Snow and ice filled air box

fcr · May 9, 2022

This winter my 2021 6.7 airbox got so filled with ice and snow that it gave me a caution message something along the lines of check air filter…

This is my first diesel but never had this happen on any other vehicle in my life.

Any tips to prevent this next winter?

GTyankee · May 9, 2022

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crash68 · May 9, 2022

Where you using the winter front cover?

fcr · May 9, 2022

I was not using the cover as it was a 2500 mile road trip from Colorado to Canada… in spite of what people might say it is not as cold in Colorado as Canada. But there is plenty of snow and I hadn’t had a problem before…. My 1500 had the active shutters… seems like they’d sure be a good idea on the HDs.
I hadn’t realized until now the cover is mandatory to keep the thing running right in serious winter conditions.

crash68 · May 9, 2022

fcr said:
My 1500 had the active shutters… seems like they’d sure be a good idea on the HDs.
I hadn’t realized until now the cover is mandatory to keep the thing

A diesel actually uses the heat of compression to ignite the fuel, they actually loose heat while not under load. If your diesel is running hot you let it idle to cool down , gassers you turn off. Diesel also don't use a throttle plate so a lot more air passes through the engine in comparison to a gas engine.
Even if the HD truck would have AGS, they would not cover the intercooler.
Once the weather starts staying below freezing put the winter front on, colder it gets close off more openings how many depends on how your using the truck.

Fuel35 67 · May 9, 2022

Plus the Cummins just inhaled an obscene amount of air, so catching snowflakes doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibilities.

BWL · May 9, 2022

This is the first time I've seen anything like that. Some snow in the filter sure, but not to that extent. Is the snow below the filter? Crack in the box after the filter or loose fitting on the inlet tube. don't have a diesel handy at the moment, but also wondering if there's some kind of inlet cover that's missing in the fender well where it draws air that perhaps the previous owner removed to increase flow.

Dean2 · May 10, 2022

Snow filling an air box is a pretty common problem. So are motors encased in a block of snowy ice from road snow rolling up from underneath. At -35 engine heat does not melt the snow being sucked into the filter. You need to keep that from happening, and that is either shutters that block the snow or a winter front. Only way I know to keep from sucking in snow while driving. A canvas tarp under the vehicle stops snow from rolling up into the engine compartment at highway speeds. Happens to gas jobs up here too.

06 Dodge · May 11, 2022

I thought the 2021 had active shutters like the 2022's... I ran my old 2006 during the winters of Northern IA and Southern MN for 12 years an encountered a few a blizzards up to -30 and never had snow in the air box or had my air filter frozen, but I also read a lot and asked Q's before my first winter... I also found out by trial and error what temps I could put my winter front on an leave it on, it was any time air temps stayed at or below 32 degrees.

Dennis Shellito · May 11, 2022

I have had my 2011 2500 CTD since new and have never had that happen even in Colorado the last 10 years. Something is not right.

Dean2 · May 11, 2022

Well, u may never have seen it but I have many times. Never thought to take pictures but it is amazing where swirling snow will get into in heavy snow storms or when there is a bunch of deep loose snow on the roads. I have had smaller cars where the engine block was completely encased in packed snow and ice. I have seen it packed so tight it stopped the motor from running. In one case it took 2 days in a well heated garage to melt the block of snow. Snow packed into an air box is a really minor version of that.

It is really hard to conceive of just how severe conditions can be until you drive in minus 55 with a ton of loose snow and rough roads.

Just one day this winter after it warmed up about mid day.

fcr · May 16, 2022

Yes thanks for the responses, this was up in real winter after a couple hundred miles on unplowed roads during a storm up in the north….Canada below zero. Not in Colorado.
I thought as we get plenty of snow in Colorado and I had driven on unplowed snowy roads there, in what we Coloradans think is cold temps…that I was going to be fine anywhere…. I was wrong. There are no cracks in the airbox, the truck had maybe 7k miles on it. Stock. All the snow and ice was under the air filter in the box. I cleaned it all out and put in a new air filter and things went fine once I got onto some plowed roads again.
I guess the mistake was no front cover. It is my first diesel so still learning. It sure shocked me when I opened up that airbox and saw what was inside

I spend time in Northern Wisconsin/Minnesota in the winters too where -15 F is pretty normal… so I appreciate the Canadians checking in! I gotta get her dialed. Do I need to be worried about the DEF freezing too? The poor truck will be spending maybe 20 nights a year outside and not plugged in to any block heaters…

I’m a little gun shy about next winter…

Dean2 · May 16, 2022

fcr said:
Yes thanks for the responses, this was up in real winter after a couple hundred miles on unplowed roads during a storm up in the north….Canada below zero. Not in Colorado.
I thought as we get plenty of snow in Colorado and I had driven on unplowed snowy roads there, in what we Coloradans think is cold temps…that I was going to be fine anywhere…. I was wrong. There are no cracks in the airbox, the truck had maybe 7k miles on it. Stock. All the snow and ice was under the air filter in the box. I cleaned it all out and put in a new air filter and things went fine once I got onto some plowed roads again.
I guess the mistake was no front cover. It is my first diesel so still learning. It sure shocked me when I opened up that airbox and saw what was inside
I spend time in Northern Wisconsin/Minnesota in the winters too where -15 F is pretty normal… so I appreciate the Canadians checking in! I gotta get her dialed. Do I need to be worried about the DEF freezing too? The poor truck will be spending maybe 20 nights a year outside and not plugged in to any block heaters…

I’m a little gun shy about next winter…

Yes, DEF will freeze. Usually thaws once you start thee truck and the DEF heater kicks on. As far as sucking snow in, the winter front will help but on un-plowed roads you also need a canvas belly tarp under the motor. A lot of the snow you are seeing in the engine bay and air box is actually rolling up and getting sucked in from below the truck as you drive through the loose snow.

fcr · May 16, 2022

Right, so as long as the def heater works I should be good… fingers crossed…

And def tank expansion when it freezes doesn’t cause cracking? Or Def lines to freeze solid?
I figure you guys in the great white north would have already found out the hard way what does and doesn’t work over the last few years…. Guess I gotta trust the ram engineers a little bit too

Dean2 · May 16, 2022

fcr said:
Right, so as long as the def heater works I should be good… fingers crossed…

And def tank expansion when it freezes doesn’t cause cracking? Or Def lines to freeze solid?
I figure you guys in the great white north would have already found out the hard way what does and doesn’t work over the last few years…. Guess I gotta trust the ram engineers a little bit too

It will crack the tank if the tank is chuck full. we never fill to more than 70% in cold weather as DEF freezes at -15 F. The truck will start and run fine with frozen DEF. Never heard of anyone suffering cracked lines but it could happen one day. Most guys up here do the full delete as soon as they are off warranty.

I run gas jobs becasue they are WAY less grief in cold weather, and I don't tow big weight often. Even if I towed, it would have to be 70% of the time before I would put up with a modern diesel as a daily driver in our weather.

fcr · May 17, 2022

Thanks. funny, I was thinking the same thing if I move back to the cold full time

Snow and ice filled air box

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