[capacitor]

So far, I've found Jeep Grand Cherokee 2011-2021 Quadra Lift Suspension Front & Rear Air Strut Spring Bag Repair Kit

The above are $39.95/ea and have 18 100% positive reviews.

 

[capacitor]

Just a quick note: between 1/3 and 1/2 20oz can of Seafoam in the oil seems to have fixed the lifter tick. I need to test more, but it was pretty much immediate; one trip of a few miles at lower rpms, about :15 minutes while I bought a lotto ticket, started up and there was a noticeable reduction in noise. In fact, it sounds normal (albeit I'm new to the 3rd gen Hemi). Also, it is actually a fresh crate engine with 35k on it, so it had not set around for years. All fwiw

Update: lifter noise is back. Oil change using a version of the poor man's Redline (Mobil 1 5w30 EP + lubegard). I intend on doing another oil change, with RL and the best filter I can find, plus some other things in the future if this significantly helps.

 

[capacitor]

I should have the front shock fittings tomorrow. I can post-mortem the originals afterwards. These were $40/ea from RMT via Amazon, and I hope they are a good design.

Amazon.com: JWK2-A210-ADFU - RMT Air Suspension Elbow Repair Kit : Automotive

Buy JWK2-A210-ADFU - RMT Air Suspension Elbow Repair Kit: Body & Suspension Lift Kits - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

So get this In preparation for doing an oil change, I set the Jeep's air suspension to Offroad II, and locked it by holding down both buttons. I did this yesterday early evening. The front end is still up, more than 24h later.

I wonder if the higher pressure when in ORII is making the fittings seal better?

 

[19GCTrailhawk]

It will stay in the height that you leave it. Is the rear end up also? This could be a quick and easy assessment of the suspension sys condition. Also be sure to block the chassis with jack stands to prevent the day from lowering on you while you're under.

 

[ColdCase]

Yeah. it will always stay where you left it. By "locking" it you are disabling active adjustments. Helpful for tire changing, but it will self disable when jacking anyway. It is not truly locked, so always use jack stand to prevent a sudden drop when under it. That could make a good day go bad in a hurry.

It may be interesting to do the soap test on that fitting to see if its still leaking at ORA height. It may also be interesting to see if ORA2 is maintained without disabling it. O rings are O rings. Sometimes more pressure makes a better seal, especially when they start getting hard.

 

[capacitor]

Yep, I know I can't rely on it. Just a data point that was interesting. I expect that there's still a leak, that progressively gets worse as the pressure relieves itself (therefore a non-linear curve) & eventually bottoms out in the front. Copy that on the soap test; I haven't looked closely yet, but it looks more saggy from my room this am. Just like my face.

Edit: front end is still well above the bumper stops this morning, so around 1.5 days keeping at least some pressure in the front part of the system when in ORII.

I've learned a lot about these vehicles & especially the Hemi oiling/lifter/cam issue over the last few. Big day coming up on that later this week! Crossing fingers. I should have the front air suspension fittings done tomorrow or Thursday, depending on Amazon.

 

[19GCTrailhawk]

There's also the hemi tick which is caused by the exhaust manifold bolts if you want to look into that, hopefully that's not the issue.

 

[capacitor]

Yep, thanks; it's an oil pressure/lifter related noise in this particular case. The exhaust studs/bolts were (in theory) properly addressed when the crate engine went in around 35k ago.

Good thing is that there are no misfire codes. For now.

 

[capacitor]

I'm stoked! (edit: not yet but it's better, see the last few paragraphs)

I just finished replacing the oil pressure sending unit & installed a decent (not RP/Wix quality) filter, a fresh fill of Mobil 1 EP 5w30 and some Lubegard. There were some temporary funky things going on with the oil pressure (it seemed like plugging in AlfaODB raised the reported pressure), but it quickly stabilized - and no more noise at warm idle after sitting for a few minutes. Reduced startup tick as well.

I haven't gotten to the QuadraLift yet. It did drop back down overnight, after moving the vehicle, which removed the temporary "lock" as it were. I'll tackle that next. If I do have to replace the front airbags, that's an opportunity to get fresh struts, so I have no issues with that

Thanks for all the help. I'm able to trust this as a short distance/short term daily driver, and if it stays stable I'm gtg for the longer haul.

Oh btw the Hemi runs better now and I can crank it up and hear the growl! I thought I was all grown up, but this changes things, ahahaha....

Edit: ok this is funky. If I let it sit for 2 hours, then go out and start it up, it's noisy and the oil pressure is really low at idle. The noise is better than it was for sure, but it gets semi-noisy and the measured pressure gets low enough to set off the low oil pressure alert. After running it for a few minutes, the reported idle oil pressure improves to around 15psi (I would rather have it higher, but it isn't noisy and it jumps right up to 30psi when starting out. Max is 45psi when "on it".

I could understand a bad anti-drainback valve in the new filter, but not the lower pressure when cold vs warm thing.

Also, maybe not coincidentally, when I connect AlfaODB to the ECU, the idle jumps up to 1000 and the oil pressure is at 35psi. I did try driving it with AlfaODB hooked up but the initial assessment was that it wasn't reliable. It's like there is something other than the mechanical oil pressure relief valve that is changing the oil pressure.

If anything, this engine is keeping my mind sharp, haha! I do feel a lot better knowing that the OP is decent; maybe I can get by for the present by warming it up at a fast idle for a couple of minutes, before putting a load on the bearings.

I still absolutely am in awe of all the features, and this is the best ride I've had so I'm sticking with it and learning how to do maintenance. Anyways, sorry for wasting anyone's time with my blatherings.

Oh to be real clear, the amount of valvetrain noise directly corresponds to the reported oil pressure.

 

[capacitor]

Quick update: it is consistently back to the low pressure behavior, so I'm moving forward with better diagnostics. I'll probably start a new thread, so that other folks can find it more easily in a search.

 

[ColdCase]

The 5.7L engine is equipped with Variable Valve Timing (VVT). This system uses a control valve to direct oil pressure into the camshaft phaser assembly. The camshaft phaser assembly advances and/or retards camshaft timing. The oil flow to the VVT assemblies are controlled by an Variable Valve Timing Solenoid (VVTS). The VVTS consist of a Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) solenoid and a spool valve. The PCM actuates the VVTS to control oil flow through the spool valve into the VVT assemblies. The VVT assembly consists of a rotor, stator, and sprocket. The stator is connected to the timing chain through the sprocket. The rotor is connected to the camshaft. Oil flow in to the VVT assembly rotates the rotor with respect to the stator, thus rotating the exhaust camshaft with respect to the timing chain and intake camshaft. An infinitely variable valve timing position can be achieved within the limits of the hardware. The CMP monitors the position of the camshaft with respect to the crankshaft and provides feedback to the PCM.

Dunno how much of an effect it has on oil pressure, but the V6 phasers can get noisy and rattle. Perhaps the solenoid is open on startup, sucking up oil pressure, until the thermostat opens or so, then the PCM starts closing to adjust timing? Dunno, just asking.

As you mentioned, you could be having a sticky pressure relief valve, one that sticks open.

 

[capacitor]

Thanks for that Before I got into the oil change/sensor replacement, I had run half of a can of Seafoam in the oil. it fixed the noise (keep in mind I didn't know about a potentially low oil pressure issue, sigh) for about 15 miles, then back to the same low pressure behavior. It sure seems like that valve is sticking, since there's not a whole lot of complexity - until we get into the VVT system, haha!

My list of possibilities includes: oil pump pressure relief valve, partially clogged external oil cooler, partially clogged oil pickup screen, compromised o-ring on the oil pickup tube, and possibly something in the VVT system "venting" oil that shouldn't be. I still have to mechanically test the oil pressure (that's next), however the pressure reported on EVIC jives with what I hear going on in the engine.

There are no VVT codes, other than a P0524 that is now generated once the oil pressure drops low enough. That code wasn't happening with the sensor stuck on 96psi, and from what I gather P0524 is simply oil pressure too low, rather than something specific to the VVT system.

I've been searching for whether a failure in the VVT system could cause oil pressure to drop, but I haven't found anything yet.

 

[ColdCase]

Yeah low oil pressure, contaminated oil, engine mechanical, or sensor/sensor circuit/PCM.