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Grid Heater Bolt Failure

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MrCulpepper

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Good afternoon everyone.

Never wrote in a forum before…

I got a ‘24 2500 Cummins with 7k miles. Not sure how I missed this issue when researching the truck. Apparently the grid heater bolt/nut can either wear from heat/cool or vibration and drop down into cylinder 6 and destroy your engine. From what I’ve seen, people report this issue as early as a couple thousand miles to not ever having a problem. That’s a huge issue considering there is no warranty fix for this, they just replace with the same faulty part. So I got a couple questions:
1.) what are your guys’ experience with this?
2.) can you delete without CEL codes or should you go with something like the banks horn?

Thank you!
 
I just did this... Can be done yourself depending on wrenching comfort/ability.
us.bddiesel.com

KILLER GRID HEATER UPGRADE KIT DODGE/RAM 6.7L CUMMINS 2500/3500 PICK-UP 3500/4500/5500 CAB & CHASSIS 2007-2024

The Killer Grid Heater Upgrade Kit is purpose-built to address a major flaw in the 6.7L Cummins engine that can result in total engine destruction.
us.bddiesel.com us.bddiesel.com
If you live in a warm environment and don't need the heater, it can be disconnected at the relay...others have done this when the relay recall came out. Others on here did this to avoid fire concerns while waiting on recall part.

If you live somewhere that sees sub zero temps, I'd personally not go with the banks... The coil heater they use simply does not have the heat output required to cold start in those temps.
 
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thanks for the suggestion! Gonna look into it. Don’t mind the wrench work, just wanna make sure I install the right thing.
 
There are fixes with the BD being the best bang for you buck if you want to modify and potentially lose your warranty options.

There is warranty coverage, but depending on what causes the nut to fail it may only be covered by the 3/36.

There is also the Geno’s wiggle test that can identify the issue before it manifests.

All that being said the design was the same from 07-24. If it was a real concern it would have been fixed by a design change and even a recall since ingesting the nut could lead to total power loss.

The fixes aren’t quite a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist, but close. They are profiting on fear.

Simple ways to prevent this very very very rare issue are to do the wiggle test at every oil change, and bypass the full WTS by double pressing the start button. Unless your motor is cold soaked below 0°F you don’t need the full WTS cycle, and even below 0°F you rarely need the full WTS cycle.
 
AH64ID said:
There are fixes with the BD being the best bang for you buck if you want to modify and potentially lose your warranty options.

There is warranty coverage, but depending on what causes the nut to fail it may only be covered by the 3/36.

There is also the Geno’s wiggle test that can identify the issue before it manifests.

All that being said the design was the same from 07-24. If it was a real concern it would have been fixed by a design change and even a recall since ingesting the nut could lead to total power loss.

The fixes aren’t quite a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist, but close. They are profiting on fear.

Simple ways to prevent this very very very rare issue are to do the wiggle test at every oil change, and bypass the full WTS by double pressing the start button. Unless your motor is cold soaked below 0°F you don’t need the full WTS cycle, and even below 0°F you rarely need the full WTS cycle.
Click to expand...
so your saying in say 10 degree weather just double press it or let it do a few seconds of the wts. If a few seconds how long ?
 
russ2588 said:
so your saying in say 10 degree weather just double press it or let it do a few seconds of the wts. If a few seconds how long ?
Click to expand...

10°F is actually the temp where Cummins says the ISB can start without an external starting aid, like the grid heater. So yes, you should be able to bypass it at those temps and start just fine.

5-7 seconds isn’t going to be a bad idea at those temps, but I don’t think anything close to the OEM WTS time is needed.

Coldest I started my 5.9 without a grid heater installed was in the -25°F range with weak batteries. She was angry, but started. Stronger batteries would have helped start quicker.

These engines just seem to start, regardless of temp.
 
Maybe the 5.9...not necessarily the 6.7.


Also, use case of one, mine being a 21 with ~75k, no crazy cold temps(-10F maybe 5 times).
That said, when I pulled mine and before removing any of the heater hardware I took a nylon brush to the whole thing to knock the soot off... But didn't go crazy and the bolt looked visually fine actually. Though after cleaning the soot, I started the BD hardware swap, and when I unbolted it, 2 hex corners of the bolt washer side basically chunked off. Not near enough to compromise the whole bolt but still a pretty clear sign of corrosion degrading.
 
Ostracize said:
Maybe the 5.9...not necessarily the 6.7.
Click to expand...

Both my 6.7’s start without the grid heater just like my 5.9 did, maybe even easier with the larger volume of air being compressed.

Haven’t had the opportunity to cold soak start them at -25°F, but well below 0° many times.
 
AH64ID said:
Both my 6.7’s start without the grid heater just like my 5.9 did, maybe even easier with the larger volume of air being compressed.

Haven’t had the opportunity to cold soak start them at -25°F, but well below 0° many times.
Click to expand...
I assume you have the OE grid heater on 6.7.. If so, it's not surprising it still starts fine... The heater is still heating upon start even when you skip the WTS.
I was quite surprised to see in his video that his truck had such a hard time starting at all 3 temps with the banks horn/coil heater.
 
The heater doesn’t work during cranking. So there is no heat until it’s running if you bypass the WTS.

It seems like something else is going on with the Banks, but who knows. It’s not a very good or effective grid heater design.
 
AH64ID said:
The heater doesn’t work during cranking. So there is no heat until it’s running if you bypass the WTS.

It seems like something else is going on with the Banks, but who knows. It’s not a very good or effective grid heater design.
Click to expand...
Not a very good... You're referring to the bank coil heater?
 
Third option and less talked about is the approach of what Glacier Diesel Power provides. Replacement of your intake plenum altogether and coil placement towards the intake valve body.

How well does it work? Not sure as there are few individuals that have talked about their use of the product but for those that live in climates that down need the current intake plenum have had limited problems with large intake opening in the plenums.
 
cturtle said:
Third option and less talked about is the approach of what Glacier Diesel Power provides. Replacement of your intake plenum altogether and coil placement towards the intake valve body.

How well does it work? Not sure as there are few individuals that have talked about their use of the product but for those that live in climates that down need the current intake plenum have had limited problems with large intake opening in the plenums.
Click to expand...
The heater works good so I hear but its also more money than banks…..
 
Ostracize said:
I assume you have the OE grid heater on 6.7.. If so, it's not surprising it still starts fine... The heater is still heating upon start even when you skip the WTS.
I was quite surprised to see in his video that his truck had such a hard time starting at all 3 temps with the banks horn/coil heater.
Click to expand...

It's not running the grid heater if you bypass WTS.

However, the ECM *may* cycle the grid heater if needed during engine warmup. That's why disconnecting and bypassing WTS can STILL throw a code if it's cold enough to demand the heater cycle during engine warmup.
 
Brutal_HO said:
It's not running the grid heater if you bypass WTS.

However, the ECM *may* cycle the grid heater if needed during engine warmup. That's why disconnecting and bypassing WTS can STILL throw a code if it's cold enough to demand the heater cycle during engine warmup.
Click to expand...
Agreed, that's what I was saying in my previous post.. Just not specific enough in retrospect.
 
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