Got myself a 2015 2500 6.4, couple questions for you guys..

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HEMIMANN

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I wanna say Burla on here looked into the oils & the Mopar ATF+4 was considered a very good oil. I also wanna say that the Wal Mart Brand was not very far behind. I went ahead with the Mopar cause it is not something that will get done on mine more than a couple of times before I trade it. Getting your temps 25-30* cooler is going to do a lot for the longevity of the fluid & the tranny itself! I wish they would stop that crap of putting in transmission heaters! Been looking in to trading our Durango in for a new one & that is one thing they show as a standard feature. Doing that probably doesn't even save you $20 over the life of the vehicle. A toasted transmission is going to be worse for the environment than the few drops of fuel!!!

Just wait till you get a German ZF 8 speed without consumer oil change features.
 
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I generally don't like other people to work on my stuff.. It seems to go poorly. Besides, it seems that most of the kids in the shops these days are just parts changers. They have no idea how to diagnose much.
 

ChuzUThisDay

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The dash is a nice upgrade from the uconnect 5.0 and the tiny 3" display that came stock
Just got my 2018 2500 Tradesman this past weekend. I'd love to upgrade the dash and gauges as I came from a Ford Lariat with a great display. Can you point me in the right direction of what's needed?
 

Will Ram 2500

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Well, I got it mostly done. I just have to install the track bar, and order the TBV..

It got all the parts I listed above, plus the flares, grill, VP4 and Power Wagon cluster.

Thanks again guys, it's been a really easy build with all the help from this forum!
Where did you get the grill and how much was it? I have the same color and year truck with a crack in my grill.
 
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Just got my 2018 2500 Tradesman this past weekend. I'd love to upgrade the dash and gauges as I came from a Ford Lariat with a great display. Can you point me in the right direction of what's needed?
The EVIC cluster is plug and play, you should be able to find on on the 'Bay, no sweat.

For the 8.4, it's almost as easy, but not quite. Still not a big deal, but there's a few steps to get it done right.

It's been covered in depth, so I'd read through the threads on this board, and then just get a hold of Mpgrimm2. He had on hand or makes everything needed (harnesses, etc..)to do the conversion. The head unit I got was from a little newer truck and he updated it to the newest software. It's worth every penny, and then some to keep all the functionality that it offers compared to an aftermarket screen. And it looks like it belongs, which I like.
 
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Where did you get the grill and how much was it? I have the same color and year truck with a crack in my grill.
I got it off the 'Bay also. I'll shoot you a link in a PM.

Overall, I liked it a lot. For the $$, it's pretty heavy duty plastic, and it looked good before I painted it. There was very little cleanup to do overall. It does come already in primer, which was well done, but I still spent a bunch of time scuffing it and sprayed an epoxy primer on before I painted and cleared it. It came with new brackets/supports, but I pulled the factory one off the stock chrome grille.

The letters are separate, so they're easy to paint a different color if you wanted to.
 

quickster2

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Nope - don't need a steering stablizer on Gen IV HD. I posted my results back somewhere. This sucker tracks true - no wobbles.

Yes, you should do the trans oil cooler line thermostat bypass. As a retired professional powertrain design engineer, this is one of the biggest boondoggles I've seen that lowers transmission oil (and transmission) life, all for miniscule increase in EPA CAFE fuel economy. I bought the RevMax retrofit empty thermostat block. Works great, trans oil temp down 30 degrees per the EVIC gauge readout. Only costs $100. Read about the tool tricks to get the old block out. Some crazy clip ring retainers on the front side.
My trans temps never go above 175 even when towing heavy loads. Help educate me why the bypass would help? My Durango now that climbs above 200 when towing. Thx
 

HEMIMANN

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My trans temps never go above 175 even when towing heavy loads. Help educate me why the bypass would help? My Durango now that climbs above 200 when towing. Thx

175 is not 'normal' just like Hemi tick is not 'normal' FCA tells us these things to get away with bad design. Hydraulic oils are designed for 140F maximum. Every 20F above that cuts oxidation life by 50%. I'm telling you as a former Mobil Industrial Lube Engineer. If you don't believe me, a random guy on the internet, google it.
 

quickster2

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What are your trans temps with the bypass installed? What do other auto OEM run their transmissions at? I doubt the industry is all wrong including the Durango's ZF trans temps. Engine oil is considered hydraulic as well. Engine oil temps are consistently above the threshold in temp you mention. Not sure why you brought up the hemi tick. Seems you have some kind of axe to grind.
 
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MN-Ram

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I’d be curious to see what that new HD 8-speed tranny runs for temps. It’s supposedly a sealed tranny. I just had my transmission fluid and filter changed, and the dealership didn’t mention anything about the fluid being bad or anything like that. My transmission runs about 172 degrees as well.
 

HEMIMANN

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There weren't any thermostats in transmission oil cooler lines before EPA CAFE started pushing mileage rates up again. What does that tell you? They didn't re-design the cooler circuits for the thermostat - they simply stuck a valve block inbetween. What does that tell you? And they didn't change the maintenance periods. What does that tell you?
 
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Quick update:

Just logged about 1000 miles of towing my TT to the Oregon coast and back to Eastern WA. Trans temps stayed in the neighborhood of 145*. Not bad considering pre-bypass they were 175* or more, unloaded just driving around town.

Now I have my eye on a colder thermostat for the cooling system. It doesn't seem like these trucks need to run over 200*, unless I'm missing something.
 

buckeyexx

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I didn’t think you could get a thermostat for the 6.4 for colder temps. It’s a completely different style than your typical thermostat. They are controlled by the computer from my understanding. I may be wrong and something has come out recently that I’m not aware of. These motors are designed and built to run at hotter temps. Mine has never been over 220 and the stat opens at 215.
 
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Shows how much I've been under the hood of this one....:rolleyes: I need to spend some time and figure out what I've got.

My Jeep GC has a standard stat, so I guess I just figured this one would too.
 

buckeyexx

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Shows how much I've been under the hood of this one....:rolleyes: I need to spend some time and figure out what I've got.

My Jeep GC has a standard stat, so I guess I just figured this one would too.
Yeah it’s built into the housing. I think I paid $140 from the dealer when I did mine because it stuck open and wouldn’t get over 185.
 

quickster2

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There weren't any thermostats in transmission oil cooler lines before EPA CAFE started pushing mileage rates up again. What does that tell you? They didn't re-design the cooler circuits for the thermostat - they simply stuck a valve block inbetween. What does that tell you? And they didn't change the maintenance periods. What does that tell you?
You never answered my questions why? The thermostat you are bypassing, as you probably are aware, is just to bring the trans temp up faster to make it more efficient with the incremental gain in CAFE. After it is at temp it runs "normally". That tells me it is operating per design. This is similar to your coolant as well so you get heat faster on those cold days. All normal. Good luck with any warranty claims with the bypass installed.
 
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You never answered my questions why? The thermostat you are bypassing, as you probably are aware, is just to bring the trans temp up faster to make it more efficient with the incremental gain in CAFE. After it is at temp it runs "normally". That tells me it is operating per design. This is similar to your coolant as well so you get heat faster on those cold days. All normal. Good luck with any warranty claims with the bypass installed.
I'm not sure what the argument is here. The bypass removes a potential blockage/failure point that could burn up a tranny pretty quick. In my truck, the fluid runs 30*+ cooler without it. Heat is bad on lubricants and fluids, everyone knows that.

And as far as a warranty goes, most of the guys on this board are probably well aware that most mods voids it. Mine is well out of warranty, and I don't want the kids at the dealership working on it anyway.

While there's something to be said about the engineers and that the trucks were designed a certain way for a reason, lets remember the fact that they also thought the track bar design and "fix" was a good idea. And in the case of 2500's, they want the tire pressure at a minimum of 80psi, then as is in this case, the thermostat in the trans cooler lines that deliver an almost immeasurable gain in fuel economy to satisfy the EPA, or CAFE or whoever.
 
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