2018 Ram 3500 has a few issues

[KrisTheRvGuy]

Hey Everyone I am new here

My name is Kris

I have been a Powerstroke guy for a good while , I run a few f450s for my Rv company and recently ( About 8 months ago) Got a 2018 ram 3500 Dually.

When i got it it had 120k miles on it seemed to be a work truck but was the laramie package( Weird thing is it only says in in the dash when starting) Has all kinds of nice features. Ill post the vin later. 6.7 with the aisin

About 2 weeks into owning it I took it into my Dealer to do a oil and fuel filter change as the truck was new to me. When i went to pick it up i talked to the guy who did the work. he told me it was deleted and had some work done to it and it seemed to be done "Good" from what i understood and not just behind joes garage door.

The truck constantly would blow black smoke and it was something I did not like. Over the first 5k miles it would bog down hard pulling my camper till it was hot. Puff a large black cloud and than finally boost and take off. Mind you I do not 8k rpm this truck I try to take off smooth and not hurt the truck as my camper is 11k pounds.


I noticed a hole in the dash that was missing. Took it to another diesel guy who said I had a tuner on it at one point but it was removed and my truck was most likely stuck in a high tune ( reason for the smoke) and I would need to get a new tune for it to solve the bog and smoke issues. I spent 2k on a race me ultra which he claimed he tuned himself( another story.) Which included tuning my Aisin which googles says cant be tuned. Once I got the tune I drove the truck home. Seemed to have more response but no massive smoke anymore but the truck was operating temp when I picked it up so I could not test the bog down from take off. The next day the truck was taken out of my warehouse and driving in my complex. It immediately did the same thing if not worse. Called shop and basically ghosted. Ive been running the Raceme ultra for about 20k miles and its on tow when towing and i think its street or option 3 of 5 when driving around.

Yesterday going up a hill with my landscape trailer and one 4 wheeler I got two codes. One for transmission pressure and one for turbo P0868 and U010c I noticed no difference in driving. I have erased the codes and will be driving it tomorrow to see if they come back.


Ok sorry for the story here's the problems i want to try to figure out and fix

1. The truck surges when cold and is very touchy on the pedal till warm.
2. The truck shifts really hard from Park to Drive or from park to reverse. From other local guys who own the same truck with this aisin they said its a hard hitting transmission but its scary. I had the fluid serviced and there was no shavings or burnt in the fluid they said but it did have a aftermarket deep pan added.
3. The bogging down and smoke are a constant pain. I feel like ive got a clogged injector or something, the truck feels like a **** in low rpm but if you get onto it its a monster.
4. If you are doing about 50 mph and slightly going up a hill it feels like it wants to down shifts but keeps holding the gear unless you raise the rpm from 3000 to 4000 and it *****. No banging and shifts smooth. Almost like it wants to be forced.
5. The owner put LED everything outside and i get constant Warnings the lights are out. Is there anything I can do to fix that?
6. The truck has 35" BFGs on it and I dont know if the speedo was ever redone or if it needs to be?
7. Is there any general things i should be doing to the truck like fuel additives or cleaning inside the engine bay sinces its deleted? Its my first deleted truck and honestly my 06 6.0 Seems to be a smoother running truck with more power and that makes no sense to me.

I am in the Atlanta Area and if you guys know a good shop I can take it too please let me know. Please dont recommend Lead foot diesel or Insane irish diesel .


Sorry if this is a ramble I am not a good typer! Ill upload some pictures soon

 

[KrisTheRvGuy]

Pictures

 

[mtnrider]

You have a couple issues here, #1 is poor tuning most likely. That guy that sold you the raceme that he "tuned himself" (yeah right) was probably some hack job. And you cannot tune an Aisin. (they are just figuring it out as we speak)

The second is the 2 codes, P0868 and U010c. The first is your transmission, I would start by checking you fluid but hopefully it isn't going out (common with tuning and bad driving habits) and the other is your turbo actuator failing and likely a cause of a lot of your smoke. Very common problem on these trucks.

You obviously didn't know but buying a "tuned" truck is a crap shoot. While it can fix emission issues it can open a can of worms of other issues. I highly advise you tow on the lowest setting.

 

[Scottly]

Tune = change points and condenser, adjust carb, adjust timing. What happens in today's vehicle is computer programming, and most of the people doing it aren't qualified to do so. When your truck was "deleted", in addition to parts being removed(DEF system, DPF canister, EGR system) your ECM source code was altered so the ECM could no longer "see" those systems and associated sensors, allowing the addition of more fuel. Sounds great in theory. Problem is when you start getting run codes the dealer tech, who many times follows a flow chart to diag the problem, can sometimes no longer follow that path because the path has been changed...The source code has been altered. That can lead to a lot of issues that are difficult to fix. For starters, that is an HO Cummins, and the pistons and other parts are different than the standard Cummins...So was the right "tune" even installed in the truck when it was deleted? The HE300 turbo is a variable vane type...Is that "tune" affecting the actuator? As stated above, it could be a bad one...a noted problem. It can also be a source code issue that wacks open the turbo at a certain rpm...Hard to say. All this and more because of a deleted truck. You inherited a lot of variables. Good luck...Other than dumping that pig on someone else, I'm not sure what direction to go that is any bit of economically sane at this point.

 

[nlambert182]

You have a couple issues here, #1 is poor tuning most likely. That guy that sold you the raceme that he "tuned himself" (yeah right) was probably some hack job. And you cannot tune an Aisin. (they are just figuring it out as we speak)

The second is the 2 codes, P0868 and U010c. The first is your transmission, I would start by checking you fluid but hopefully it isn't going out (common with tuning and bad driving habits) and the other is your turbo actuator failing and likely a cause of a lot of your smoke. Very common problem on these trucks.

You obviously didn't know but buying a "tuned" truck is a crap shoot. While it can fix emission issues it can open a can of worms of other issues. I highly advise you tow on the lowest setting.

This.

The Aisin cannot be tuned as of today.
One thing that is extremely important that Mtnrider touched on... do not tow in any setting above stock or maybe a tow tune if you have to.

As for the actuator, City Diesel in Decatur, AL makes an actuator replacement kit that's very well received. I believe it's around $1,300ish and isn't very difficult to install. If that is indeed the problem I'd install it myself and call it a day.

While a lot of things say Laramie about the truck, there are things that catch my eye that don't look right. It could indeed be a Laramie but it looks like some things were modified.

Headlights are not the factory projector headlights (could be why you're getting the error message)
Laramie badge is missing from the upper glove box door
Tail lights appear to be an aftermarket Laramie clone. Laramies that I've owned all have a silverish color around the perimeter of the housing
The trim above the door handles are usually wood grain (silver is normally on a Bighorn)
The grille is indicative of a Limited and not a Laramie

A quick way to tell... are there blue LED lights behind the door handles at night?

 

[KrisTheRvGuy]

Gentlemen thank you for your answers. I have been watching videos on the actuator and will
Be monitoring it. I never lost boost. I don’t run my eb ever till recently. I plan to run it. Is and see if I lose it also. Per YouTube it is my actuator with the smoke and power loss.

I did see the aftermarket one and thankfully I own a warehouse and this is not my daily driver so I can repair the part myself. Two of my employees worked on cars for a while.

 

[KrisTheRvGuy]

This.

The Aisin cannot be tuned as of today.
One thing that is extremely important that Mtnrider touched on... do not tow in any setting above stock or maybe a tow tune if you have to.

As for the actuator, City Diesel in Decatur, AL makes an actuator replacement kit that's very well received. I believe it's around $1,300ish and isn't very difficult to install. If that is indeed the problem I'd install it myself and call it a day.

While a lot of things say Laramie about the truck, there are things that catch my eye that don't look right. It could indeed be a Laramie but it looks like some things were modified.

Headlights are not the factory projector headlights (could be why you're getting the error message)
Laramie badge is missing from the upper glove box door
Tail lights appear to be an aftermarket Laramie clone. Laramies that I've owned all have a silverish color around the perimeter of the housing
The trim above the door handles are usually wood grain (silver is normally on a Bighorn)
The grille is indicative of a Limited and not a Laramie

A quick way to tell... are there blue LED lights behind the door handles at night?

Yes blue lights behind handles

 

[KrisTheRvGuy]

Here’s the dash

 

[chri5k]

Canned out of the box tunes rarely work well. Get hold of Ray from DoubleR Diesel. One of the best tuners out there and an heck of a nice guy. He will create a tune specifically for your mods, axle ratio, etc.

 

[KrisTheRvGuy]

Canned out of the box tunes rarely work well. Get hold of Ray from DoubleR Diesel. One of the best tuners out there and an heck of a nice guy. He will create a tune specifically for your mods, axle ratio, etc.

I will reach out to them!

So far It has no codes come back but im under 50 miles.

For the EB It only goes to 15-25HP when i left off the pedal at 40-70 MPH
The Turbo is putting out 19-26 PSI and seems more responsive after I cleared the codes. I feel like the EB is not working as it used to be annoying letting off the pedal and it would slow the truck down. I feel I do Indeed have a bad actuator

 

[nlambert182]

Yes blue lights behind handles

Good chance if all of your lights are functional that the aftermarket headlights are part of the culprit for the error message on the lighting. The canbus system doesn't take kindly to aftermarket lights.

For tuners... I personally have had good luck with the H&S Minimaxx box tunes, but I ONLY use the stock tune if I delete one. Turning the tune up and then towing with it is a recipe for disaster unless your engine and trans have been upgraded to handle it. A custom tune as suggested above might not be a bad idea though.

If your actuator is indeed bad... reach out to City Diesel and they'll fix you up.

 

[KrisTheRvGuy]

Good chance if all of your lights are functional that the aftermarket headlights are part of the culprit for the error message on the lighting. The canbus system doesn't take kindly to aftermarket lights.

For tuners... I personally have had good luck with the H&S Minimaxx box tunes, but I ONLY use the stock tune if I delete one. Turning the tune up and then towing with it is a recipe for disaster unless your engine and trans have been upgraded to handle it. A custom tune as suggested above might not be a bad idea though.

If your actuator is indeed bad... reach out to City Diesel and they'll fix you up.

Yeah they are all aftermarket LED From what Im reading I can buy a app and turn iff off so it stops!

Also congrats on the new rig! she's beautiful! I saw you came to Georgia for it I only went with the Raceme per a recommendation from a veryyy well known diesel shop down here. I do not want to make her a smoking monster or anything to hurt it. I simply want it to be normal and healthy and ready to pull our camper !

 

[nlambert182]

Yea AlfaOBD will turn it off I believe.

I tow a camper too. The RaceMe tuner isn't a bad tuner... if it has a stock setting, flip it back to stock and you'll be safe as far as the tune goes. Then I'd focus on the actuator. I'm right down the road from City Diesel and they do good work.

Thanks! I love the truck... but it has a few things to work out. Like most used trucks.

 

[KrisTheRvGuy]

Yea AlfaOBD will turn it off I believe.

I tow a camper too. The RaceMe tuner isn't a bad tuner... if it has a stock setting, flip it back to stock and you'll be safe as far as the tune goes. Then I'd focus on the actuator. I'm right down the road from City Diesel and they do good work.

Thanks! I love the truck... but it has a few things to work out. Like most used trucks.

Yeah I own a RV service center so im constantly moving customer campers or my own Thats the joy of used trucks! Things to fix, Who wants a new perfect truck !

 

[turkeybird56]

Here’s the dash

OK, Mopar shows vehicle has 2 incomplete safety recalls. FCA Recall # V06 and # Y26. Also shows it is a Laramie trim. ALSO here is your Equipment Listing attached below.

 

[KrisTheRvGuy]

OK, Mopar shows vehicle has 2 incomplete safety recalls. FCA Recall # V06 and # Y26. Also shows it is a Laramie trim. ALSO here is your Equipment Listing attached below.

Thanks man! I did get a letter for the front sway bar not to long ago

 

[stevenP]

When I had my 3500 with the aisin trans, it was terrible when shifting from drive to reverse. It would bang like you neutral dropped the trans. Always did it and mine was bone stock.

 

[KrisTheRvGuy]

When I had my 3500 with the aisin trans, it was terrible when shifting from drive to reverse. It would bang like you neutral dropped the trans. Always did it and mine was bone stock.

Yeah It freaks me out. Ive done alot of reading and from others its a hard hitting trans out of gear

 

[KrisTheRvGuy]

Well truck codes came back. Took to a shop. Looks like turbo problems.

 

[nlambert182]

What kind of turbo problems? Does it actually need a turbo, or just the actuator? What codes?