Yeah I knew it was part of the cold weather package after the fact. I am just surprised that the dealers in MN would even order any Ecodiesels without the cold weather package.It does if you order the cold weather package for $295.I live in NH and mine only had the $95 Block Heater option so I had to buy my cover separately.....actually cheaper that way anyway by 100 bucks.
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Ecodiesel and extreme cold
- Thread starter neddles
- Start date
bill-e
Ram Guru
Your stations have probably already switched to the winter blend and yes between the fuel, warmup time and the cold expect 2-4mpg drop or more.
bill-e
Ram Guru
Same here. They probably make more selling it to you as an accessory than bundled with the truck.
Burnzie
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I know its not a big rig, ever heard of a reference!!!! I'll just shut up, because obviously only your opinion matters.
bill-e
Ram Guru
It's not my opinion
From both the Gen 2 and Gen 3 owners manuals.
ENGINE IDLING
Avoid prolonged idling, long periods of idling may be harmful to your engine because combustion chamber temperatures can drop so low that the fuel may not burn completely. Incomplete combustion allows carbon and varnish to form on piston rings, cylinder head valves, and injector nozzles. Also, the unburned fuel can enter the crankcase, diluting the oil and causing rapid wear to the engine.
Burner1352
Active Member
Fair enough I honestly didn't know that, thank you for the info on that.
cheaper to buy the cover and the cord separate then to have on the window sticker. I use the cover more to keep the engine bay cleaner, I have never had a problem keeping the motor warm in MN winters.
link to cord. https://parts.moparonlineparts.com/oem-parts/mopar-engine-block-heater-cord-68357826aa?c=az0x
link to front end cover, though yours may vary depending on model: https://www.moparonlineparts.com/sku/82216061ab.html
WXman
Ram Guru
1 - The grille cover doesn't necessarily come with the cold weather group. Not only do I have the cold weather equipment, mine is a North Edition. I didn't get the cover.
2 - Just because the engine CAN start on a -20F morning, that doesn't mean it's healthy for it. Use the block heater. Use a fuel additive. MY truck would also get 0W40 oil during winter to help get flow going immediately after start-up. Mobil 1 has a great 0W40 oil that flows great on cold mornings, but protects the same at full temp, and surpasses the API SN rating we need.
3 - Not all winter fuel additives are the same. The ones you see on the shelf most often are the ones that perform the worst. Do your homework.
2 - Just because the engine CAN start on a -20F morning, that doesn't mean it's healthy for it. Use the block heater. Use a fuel additive. MY truck would also get 0W40 oil during winter to help get flow going immediately after start-up. Mobil 1 has a great 0W40 oil that flows great on cold mornings, but protects the same at full temp, and surpasses the API SN rating we need.
3 - Not all winter fuel additives are the same. The ones you see on the shelf most often are the ones that perform the worst. Do your homework.
bill-e
Ram Guru
There probably should be a different approach if we're talking about intermittent -20° nights vs consistent -20° nights. I personally haven't done anything special for the former other than the winter cover.
RunsWithBeer
Active Member
A co-worker used to dispose of used motor oil by filtering it and putting a quart in at each diesel fill-up in his Dodge with the 5.9L Cummins. He claimed it helped lubricate the injector pump and acted as an anti-gel. He had over 300k miles on that engine without a rebuild and he drove it like he stole it, so it didn't appear to do it any harm. YMMV. It's probably, not great for a motor with a soot filter 
Neurobit
RAM Sorcerer
Yep, so it looks like these would benefit from an idle controller like I used to have on my PSD. Raising idle to 1100-1200 will solve this and allow to idle indefinitely.
Ah, if only everyone would just RTFM. I told my neighbor this exact same thing, yet they still idle their car for 30 minutes on a mild Texas morning. Thanks for giving me hope for the average truck owner.
No, raising the idle speed *manually* only exacerbates the issue. Idle at 800 RPM or 1100 RPM is still a very low-load situation with lots of start-up enrichment and cold lubricants. Raising RPM just means parts are spinning/ wearing faster in that crappy situation. Your engine is being controlled by a $900 computer that runs the engine optimally for just about any operating scenario - if Ram wants to bump up the cold idle engine speed, they will bump the cold idle engine speed. It's not like an aftermarket company with 5 employees figured out a super secret solution that a multi-billion dollar company was blissfully unaware of - they just made a box that people wanted.Yep, so it looks like these would benefit from an idle controller like I used to have on my PSD. Raising idle to 1100-1200 will solve this and allow to idle indefinitely.
Getting in and driving the truck gently - as the manual tells you to do - is the solution. That puts actual load on the engine to warm it up faster and allow for full combustion.
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Neurobit
RAM Sorcerer
Ok, but the idle controller example on the Super Duty is a Ford factory option to combat unburnt fuel.
All it does is raise the idle speed. I routinely see these boxes on airport shuttles with PSD engines. Ambulances and other vehicles also use these where they need to be able to idle for long periods.
On edit: This was years ago. Could be the new engines have this built-in (at least on 250/350s). IDK, I have not had a Diesel pickup truck in a few years. Would imagine RAM 2500/3500s have a similar solution to this.
Cheers,
Back in 1994? Yeah, it probably made sense to bump the idle to charge the battery, run hydraulics, or to control a PTO valve... but there's no note about helping engine longevity... lord knows the 7.3 could use all the help it could get (and keep in mind, that was over 20 years ago!)
Neurobit
RAM Sorcerer
2000s actually
The idle controller was primarily for preventing oil wash due to low idle temperature. Just what we’re discussing here.
Cheers,
Hey man, go install it - plenty of folks buy random **** because they think they know more than the people who made the engine 2000s actually
The idle controller was primarily for preventing oil wash due to low idle temperature. Just what we’re discussing here.
Cheers,
Lordy123
Active Member
I noticed this last weekend up north, it was about 25 degrees, first time starting it in the cold and it did exactly that.
Chris3058
Ram Guru
Ditto J-C....idles around 1200 when cold...past few nights have been cool and looks like -5 in the future.
