MajorCommonEngine

Dodge Charger: Broken exhaust manifold bolts, the tick that is NOT the engine (5.7 Hemi V8)

Broken exhaust manifold bolts, the tick that is NOT the engine (5.7 Hemi V8) is a common engine fault on the Dodge Charger on the 2011–2018 cars, and we rate it major. Putting it right costs $700 to $2,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. Below is what goes wrong, the symptoms to notice on a test drive, where to look, and what to ask the seller before you hand over any money. It is one of 5 documented faults on the Dodge Charger.

Vehicle: Dodge Charger
Engine: 5.7L
Years: 2011–2018
Fuel: petrol
System: Engine

This page covers the Dodge Charger as a model. Some faults only affect particular engines or build years — enter a plate below to narrow the list to one car.

All Dodge Charger faults5 documented faults on this model

What you are looking at

No photograph available

We do not hold a verified photograph of the Exhaust manifold yet. We would rather show none than show a picture of a different part.

What goes wrong

Hemi exhaust manifold bolts have a long history of stretching, loosening and snapping off. The manifold then lifts a fraction against the head and blows exhaust gas past the gasket, and the noise that makes is a tick or pulse that is loudest on a cold start and quietens as everything expands. It is routinely mistaken for lifter failure, which matters a great deal to a buyer: this is a few hundred to a bit over a thousand dollars, while lifters and a camshaft are many thousands. Knowing which one you are hearing is the single most useful thing you can work out on a Hemi Charger.

What you would notice

Ticking or puffing that is loudest in the first minutes from cold and fades when hot
Noise louder from underneath or from one side of the engine bay
A faint exhaust smell around the front of the car when idling
Sooty black marks on the cylinder head around the manifold

How to check it

Where to look. Exhaust manifolds where they bolt to the cylinder heads, both sides of the engine

Get the first cold start of the day and stand beside the front wheel on each side rather than over the engine — a manifold leak is loudest low down and from one side. Time it: a leak that noticeably quietens after two or three minutes as the metal expands is a manifold, while a tick that is still there at full temperature points at the valvetrain instead. With the engine off and cold, look along the joint between the manifold and the head for black sooty streaking. Ask whether the manifold bolts have been done. If a workshop inspection is possible: ask for the manifold-to-head joint to be checked for leakage and for any broken studs to be counted, because extraction is most of the labour.

Parts involved: Exhaust manifold.

What it costs to put right

$700 to $2,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

Ask the seller

“Have any exhaust manifold bolts been replaced or broken?”
“Does the ticking go away once it warms up?”
“Has anyone diagnosed the noise, and what did they say?”

Now check the Dodge Charger you are actually looking at

Everything above is true of the model, and it is free. What it does not tell you is whether THIS car has been looked after: its odometer history and whether the reading has ever gone backwards, whether there is still money owing on it, whether it has been reported stolen, how many owners it has had and what it is really worth today. That comes from the official records for that plate. Enter the plate for the free details, or get the full history and a market valuation from $13.49.

Not sure what you would be paying for? See what a full KickTyres check includes.

Where this comes from

The failure described above is documented in the sources below. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them.

Engine Patrol — '11 Most Common Dodge Charger Problems'
Allpar Forums — 'Hemi Tick' thread, manifold-leak diagnosis posts

Dodge Charger buyer questions

Is broken exhaust manifold bolts, the tick that is not the engine (5.7 hemi v8) serious on a Dodge Charger?

We rate it major and common on the Dodge Charger. Hemi exhaust manifold bolts have a long history of stretching, loosening and snapping off. The manifold then lifts a fraction against the head and blows exhaust gas past the gasket, and the noise that makes is a tick or pulse that is loudest on a cold start and quietens as everything expands. It is routinely mistaken for lifter failure, which matters a great deal to a buyer: this is a few hundred to a bit over a thousand dollars, while lifters and a camshaft are many thousands. Knowing which one you are hearing is the single most useful thing you can work out on a Hemi Charger.

How much does it cost to fix on a Dodge Charger?

$700 to $2,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That figure is for this job on its own. A car showing the symptoms on this page is usually worth either walking away from or negotiating down by at least the repair figure.

Which Dodge Charger years are affected?

Our research records this fault on the 2011–2018 Dodge Charger. Build dates move around, especially on imported cars, so treat the range as the years to look hardest at rather than a guarantee either way. The official records tell you the exact build and first registration date for the car in front of you.