spark plugs in the engine head. They’re part of what you see once the cam/timing area is opened up.

Part

spark plugs

Spark plugs create the spark that lights the fuel in each cylinder. If the engine is already opened up, it’s often easier to replace them at the same time.

Part

roller rocker

Some engines use a rocker arm with a little roller on it. That roller helps the engine parts slide with less friction. If the roller seizes, it can start rubbing badly and wear down the camshaft.

Part

rocker arms

Rocker arms are the link between the camshaft and the engine valves. They help move the valves at the right time. If the rocker arms wear out, they can start damaging the camshaft too.

Concept

engine seizing up

If an engine “seizes,” it means internal parts stop moving and the engine can get stuck. When valvetrain parts wear badly, they can bind or fail, and that can lead to the engine locking up. That’s why catching it early matters.

Concept

replace the one cam vs doing the job fully

The transcript discusses a common repair decision: replacing only the most severely damaged cam and rocker components versus replacing the full set. Because multiple cam lobes show pitting and other rocker arms show wear, partial replacement may leave other damaged surfaces to fail soon. The host’s point is that valvetrain labor is expensive, so it’s usually smarter to “commit” to a complete repair while everything is apart.

Part

OEM cams

OEM cams are original equipment manufacturer parts made to the same specifications as the factory components. The transcript contrasts OEM parts with cheaper aftermarket kits, arguing that OEM quality and fit are important for long-term durability. Using the correct cam profile and materials helps prevent premature wear of the valvetrain.

Brand

Mopar

Mopar is the brand name used for Chrysler/Stellantis factory parts. The shop is saying they used original Mopar parts instead of cheaper alternatives. That can help ensure the parts match what the engine was designed to use.

Part

timing chains

Timing chains keep the engine’s moving parts timed correctly. They connect the crankshaft to the camshafts, and tensioners help keep the chains tight so the timing doesn’t drift.

Part

tensioner

A tensioner keeps the timing chain tight. As chains wear and stretch, the tensioner helps prevent slack so the engine timing stays accurate.

Part

oil cooler housings will leak oil

They mention the oil cooler housing can start leaking oil. It’s usually not as expensive to fix as the bigger internal engine issues, but it’s still something to address.

Part

head gasket problems

They state some engines have had head gasket problems, and that many cases were covered under warranty. A head gasket failure can cause coolant/oil leaks or overheating, so it’s a major reliability item even if warranty coverage reduced the impact for some owners.

Concept

change your oil regularly

They strongly recommend changing the oil on schedule (and even a bit more often than the manual says). Clean oil helps protect internal engine parts and can prevent expensive problems.

Car

Pentastar gasoline V6

They mention the Pentastar gasoline V6, which is the engine type in many Ram/Dodge vehicles. The point is that this engine family has known maintenance-sensitive issues, so oil changes matter a lot.

Company

Pollock Automotive

They recommend Pollock Automotive in Vancouver for this kind of engine work. It’s basically the shop they trust for these repairs.

LIVE

Hi, it's Mark. I'm here with Bernie Pollock, Pollock Automotive in Vancouver. Vancouver's

best auto service experience. We're talking cars. How are you doing Bernie? Doing very

well today. So today's guest is a 2014 Ram ProMaster 2500. What was going on with this

vehicle? So this vehicle had some pretty severe tapping noise in the engine. Did some diagnosis.

I was definitely coming from the rear cylinder bank, probably a camshaft or rock arm issue we

figured, which is common on these vehicles. This vehicle had over 200,000 kilometers,

but we see it at much lower mileages. So it's a fairly common issue in a lot of these vehicles.

But which engine is this? It's a 3.6 liter Pentastar. Very common, I'll say Chrysler,

but I guess it's a Stellantis. Now Chrysler's kind of disappeared, but I'll still call it a Chrysler

engine. Found in Jeeps, Dodge products, Rams all over the place. And Vans trucks? Vans trucks. I

don't know, maybe cars too. I'm not sure. Probably cars too. I didn't see too many Dodge cars.

What are we looking at here? So we're looking at the front cylinder bank. So of course, after we

diagnosed it, we estimated it out before we pulled it apart. The cams, rock arms, lifters would need

to be replaced. Possibly the timing chains as well. So we sent the customer an estimate,

they approved it, and we went ahead and ordered the parts because before we take it apart, we knew

what we would find based on experience. So what we're looking at here is we're looking at the

front cylinder bank. It's a V6 engine, transverse mounted. So this is not an easy job to work on.

The timing covers sits right next to the side frame rails of the engine. So it's finicky to get stuff

in and out. But once you get everything removed, it's not too bad to work on, but there's a lot

to take off. Anyways, here we're looking at the front cylinder bank. There's two camshafts. You

can see the timing chain on the left side and the cam gears, spark plug tubes sit in the middle,

those are those round bits. We did change the spark plugs while we did the service as well.

So here's the really badly worn cam. If you take a look at where the green arrow is pointing,

you can see the thickness of that camshaft lobe. And if you look to your right, you'll see that

one on the right is a lot fatter. Well, the one on the left used to look like the one on the right,

but as things wore down, the rocker arms, it's a roller rocker. It's seized up and started wearing

it cam in a pretty bad way. So this has been going on for a while on this engine, hard to know how

long. Here's an example of rocker arms. If you look at the one on the right, the piece in the middle

is the roller. And so it's actually a roller bearing that runs on the camshaft lobe to reduce

friction. If you look at the one on the left, you see it's kind of sitting in a weird spot.

And where those arrows are pointing, you see some ground down metal. That's what was rubbing against

the camshaft and basically ground down half the camshaft. This is what's gone. These little edges

aren't supposed to be these edges. Yeah, that cam wasn't built like that. It was meant to be fat.

So anyways, that's what's worn down. The roller basically just turns back and forth, but it's

completely worn out. I mean, the next step of this thing, it went much longer. This rocker arm would

just pop out and possibly cause the engine to seize up. So it's good the owner did this when he

did. It didn't wait much longer. Here we have a brand new camshaft. And you can see the lobe on

this one is very nice. They're egg shaped. And I remember an engine shop used to work out, used to

call it the egg stick. There's the four new camshafts that are going into the engine. So although one

was severely worn, all the other ones were starting to show signs of wear. There was pitting on the

cam lobes in various spots. And if someone wanted to go really cheap, you go, well, let's just replace

the one cam and the rocker arms and that one. But for the amount of labor involved in taking

everything apart, it's hardly worth doing that. Either you commit to doing the job fully or you

don't do it at all. So are these aftermarket cams? No, these are OEM cams. So I will say that this

is not a cheap job. The parts are all Mopar original parts that we put in. I actually looked on Amazon.

You can actually buy complete kits of cams, lifters, rocker arms, the whole nine yards for

actually a pretty cheap amount of money, but we wouldn't use them in our shop. I just don't trust

them. Last thing you want is to use cheap crappy parts. And who knows, they might last for as long

as these ones did, but I wouldn't trust it. And what are we looking at here? So here we're looking

at the timing chains looking from the bottom of the engine. The thing that's sort of protruding at

the bottom right of the picture, that's the crankshaft. And there's actually four timing chains

in this vehicle. The one that goes downward drives the oil pump. And then there's one that goes up

with a little, you can see sort of a clearish whitish plastic piece. That's a tensioner.

That drives from the camshaft to an intermediate shaft. And then there's two chains that go up

from there to the top of the inch where the cams are. Reach bank. Yeah. And we did change the

timing chains as well. They were stretched, which is expectable for the mileage on the vehicle.

And you know, had we not done it and put it back together, chances are,

at some point in the near future, we'd probably be pulling this all back apart again to do timing

chains. You can actually change cams on these without taking the timing chains off. There are

ways to do it from the top. We have tools and there are ways to do it, but it's better to spend

the time and money and do the job properly. And it'll be much more durable. So after repair,

how is the vehicle running? Oh, it's good. Beautiful. Nice and quiet.

When we were talking earlier, you mentioned you guys service quite a few of these or repair quite

a few of these engines. Yeah, typically the same thing on a lot of them. The camshaft lifter

problems very common. So how are these vehicles for reliability? What's the solution to that issue,

perhaps? Well, I'm not sure what the long term solution. I mean, I think these engines do have

other problems like the oil cooler housings will leak oil, which is not nearly as expensive a job

as this, but that's kind of an inherent problem. And some of them over the past have had head gasket

problems. Many covered under warranty. The solution, change your oil regularly. This engine didn't

look like it had been neglected, but it's hard to know. Regular oil changes are just critical

in modern engines. You know, we've stretched the oil change intervals out a lot. There's way better

oil technology than there used to be, but you still need to change it regularly and do it even more

than the manufacturer recommends. It'll save you money in the long run. You're looking for service

for your Dodge engine that's got a Pentastar gasoline v6. The guys to see in Vancouver at

Pollock Automotive, you can reach them online at PollockAutomotive.com. You can book your appointment

right there. And if you're really not that sleepy, you can watch many of our almost a thousand videos

of repairs of many types of vehicles, engines, brakes, you name it, every part of the vehicle.

Thanks so much for watching and listening. You can also call and book at 604-327-7112 to

book your appointment at Pollock Automotive. You have to book ahead. They're always busy.

Thanks again for watching and listening. Thanks Bernie. Thanks Mark. Thanks for watching. We appreciate it.

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7:00

2014 Ram ProMaster 2500 Van Camshaft

3.6 liter Pentastar

replace the one cam vs doing the job fully

Pentastar gasoline V6

About this episode