Engine Fire

[carlhenry]

the intakes on a stock eco is plastic the exhaust manifold as cast iron

 

[fiero11]

I'll have to research the engine design. I saw this posting line and it gave pause and interest. Seems uncanny the number of trucks catching fire and I had not heard of it until now.

 

[carlhenry]

when you start a eco diesel up u have a 60/40 chance of something going bad I can not see buying a eco with a lot of miles on it it is just waiting to brake down

 

[fiero11]

I bought mine used but it had reasonable miles on it, was in nice shape, and well below wholesale value. I did not find any issues until the update on the engine, before that it ran great...as good as my former 5.7L hemi for performance at over twice the mileage. Now not good on either.

 

[carlhenry]

I purchased mine from Dave Smith 2018 with around 25 miles on it I payed him 35000.00 and he shipped it from the west coast to the east coast for me when I read it December 28 I drove it till my tuner came in from gde took all exhaust off installed tunes and it runs very well 26 mpg town road 30/33 and I took all the foam off the top of the engine fuxx the warranty I did the same to a 2500 Cummins never had a problem with that one either that one is a2011

 

[fiero11]

The EPA has cracked down on tuners and deletes. If you're not in CA, you are probably ok for a while. The Highway Patrol, if they pull you over, are taking mirrors and inspecting trucks for deletes and impounding them and fining the owners. I do not know how long until the rest of the country is hit. GDE has shutdown sales until they can comply to the new EPA regs. I use to have a 2015 Ram 3500 Cummins, loved the truck. I bought a delete for it but traded the truck before installing and now have a delete set up I can not use. I bought my 2015 Laramie loaded with 62k miles for $26.5k. Other than the engine issues it drives and rides awesome...better than my old DeVille or Lincoln I had. The air suspension works great, but I hate to see the price when it breaks. I have ordered a Sofa King tune for the engine and transmission, so I hope it fixes the engine issues and I can have a great truck again! Fiat-Chrysler have horrible customer service, especially compared to Daimler or original Chrysler. I have been a Dodge customer for years, but I am afraid not anymore.

 

[Gern2469]

Fiat Chrysler recalls 108,000 diesel Ram 1500 pickup trucks for coolant leaks

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV <FCHA.MI> said on Friday it is recalling 108,000 Ram 1500 diesel-powered pickup trucks in the United States for coolant leaks tied to reports of some fires and four minor injuries.

www.reuters.com

 

[Gern2469]

Just came across this was put on 2 days ago.

 

[fiero11]

Follow up on my Ram 1500. I finally got the Sofa King tune and the transmission tune, as well. I installed the tunes with little issue, though it took some info from the guys at Sofa King and once uploaded, the truck runs great again. It does run smoother and no more lag or hesitation from stops or going up inclines. It almost feels like it preforms like my old 5.7L Hemi! It has excellent response now. It also seemed to firm up my brakes and air ride suspension after the transmission tune, which made me happy. I recently took a 1200 mile trip soon after the retune and mileage went from 21mpg highway to 27mpg. I am hoping it will eventually get around 30mpg, but it already rivals my wife's A4 Audi. My last simple upgrade now is to replace the convoluted air feed off the air box with a piece of 3" straight pipe.

 

[scoffman]

Well Well Well. . .time to log onto Mopar.com and see if this recall affects my eco-diesel. Oh and by the way you can't spell DIEsel without the DIE. LOL

 

[scoffman]

Oh man they recognize the problem but don't have a solution. check it out straight from the MOPAR site.
Safety Defect/Non Compliance Description and Safety Risk

The Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) cooler on your truck [1] may be susceptible to thermal fatigue. Thermal fatigue may cause the cooler to crack internally over time. An EGR cooler with an internal crack will introduce pre-heated, vaporized coolant to the EGR system while the engine is running. In certain circumstances, this mixture interacts with other hydrocarbons and air in the system, potentially resulting in combustion within the intake manifold, which may lead to a vehicle fire. A vehicle fire may increase the risk of injury to occupants and persons outside of the vehicle, as well as property damage.

Repair Description
tbd

 

[scoffman]

I found this from NHSTA about the recall notice
Description of Recall Schedule : **10/24/2019: FCA US will notify dealers and begin notifying owners on or about 12/13/2019.
Planned Dealer Notification Date : DEC 13, 2019 - DEC 13, 2019
Planned Owner Notification Date : DEC 13, 2019 - DEC 13, 2019

MOPAR.com says the recall status is "Incomplete but repair parts are NOT available". I wonder if they will be available in December when they start notifying the owners??

 

[carlhenry]

Mopar could not fix a eco diesel if they had all the parts they are not going to touch my truck

 

[GAPO11]

Just had emissions recall on 2016 Ram 1500 Eco Diesel completed, went on first long distance drive, 250-300miles and engine lost power, then caught on fire. Has this happened to any other owners?

Yes. Just happened yesterday, November 17, 2019. I researched posts about 1500 ED catching fire. Saw this forum so signed up. 2015, 81,000 miles. Going down the interstate on cruise at 75MPH. Light came on, something about “Electric throttle.” Not exactly sure as it did not stay on too long. Began loosing power. Came to stop and began calling RAM Roadside Assistance. Began to smell something burning. Smoke was billowing from underneath hood. A Good Samaritan with fire extinguisher stopped. Open hood. Flames everywhere. Put it out. Fire department arrived about 10 min later and doused it with water as it was still “hot”. They gave indication it was electrical in nature. Origin seem to be middle of engine compartment near cab on top of engine. Just looking for anymore information.

 

[GAPO11]

I researched posts about 1500 ED catching fire. Saw this forum. Joined up. Mine did yesterday, November 17, 2019. 2015 ED with 81,000 miles. Going down the interstate on cruise at 75MPH. Light came on something about “Electric throttle.” Not exactly sure as it did not stay on too long. Began loosing power. Came to stop and began calling RAM Roadside Assistance. Began to smell something burning. Smoke was billowing from underneath hood. A Good Samaritan with fire extinguisher stopped. Open hood. Flames everywhere. Put it out. Fire department arrived about 10 min later and doused it with water as it was still “hot”. They gave indication it was electrical in nature. Origin seem to be middle of engine compartment near cab on top of engine. Just looking for anymore information. It’s toast.

 

[carlhenry]

welcome 2 the group sorry for your problems common with these ecos did u have the foam removed and the plastic cover removed from the top of the engine ever probably burned through the intake and caught every thing else on fire

 

[Jhoward7285]

Hello everyone, just joined the forum to chime in here and follow this thread. Waiting for confirmation from the dealership where the truck was towed but pretty sure we had a near miss from this same issue Wednesday night. I smelt something hot, a few minutes later at a red light the wide noticed it. By the time I went to take off from the light white smoke started billowing out from underneath the truck. We got pulled over quick enough to get the truck shut off before any more damage was done and had it towed to the dealer.

Unfortunately I just purchased the truck after going back and forth between an ED and a 2500 Cummins. I thought after reading up for the past few months I was comfortable with the known issues of the ED but this one completely caught me by surprise. I’m hoping this all works out for the best but being that the truck has 115K miles I’m not sure if I am going to get much support from the dealer.

 

[carlhenry]

welcome 2 the group maybe u will get lucky with only a burnt up intake it will b a expensive repair at the dealer

 

[Jhoward7285]

I would hope that they will replace the intake as part of the recall...but I guess the only thing I can do for now is wait and see. Was going to play it by ear with tuning and what not but with this this scare went ahead and pulled the trigger on a tune just now, especially given the recent EPA crackdown on the manufacturers.

 

[GAPO11]

Here are a couple of pictures from my situation. Dodge Dealership estimated $20k to “fix” it and insurance co said, “Then would it even run?” So it was a total loss.
To add insult to injury, I called dealership to see if I could get a refund on oil changes prepaid. If you pay for three in advance, you get a discount. I had only used one. Dealership just cold heartedly said, “No.” No discussion. Still waiting to hear from FCA and report from EAA an engineering firm that specializes in fire damage. Also, insurance co has hired an expert.
The one consideration that seems to have been set aside by FCA, is there is a reason in buying a diesel. Sure it costs more up front, but statistically it is going to last longer. But that logic seems now a yesterday thing.