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Thread: A Busy Weekend: EGR Delete, Grid Heater, Air Horn, Head Studs / Billet VB

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    Schoolbus's Avatar

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    A Busy Weekend: EGR Delete, Grid Heater, Air Horn, Head Studs / Billet VB

    Well, this weekend me and my truck got really close. It certainly left a mark on me with little cuts, frustration, possible cracked rib, and took a flashlight to the lip! But, I was able to get all of this done:

    -EGR deleted (removed all components). I was using a kit that I think was designed around the 2012 and previous trucks. While it physically fit, I had to drill a hole and bend the line for the exhaust sensor to properly mount to it. I also could not use the factory crankcase vent tube due to interference with the supplied hose for the rear water port. I wound up running a 3/4" heater hose direct to the nipple on the turbo inlet elbow. I have a crankcase delete filter, but I am opting to continue with the factory setup since I saw no signs of it sucking oil or blow-by into the turbo. If it works, dont fix it. The turbo looked and felt great!

    -Installed EGT sensor (in rear delete plate). Easy to do. I am waiting for a bulkhead fitting to run the wires into the cab and then finish hooking it up to the MM3.

    -Deleted the grid heater with an ITC billet plate. I found this to be easy in conjunction with the head studs since all of the valve cover and rocker spacers were off. I left the 6th injector line on and didnt touch it. I had plenty of movement to get the original heater out and the new plate in without bending the line. Be sure to torque the tube nuts again. I used two wrenches and still found that all the nuts I took lines off of were slightly loose upon retorquing them. This also required an extension of the intake temp sensor as it places the sensor in the same location as the 2012 and down trucks. I was able to carefully remove the harness clips and cut the tape then pull the sensor out about 6 inches. I just looped it back over the top of the foam piece (yes I put it back on). Then I put the factory wire clips back on.

    -Installed a GDP airhorn. The nub was a tight fit and I had to walk it down with the bolts. I made sure the gasket stayed aligned properly. I also forgot to transfer the sensor and the truck was very upset and didnt want to start without it. Since I lost the dipstick mount and had to use the provided billet version, it took the studs from the back corner by the crankcase hose and relocated them to the front driver-side corner.

    -Installed a GDP grid heater relocation. This was easy. I have the bolt on version and the power wire hooked right up. The power stud faces down and the logo should be seen on the front. No issues with that after the fact as the heater has cycled a few times and no lights!

    -Removed the DEF tank, lines, and crossmember. This was relatively easy. Took me a few minutes to figure out how to get the lines out. I could not figure out an easy way to remove the portion that attaches to the gas fill area so it is still hanging about.

    -Installed ARP 625 head studs. This was the worst part of the weekend. I am tall and wound up doing a lot of the torqueing from outside the fenders which ultimately wound up in a cracked rib when the ladder slipped from under my feet while torqueing a rear stud (left side ribs, meet fender). Speaking of studs, lesson learned is the stupid instructions didn't say anything about where to put the 6 longer studs. I figured it out at the end when I had six long studs and all of the bolts coming out were still short. I figured it out they went along side of the valve cover (outside and not the front two as they will interfere with the aluminum spacer). I took everything to 155 ftlbs.

    -Set rocker gap. I set intake rockers to .010 and exhaust rockers to .020. I used a 15mm socket and ratchet to spin the motor over on the crank hub bolts. The engine is actually quieter now!

    -I installed a REVMAX billet valve body and new solenoid pack at the recommendation of REVMAX. My truck was working fine even at 153,000 miles, but the cost of fluids and my time made it a worthy investment. I put a steel filter screw in there and fresh filters and gasket (no silicone on the aluminum pan). I found getting the pan off was quite a challenge as the installer I paid to do it used some serious stuff. It took a hammer and chisel. The pan and pan rail were fine, but I made a mess. The drain plug refused to come out and I twisted my Snap-On allen socket and another allen wrench! I never did get it out so that is a problem for next time. The valve body was pretty easy to drop. The only tedious part was removing and installing the many screws for the solenoid pack. Be sure you use a good "in lbs" torque wrench on these! After more than 40k miles from the last service (half of that towing a trailer of some type and being tuned), my transmission fluid looked new, there was very little grey matter on the plug magnet, none in the bottom of the pan, and inside of the transmission was super clean. I feel good about the health of the transmission heading into the mod.

    -I installed a REVMAX transmission thermostat bypass block. This was easy and pretty straight forward. I was a little disappointed I had to install the o-rings into the block. They require a deft hand and a small pick to get them seated.

    -Because my downpipe was too close to my transmission line fittings coming out of the transmission, both adapter fittings coming out of the transmission had paid the price and were leaking. I went ahead and put two new ones in it and then used some lava wrap and stainless zip-ties to give them some shielding. The leak happened during my last trek pulling a trailer through the rocky mountains on 12.

    -I also had my tires balanced since I was at the base auto hobby shop and it has not been done in the last 35k miles.

    -While the tires were off, I flushed the entire brake system with DOT 4 fluid. The last time I was in the twisties with towing my old travel trailer (38' and about 10,500), the brake pedal got soft at elevation once the brakes were hot. The exhaust brake is good on longer descents, but has less of a roll in the constant switchbacks that we encountered taking it to Big Bear, CA last year. No real change other than service frequency and a higher boiling point to stand up to the heat generated by my EBC orange stuff pads.

    The Dr came through big and got me the new tune quickly so I was able to update the firmware and the tune last night. I DID NOT do a transmission quick learn with a scanner. After some side-bar conversation with him, he said that a 100 miles of driving my to-work route would be sufficient and that I should be good to pull out trailer from SoCal to Sequioa on Saturday!

    Of note, my work drive is just over 10 miles one way but it incorporates multiple grades, turns, 25, 35, 45, and 50 mph zones, several stop lights, and light traffic. The Dr said this would be sufficient to do the learn and I did not need to worry about going to the auto hobby shop on Wednesday and pay $40 to use their scanner to do a quick relearn.

    All in all, it took me two and half days of solid work to get everything done. I feel that was probably making pretty good time for all of that work adn I dropped probably 175 lbs of stuff from my truck which is a big deal to me and the big trailer I am pulling. If anyone has any questions, or wants me to break some of these out into separate threads, let me know.

    My Truck: 2016 Ram 3500 Laramie, granite crystal metallic/tan interior, CCLB SRW 4x4, 68RFE, 6.7 Cummins, rear air, 5th wheel pkg. MODS: MM3 w/tunes, EGR delete, ITC grid heater delete, GDP airhorn, GDP heater, ARP 625 head studs, FloPro 5", REVMAX billet VB, Synergy steering, Thuren .5" lift/sway, Fox remote res shocks, Morimoto HIDs and LED fogs.
    My 5th Wheel: 2022 Grand Design 390 RK, 3 ACs, Gen Prep, too much storage ~16,000 rolling.

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    MOD watersupply189's Avatar

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    Re: A Busy Weekend: EGR Delete, Grid Heater, Air Horn, Head Studs / Billet VB

    Excellent write-up, and thank you for taking the time to explain everything!

    Glad you got it done and over with.

    Hopefully your ribs will be okay.


    2016 Ram Laramie 3500, G56, 6.7, CC, 4x4

    2016 RAM 3500 4x4 Laramie Crew Cab
    Cummins,G56, Rough Country level, Morimoto LED fog lights, LED headlights, Lund Attitude Steps sprayed with Line-X, DRL's Activated, 35x12.50R18 Falken Wildpeak ATW3, Fuel Vapor Wheels Matte Black w/Dark Tint, A.R.E. Truck cap and swing boxes

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    No Vacancy Power247's Avatar

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    Re: A Busy Weekend: EGR Delete, Grid Heater, Air Horn, Head Studs / Billet VB

    Sounds like a fun-filled weekend for sure.

    You must have been hustling to get all that done.

    Greg
    2019 | RAM 2500 | CCSB | 6.4 HEMI
    2016 | Heartland Pioneer | DS310

    Greg
    2019 | RAM 2500 | CCSB | 6.4 HEMI

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    CrazyTrain's Avatar

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    Re: A Busy Weekend: EGR Delete, Grid Heater, Air Horn, Head Studs / Billet VB

    Quote Originally Posted by Power247 View Post
    Sounds like a fun-filled weekend for sure.

    You must have been hustling to get all that done.

    Greg
    2019 | RAM 2500 | CCSB | 6.4 HEMI
    2016 | Heartland Pioneer | DS310
    Yeah, that would have been a multi-day, multiple adult beverage project for me.

    Partly cause I’m not as fast as I once was, somewhat because I put stuff down and lose it, but mostly cause I like to work on stuff and enjoy the journey.

    2021 Ram 3500 DRW, H.O., bypass oil filtration, bypass coolant filtration, S&B CAI, 4:10’s
    2wd low loc kit.
    Reacquired 2001 3500, 5.9 nv4500, dually cab and chassis, 5” straight pipe, edge juice w/attitude. Otherwise all stock…..for now.

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    Schoolbus's Avatar

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    Re: A Busy Weekend: EGR Delete, Grid Heater, Air Horn, Head Studs / Billet VB

    @Power247 Yeah, I guess seeing it all typed out was a lot.

    Heck, I thought I was moving slow.

    I took my time for the most part and made sure I was doing stuff right.

    I could probably get all that done in two days flat if I did it again.

    I used to be an ASE-certified master mechanic and turned a wrench for a living.

    @CrazyTrain I should have gone a little slower and enjoyed the ride.

    Unfortunately, I was on the clock because I was getting charged $10 an hour to use the bay.

    My total bill was $271, including some nuts, bolts, and balancing fees.

    These days, the going labor rate has to be around $125-150 an hour, so I gave myself a good discount!

    I think the only thing I might change is how I did the head studs.

    I did the first few by backing the stud out a 1/2 turn but found the studs kept turning during torquing, and I wasn't sure how much they were turning overall (it looked to be about a 1/4 turn back in).

    I used a wrench and Allen key to get an initial torque on them, but even then, they turned slightly.

    I then changed to a total turnout with the same process and didn't worry about it.

    That is why my studs protrude slightly more than many in the pictures.

    I don't believe that extra 1/2 turn lost any strength by not engaging that last bit of thread.

    Those studs go far down into the block!

    My Truck: 2016 Ram 3500 Laramie, granite crystal metallic/tan interior, CCLB SRW 4x4, 68RFE, 6.7 Cummins, rear air, 5th wheel pkg. MODS: MM3 w/tunes, EGR delete, ITC grid heater delete, GDP airhorn, GDP heater, ARP 625 head studs, FloPro 5", REVMAX billet VB, Synergy steering, Thuren .5" lift/sway, Fox remote res shocks, Morimoto HIDs and LED fogs.
    My 5th Wheel: 2022 Grand Design 390 RK, 3 ACs, Gen Prep, too much storage ~16,000 rolling.

  9. Thanks Power247, IGOTACUMMINS, SyN thanked for this post
  10. Top Of Page | #6
    CrazyTrain's Avatar

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    Re: A Busy Weekend: EGR Delete, Grid Heater, Air Horn, Head Studs / Billet VB

    Quote Originally Posted by Schoolbus View Post
    @Power247 Yeah, I guess seeing it all typed out was a lot.

    Heck, I thought I was moving slow.

    I took my time for the most part and made sure I was doing stuff right.

    I could probably get all that done in two days if I did it again.

    I used to be an ASE-certified master mechanic and turned a wrench for a living.

    @CrazyTrain I should have gone a little slower and enjoyed the ride.

    Unfortunately, I was on the clock because I was getting charged $10 an hour to use the bay.

    My total bill was $271, including some nuts, bolts, and balancing fees.

    These days, the going labor rate has to be around $125-150 an hour, so I gave myself a good discount!

    I think the only thing I might change is how I did the head studs.

    I did the first few by backing the stud out a 1/2 turn but found the studs kept turning during torquing, and I wasn't sure how much they were turning overall (it looked to be about a 1/4 turn back in).

    I used a wrench and Allen key to get an initial torque on them, but even then, they turned slightly.

    I then changed to a total turnout with the same process and didn't worry about it.

    That is why my studs protrude slightly more than many in the pictures.

    I don't believe that extra 1/2 turn lost any strength by not engaging that last bit of thread.

    Those studs go far down into the block!
    Yes, I remember the days of using the base auto shop.

    My last one was in Spain, with numerous projects in the shop.

    Then I swapped a motor in the street in front of my apartment off base.

    That got the locals looking, staring, and talking.

    Either that or when I carried the motor down from my apartment on the 4th floor. (it was only an 850 fiat motor).

    I was much younger and dumber back then. Now, I have my lift in my shop and all tools I could want, and my projects cost 100x more!

    I also don’t carry around the heavy stuff anymore; I recruit younger help for that or use a tractor.

    2021 Ram 3500 DRW, H.O., bypass oil filtration, bypass coolant filtration, S&B CAI, 4:10’s
    2wd low loc kit.
    Reacquired 2001 3500, 5.9 nv4500, dually cab and chassis, 5” straight pipe, edge juice w/attitude. Otherwise all stock…..for now.

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