If your car has an internal combustion engine, you’ll hear some ticks, rattles, and clicks. This doesn’t automatically mean something is broken — sometimes these sounds are completely normal. The same applies to HEMI engines. What you need to do is pay attention to the kind of sound, as well as how long it persists, before worrying about a trip to the garage.
A rattling noise on startup, for instance, isn’t always cause for alarm. In fact, it’s quite common if the engine hasn’t been turned on for a couple of days or more. In this instance what happens is the oil used to lubricate the hydraulic lifters has seeped out, causing the metal components to rattle against each other before the oil makes its way back into the mechanism. In this situation, the sound should stop after the engine runs for a few seconds.
Something more akin to a series of quick “tings” or “pings” that persist while the engine is running is also normal and nothing to be concerned about. This is the result of the injector’s plungers in a HEMI just being rather loud by default. Chances are you won’t hear it while driving, but it might come through if you’re leaning over the engine compartment.
