Is the 5.7 Hemi a Good Engine? Don’t Buy Before You Read This

The first engine by Chrysler in the Third Generation Hemi family was released years back. It was a 345 cu in/5.7-liter V8 gasoline Hemi version. It was made for the Dodge Ram pickup trucks of 2003 and was released in 2003.

Do you remember the 5.9L V8 engine LA/Magnum engine? Yes, the new release then replaced the previous one. As Chrysler started to launch new models of pickup trucks, the 345 Hemi engine was available with them.

From Dodge Charger to Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Magnum R/T to Chrysler 300C, this engine was added everywhere! And then everything changes when the Hemi 5.7 came in! People often keep asking- is the 5.7 Hemi a good engine or not. Let’s find out!

Specifications and Features

General Information: Journey of Hemi 5.7L

When it comes to Hemi, it was smaller. On the other hand, this was cheaper to build. However, it was powerful. It had more power and torque than the LA-series 360 V8 or the Next Generation 4.7L V8. No matter you hook it up with the ZF eight-speed or the Mercedes five-speed automatic, you will see Hemi working with its heart and soul!

Related: How to Get More Power out of my 4.7 Dodge

This Hemi engine includes a cast-iron cylinder block. Along with this, it includes a deep-skirt design. If you go through the crankshaft, you will see that every bearing is supported by four different bolts. Here, two of the bolts are placed horizontally and the other two are vertical.

The head of this part is made of aluminum. On the contrary, to keep it lightweight and keep the high flow the intake manifold of this engine is constructed with plastic. We have already told you that the code name of this engine is Eagle.

Some additional changes were made based on Tom Hoover’s word. The camshaft was raised, squish area and twin spark plugs were added. One of the most popular engines back in 2005 was Hemi V8. The take rate of the engine on trucks and cars was about 45%.

However, in 2009, Hemi modified everything. From gas mileage to the power, they brought changes in their whole construction and performance.

The outcome was better flowing heads along with a higher compression ratio than before. From intake to exhaust, everything was improved. Along with this, an active intake manifold was added!

Not only this, this valve timing system came up with hydraulic cam phasing. This was comparatively less pricy yet very simple. The company redesigned all the ports and makes their intake valves larger.

From strong crankshaft to floating pin pistons, higher oil pumping capability to dual-mass crankshaft damper, the new Hemi came up to be the best version of the previous one! And this was our favorite 5.7L!

Multi-Displacement System

If you already know what Cylinder deactivation is, we don’t need to explain it to you anymore. This is also known as the Multi-Displacement System or MDS. If the power is not needed, the work of this is to turn off the fuel in four different cylinders.

According to the company, with the help of MDS, they were capable of saving 100 million gallons of gasoline. It happened between 2005 and 2009. On the other hand, according to them, it also lessened more or less one million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. So, first, they started to deactivate the cylinders in the cars. And then they added the cylinder deactivation to the Ram Hemis.

With this method of cylinder deactivation, the company ran the 2005 Chrysler 300c and the Dodge magnum RT in North America. We all should know that when the company designed the engine, MDS was already a part of the design. And as a result, the engine can afford ultimate reliability and also can lower the cost!

The engineer Cole mentioned that the Hemi can shut off four cylinders together. He also added that they didn’t found any adverse wear patterns using this method.

Dual Spark Plugs

According to Michael E. Grimmel, every cylinder includes an ignition coil pack over the single spark plug. On the other hand, there is also another regular plug wire. And it is connected to another spark plug. To make it a little harder for you to understand, the coil packs also are attached with a plug wire. This wire plug usually goes to the cylinder bank situated on the opposite side.

Every cylinder will share a coil pack with the other cylinder. As you know that two plugs are added with a cylinder, the work of firing the cylinder is done by one separate coil! One of the plugs includes a coil that is attached to it directly. On the contrary, there is another is fired with the help of an ignition wire. This ignition wire usually has a connection with a coil. And this coil is located in the other cylinder of the opposite side.

The advantage this engine brings up is it requires half of the coils that were required before. Yes, where 16 coils were needed before, now, 8 coils can do its work! Here, each plug doesn’t include its coil as the coils are connected. An additional benefit is weight. As there is less number of coils, the weight generally reduces!

According to Cryptojoe, the addition plug added can plug fires when there is a power stroke. It can burn the hydrocarbons completely. The work of allowing the extra power in the downstroke is done by the second ignition. The requirements for restrictive catalyst plates in the converter are also lowered by this process.

Engine Errors

If we speak directly, there are no reliability issues when it comes to third-generation Hemi V8. There are no design flaws in this engine. However, according to the users, there are some specific complaints regarding the engine. Some users say that they hear ticking sound when it comes to using their 5.7L Hemi engine. It comes from the valvetrain.

However, this is a very common sound when it comes to the newer Hemi engines. As the engine has the MDS system or the cylinder deactivation system added, the ticking sound is very normal. Also, for the addition of MDS, users of the engine must be careful about the oil changing schedule. Specific oil that is recommended is the only oil the users should use.

If you are nothing down the cons of the 5.7 Hemi engine you must know that there are two spark plugs for every cylinder. In total, there are 16 spark plugs. So, for every 30,000 miles you travel, these will require replacement. This can be very expensive for you!

Wrap Up

There are no design errors however you cannot deny the little errors of the Hemi 5.7L engine. But, if you rely on the performance and the potential of this engine, you cannot ignore the appeal of this. The engine is as powerful as a beast.

If you haven’t used it still, you don’t know it! All you have to do is get this and have a ride! You will never forget the name of Hemi 5.7L, surely!