This post is for anybody interested in removing your Active Grill Shutter (AGS) system.
In my case, I tow the boat a lot and I'm honestly not comfortable with the oil and coolant running 225-230 degrees pretty much all the time, especially not when it gets up to 238 while towing.
The first thing you need to do is remove the grill. I'm not going to get into that here because there are other good posts addressing that. I used the 2 sources below for that info.
5thgenrams.com post by user 0212353: https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/headlight-removal.700/
Or this YouTube video here:
Once you get the grill off, you're left with something that looks like this:
And from the side looks like this (damn that's restrictive):
There are 4 x 10mm bolts to remove, all on the front of the AGS, 1 in each corner basically. After that, there will be several plastic push-pins that you need to pop off to release the AGS. Disconnect the wiring harness going to the motor for the AGS. It should be free to remove now. Set it on the bench and start digging in to it.
The first thing you'll need to do is to unclip and remove the center piece connecting all the fins. This piece makes sure they all move in sync. There are clips down the middle that you need to pop off with a screwdriver.
The motor itself is held on by a clip on the front side of the AGS assembly and is removed by sliding the clip out to the left.
Now flip the AGS over so you can work on removing the motor assembly.
Two of the fins attach directly to the motor. Follow them to either side and pop them out of the retaining hole. I did this by just bending them in the middle until they pop out.
You should now be able to lift up on the AGS motor to remove it. Disconnect the fins from the motor and pop them back into the AGS. Set the motor aside as we will use it later. Put the AGS assembly wherever you want. We won't be needing that anymore.
Zip-tie the motor in a position where the motor can still turn like normal (if you just remove it, you'll throw codes). I zip-tied my AGS motor on a wiring bundle going to the fuse box. The existing wiring is long enough to make it here without any modifications.
I installed my remote oil filter mount and oil cooler about a month before this modification. You can see the final results for me in the picture below. No more stolen airflow.
I set the entire AGS assembly on a shelf and put everything back together.
I also moved my horn mount to behind the bumper. I extended and rerouted the wiring so it would reach, then bolted them to the metal cross-bars behind the bumper.
I've driven a couple hundred miles since then.
No codes.
Temperatures are consistently around 201-203. Doesn't matter if I'm towing the boat, cruising on the highway at 80mph, or idle for 20 minutes, temps stay pretty much the same.
In my case, I tow the boat a lot and I'm honestly not comfortable with the oil and coolant running 225-230 degrees pretty much all the time, especially not when it gets up to 238 while towing.
The first thing you need to do is remove the grill. I'm not going to get into that here because there are other good posts addressing that. I used the 2 sources below for that info.
5thgenrams.com post by user 0212353: https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/headlight-removal.700/
Or this YouTube video here:
Once you get the grill off, you're left with something that looks like this:
And from the side looks like this (damn that's restrictive):
There are 4 x 10mm bolts to remove, all on the front of the AGS, 1 in each corner basically. After that, there will be several plastic push-pins that you need to pop off to release the AGS. Disconnect the wiring harness going to the motor for the AGS. It should be free to remove now. Set it on the bench and start digging in to it.
The first thing you'll need to do is to unclip and remove the center piece connecting all the fins. This piece makes sure they all move in sync. There are clips down the middle that you need to pop off with a screwdriver.
The motor itself is held on by a clip on the front side of the AGS assembly and is removed by sliding the clip out to the left.
Now flip the AGS over so you can work on removing the motor assembly.
Two of the fins attach directly to the motor. Follow them to either side and pop them out of the retaining hole. I did this by just bending them in the middle until they pop out.
You should now be able to lift up on the AGS motor to remove it. Disconnect the fins from the motor and pop them back into the AGS. Set the motor aside as we will use it later. Put the AGS assembly wherever you want. We won't be needing that anymore.
Zip-tie the motor in a position where the motor can still turn like normal (if you just remove it, you'll throw codes). I zip-tied my AGS motor on a wiring bundle going to the fuse box. The existing wiring is long enough to make it here without any modifications.
I installed my remote oil filter mount and oil cooler about a month before this modification. You can see the final results for me in the picture below. No more stolen airflow.
I set the entire AGS assembly on a shelf and put everything back together.
I also moved my horn mount to behind the bumper. I extended and rerouted the wiring so it would reach, then bolted them to the metal cross-bars behind the bumper.
I've driven a couple hundred miles since then.
No codes.
Temperatures are consistently around 201-203. Doesn't matter if I'm towing the boat, cruising on the highway at 80mph, or idle for 20 minutes, temps stay pretty much the same.
