[jjmitch87]

2007 Charger R/T, just under 202k miles.

As the title says- I got my oil changed yesterday, it was black. They put full synthetic high mileage mobil1 in. They also said my trans fluid was low, apparently I have a broken dipstick or the wrong one. They measured with theirs, it was at the 20 mark and the tech said it should be at the 45mark so they topped it off. The previous day I got a CEL for P3441, I looked it up and one of the possible causes could be oil or the solenoid for cyl 6 MDS is bad. Since I got the car just over a week ago and I didnt know the last time the oil was changed, I had it done. They did an engine flush on the oil as well, or so they claim.

Left the shop fine that day. I have that diablo obd2 thing that disables MDS, so I used it when I left, thinking if I disabled MDS I wouldnt get the CEL for the MDS code. This morning I left for work, CEL back back on even though I used the diablo thing, whatever, kind of expected. But then the car didnt want to shift into the next gear, like it was delayed, and started running like it was misfiring and just in general like poop. Got on the short highway, same delayed shift and running bad like a misfire, but then smelled like burning oil and I got oil smoke in the car (windows down) and I could see some behind me. Smoke went away but the smell didnt, almost smelled like something was melting or on fire. Made it to work backed into my spot and it nearly stalled, its running rough like it has a cam almost.

P3441 (deactivation/intake valve control circuit/open) came back as pending and stored, and now P1416 (air sys bank 1) shows as pending. Google shows both those codes for MDS cyl 6.

At this point Im assuming I need to get that MDS solenoid replaced, but would that be causing all these problems, or am I looking at needing a new engine?

 

[baabootoo]

Ok, let's back up a little. Was everything working fine until the oil change? I would NOT use Mobil 1 unless I lived in Alaska and started my car at -50 each day. It flows VERY well, so much that GM stopped using it years ago because it "found leaks" that weren't that bad. I would personally verify the oil levels on both. Either way, you'll need the correct dipstick. So it worked ok after you left the shop, until you did the Diablo thing? I would go back to normal and see what it says.

 

[jjmitch87]

Ok, let's back up a little. Was everything working fine until the oil change? I would NOT use Mobil 1 unless I lived in Alaska and started my car at -50 each day. It flows VERY well, so much that GM stopped using it years ago because it "found leaks" that weren't that bad. I would personally verify the oil levels on both. Either way, you'll need the correct dipstick. So it worked ok after you left the shop, until you did the Diablo thing? I would go back to normal and see what it says.

Before the oil change I got the P3441 Code and the rough running, nothing else. The code came on Sat evening on my way into Boston. Everything seemed fine, drove back, fine. It came back and had rough running on Sunday. Clearing the code and driving easy was okay, until code came back. I only had the oil changed (yesterday, Monday) because I didnt know when it was last done, and because I read that oil could cause that code. I can check the oil level tonight when I get out of work. Cant verify trans fluid as the end of my trans dipstick is missing. Car doesnt leave any drops or puddles, unless I find one tonight when I try to leave work. The tech said he found a leak on my trans but it seemed to be an old leak, it was wet by the pan but not leaking underneath, it looked like it was leaking near the top but that was looking old. They may not have used mobil1, but they did use a full syn high mileage oil. I still have the receipt but its in the car I can verify that later. When I leave work Ill unplug the diablo thing and see, but I have a strong feeling its not gonna change anything.

I should mention I got this car from Keene NH and drove it home to Orange MA with zero problems, which was about an hour. It was daily driven before I bought it as well. My drive to Boston was almost 2 hours there and the light didnt come on until I was nearly there.

 

[jjmitch87]

I went ahead and ordered 4 MDS solenoids and intake gasket set from rockauto, $300 shipped, should be here Friday. Depending what time they get here Ill work on it Friday or Sunday when Im off work. Checked oil level when I left work yesterday, its fine. Still not leaking any fluids on the ground either. Car is parked and wont be driven until I replace the parts, I ordered the updated aluminum ones from Dorman, #916511XD. Just hoping the old plastic ones come out ok, Im assuming they are original.

 

[baabootoo]

Ok, thanks for the update.

 

[jjmitch87]

I got everything disconnected except maybe the EGR (its a hard pipe to the front of the intake manifold just behind throttle plate, so whatever that is) EXCEPT one middle bolt on the passenger side manifold. The head is stripped. I didnt strip it. So now progress is halted completely. There isnt enough room to get a vice grip on the head and turn it. Advance Auto and Oreilly in town dont have any replacement bolts that say they fit. Rock Auto doesnt either. It looks like the bolts dont come out of the intake manifold anyways. Rock Auto has an intake manifold for $255 and it shows the bolts in, but thats for an 06 and they dont show one for an 07.
Im not replacing the frickin intake manifold, I refuse. $3000 paperweight in the driveway.
So now cars prolly gonna sit in the driveway until I can figure out how to magically remove this head stripped bolt and then also tighten it back down when Im done.

 

[CtCarl]

A few things to keep in mind;

Nothing wrong with M1, or for that matter, any other full synthetic oil. What matters is the weight; 5w-20 is what the 5.7 with MDS calls for. And used oil, despite what some oil change places will tell you, is supposed to be black. That means that it's doing its job, keeping the engine clean and holding dirt in suspension so that it can be drained away.

I've gotten P3441 and P3425 DTCs on two different LX 5.7s, and in each case disabling MDS via a Diablosport tuner resolved the DTCs. I don't know why that didn't work in your case. The P3441 may not have been purged properly after you disabled MDS.

I don't understand the dipstick issue. The NAG1 transmission in your car would not have come from the factory with a dipstick. If it has one, it's an aftermarket piece and should not be trusted, at least, not until you've "calibrated" it, meaning that you fill the transmission using the factory service procedure and then check or "mark" the dipstick as appropriate. I'm surprised that a reputable shop wouldn't know that.

As far as the poor running, I would check the PCV system very carefully. The PCV valves on these cars are tiny, made of plastic and prone to failure. On a new-to-you car, I'd suggest replacing it and checking the rest of the system to be sure it's working properly.

Next I'd check for DTCs with an advanced scantool like AlfaOBD or Appcar's DiagFCA.

Good luck!

 

[jjmitch87]

A few things to keep in mind;

Nothing wrong with M1, or for that matter, any other full synthetic oil. What matters is the weight; 5w-20 is what the 5.7 with MDS calls for. And used oil, despite what some oil change places will tell you, is supposed to be black. That means that it's doing its job, keeping the engine clean and holding dirt in suspension so that it can be drained away.

I've gotten P3441 and P3425 DTCs on two different LX 5.7s, and in each case disabling MDS via a Diablosport tuner resolved the DTCs. I don't know why that didn't work in your case. The P3441 may not have been purged properly after you disabled MDS.

I don't understand the dipstick issue. The NAG1 transmission in your car would not have come from the factory with a dipstick. If it has one, it's an aftermarket piece and should not be trusted, at least, not until you've "calibrated" it, meaning that you fill the transmission using the factory service procedure and then check or "mark" the dipstick as appropriate. I'm surprised that a reputable shop wouldn't know that.

As far as the poor running, I would check the PCV system very carefully. The PCV valves on these cars are tiny, made of plastic and prone to failure. On a new-to-you car, I'd suggest replacing it and checking the rest of the system to be sure it's working properly.

Next I'd check for DTCs with an advanced scantool like AlfaOBD or Appcar's DiagFCA.

Good luck!

I know the right oil weight is in there. As far as the obd2 plugin diablo thing not working, it looks old and could be malfunctioning. Regarding the trans dipstick+tube- when I researched for a new dipstick, I found that the car doesnt come with one and it must be an addon. Im not terribly worried about it, it still hasnt left any drips or puddles.
I have everything taken apart except that damn bolt. Ive let it soak twice, its soaking again in PB blaster. Advance Auto told me to get a gator grip socket, but nobody has one. I picked up one of those "any size" sockets from walmart, the one with the metal pins inside, to see if I could make some progress, and I cant tell if the socket or the bolt is cracking but it doesnt sound good, so I stopped.
Id like the MDS to function, I already bought the new solenoids and intake manifold gasket. But if that bolt breaks, Im completely screwed, nobody has replacement bolts as they come with the intake manifold. I really dont want to buy one. I only have access to a cheap scan tool and a bluetooth one w/ torque pro app on my android.
If its possible to disable the MDS and not have this problem, I can buy the credit for my friends HPtuners and we can disable it in the pcm- would my gas mileage really be that much worse? Probably not. If thats an option I can see if rockauto will let me return the parts and I can check PCV system. If I go that route then I shouldnt have any issue with the solenoids as they'd just be doing nothing, correct?

 

[jjmitch87]

UPDATE
I got the bolt loose after letting it soak, changed the 4 MDS solenoids, put new intake manifold gaskets on. Scanned for codes with torque pro, screenshotted them, cleared codes, took her for a test ride. No problems until I jumped on her an d it started running rough. Turned around, she was feelin like she wanted to stall, but didnt, got back onto my street and check engine light is flashing. Pulled into driveway, light goes out, still running rough, scanned for codes- P0301 cylinder 1 misfire. That can only be so much, but I didnt touch plugs or coils and I triple checked all my hoses and connections. Something to look at tomorrow as its gonna be gettin dark soon.

 

[CtCarl]

UPDATE
I got the bolt loose after letting it soak, changed the 4 MDS solenoids, put new intake manifold gaskets on. Scanned for codes with torque pro, screenshotted them, cleared codes, took her for a test ride. No problems until I jumped on her an d it started running rough. Turned around, she was feelin like she wanted to stall, but didnt, got back onto my street and check engine light is flashing. Pulled into driveway, light goes out, still running rough, scanned for codes- P0301 cylinder 1 misfire. That can only be so much, but I didnt touch plugs or coils and I triple checked all my hoses and connections. Something to look at tomorrow as its gonna be gettin dark soon.

That's great! Where'd you get an intake manifold bolt on a Sunday? Or were you able to re-use the old bolt?

Swap out the #1 coil pack with another one and see if the misfire follows. That's the down-and-dirty way to test the coil pack.

The smoke and burning oil smell tells me you've likely got a PCV issue as I suggested earlier. Make sure you don't have a cracked or damaged hose somewhere, and at the very least, pop out the PCV valve...takes about two seconds...and clean it very thoroughly.

 

[jjmitch87]

That's great! Where'd you get an intake manifold bolt on a Sunday? Or were you able to re-use the old bolt?

Swap out the #1 coil pack with another one and see if the misfire follows. That's the down-and-dirty way to test the coil pack.

The smoke and burning oil smell tells me you've likely got a PCV issue as I suggested earlier. Make sure you don't have a cracked or damaged hose somewhere, and at the very least, pop out the PCV valve...takes about two seconds...and clean it very thoroughly.

Nobody has the bolts, I was able to reuse the old one. The smoke and burning oil smell was prior to all this, but I will check and most likely replace the PCV tomorrow. Ill swap the coil pack with another and clear codes and try that. Im curious if its a vac leak or injector maybe not seated properly more so than a plug or coil, since I messed with those and didnt touch plugs or coils.
I just wanna have my car back and running right, I miss it, and the grand caravan Im borrowing while mine is down is not remotely the same to drive haha.

 

[jjmitch87]

Another update:

I replaced the PCV valve, triple checked all my connections and hoses again, everything seems to be fine there.
I swapped the cyl 1 and 2 (front 2 closest to bumper on passenger/drivers sides) coil packs to see if the cyl 1 misfire would move or stay or get better. Idles just as bad if not slightly worse, when in gear it runs just as bad and slightly worse. Giving some rpms in park is runs almost the same as with the cyl1 misfire maybe slightly worse, but in gear and touching the gas I heard a terrible screech so back in the driveway it went. With the 2 coils swapped, I have P0300 P1411 and P1414 and C1014. All 4 pending as Im scared to actually move it further than the driveway. Prior to swapping coils it was just P0301 and P1414.
Probably unrelated is P0533.
Stumped again, as I was hoping swapping the coils would either have it stay the same (bad plugs) or move to the other cylinder (bad coil) but it seems to be worse.

 

[jjmitch87]

Replaced all 16 damn spark plugs, no change. the ones in cyl1 were black. Waste of another $75
Took apart the fuel rail and made sure the injector was seater and sealer properly and plugged in securely, no change.
Still have P0301 P1414.
The only thing I can think of to do is buy one new injector for that cylinder as idk how to tell if its working, and/or seafoam the engine.
Also shut the hood on my sunglasses so theres that, and I cant even order new ones bcuz they were limited run and gone forever.
After that Im out of ideas and nothing makes sense, so Ill probably just drive the damn car with the misfire until it dies, and when it does just leave it on the side of the road with the key in it. Im over it. Had the car almost a month, got to drive it less than a week. Worst car Ive ever owned and I dont even have the title yet. Last mopar Ill ever purchase too.

 

[CtCarl]

Replaced all 16 damn spark plugs, no change. the ones in cyl1 were black. Waste of another $75
Took apart the fuel rail and made sure the injector was seater and sealer properly and plugged in securely, no change.
Still have P0301 P1414.
The only thing I can think of to do is buy one new injector for that cylinder as idk how to tell if its working, and/or seafoam the engine.
Also shut the hood on my sunglasses so theres that, and I cant even order new ones bcuz they were limited run and gone forever.
After that Im out of ideas and nothing makes sense, so Ill probably just drive the damn car with the misfire until it dies, and when it does just leave it on the side of the road with the key in it. Im over it. Had the car almost a month, got to drive it less than a week. Worst car Ive ever owned and I dont even have the title yet. Last mopar Ill ever purchase too.

At this point, cleaning or changing the injector's not a bad idea. You could also try a compression check. You could have a broken or damaged valve spring.

The only other thing I can think of is to pop the cover above your PCM and check the wiring very carefully for signs of rodent damage. If they all look okay, maybe check your underhood grounds, battery terminals, and the positive connectors for both the front and rear IPMs (fuseboxes).

 

[jjmitch87]

Wires are all good, no rodent damage.
Grounds are all good as well.
Can I replace one fuel injector or do I need to dump another 400bucks and replace all 8?
I dont have a way to check compression, my uncle might but hes in the next town over.
If I spend any more money on this car and it isnt fixed Im going to actually lose my mind. It had ZERO problems when I bought it for the first idk less than 200 miles.

 

[CtCarl]

Wires are all good, no rodent damage.
Grounds are all good as well.
Can I replace one fuel injector or do I need to dump another 400bucks and replace all 8?
I dont have a way to check compression, my uncle might but hes in the next town over.
If I spend any more money on this car and it isnt fixed Im going to actually lose my mind. It had ZERO problems when I bought it for the first idk less than 200 miles.

There's no reason you can't replace just one injector, although to be fair, with 200k, the others probably aren't far behind.

 

[jjmitch87]

According to the list I have, they were changed out before I got it sometime after 2020.
Tomorrow Im going to swap cyl 1 and 3 injectors to see if the misfire stays with cyl1 or moves to 3. If it moves then I guess ill replace injectors. If the misfire doesnt move then Im gonna be more pissed.