studio5o

Just scored a new '16 3500 tradesman dually with the Aisin tranny and 4:10 gears. Is an EGT gauge necessary ? I'm pulling a 36 ft. bumper pull work and play toyhauler....in the 16-18k range weight wise. I was plagued with high egt's from my previous rig '04.5 until it was fully built up.

A local diesel shop said I dont need the gauge but they'll gladly install one. Thanks in advance DTR.

gsbrockman

The stock engine programming won't allow any damaging EGT's.

bggrndodge

You don't need one, but I pull a 42ft toy hauler and installed one because I like to know. I probably shouldn't have! I saw temps of 1350 and a peak of 1400! I had a lot of time between California and Alaska to figure out how to remedy those while pulling passes.

xcc_rider

Obviously I don't have a 4th gen but I put one in after I got tuned to watch the egt's. As a test I ran the stock tuning on an identical trip and was AMAZED at the high temps the stock tuning "allowed" (1450 on hard climbs @ 1900 rpm).
After that I'd never be without one.

studio5o

Thanks for all the replies ....I was scrolling through the evic and saw that trans temp and engine temp were both monitored ....wonder how accurate it is ??? I will prolly get the EGT plumbed just because I'll at least know when to bump up the RPM's when EGT 's get close to 1300.

John_P

I agree 100% with DTR Member xcc_rider on the EGT gauge being VERY IMPORTANT on your truck!

Like him, I tow alot also and can tell you the EGT's will get up above the "safe zone" if you are towing heavy even with a stock engine, especially on highways/interstates that have moderate or even steep grades. And IMHO, the newer 4th Gen trucks seem to run higher temperatures than the older 3rd or even 2nd Gen Dodge CTD Pickups.

FWIW, the "safe" high range for EGT's is around 1,300 degrees if the pyrometer probe is installed in the manifold and 1,000 degrees if the probe is in the downpipe. I can tell you from experience that excessive. prolonged EGT's will eventually ruin our engines.

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John_P

xcc_rider

I agree. I ran for 6 years without the egt readings while climbing up to 9k ft 4 or 5 times a year in blissful ignorance, never knowing how hard I was (over) pushing it until I got the gauge. (I do have to say it was fun passing all the cars and trucks at 65 mph on the grades)
Since then I've relearned how to tow and now I watch the egt more than the speedo...

johnh

the question is, has any body EVER had any documented proof of damage caused by not having a gauge?

xcc_rider

I can see if you're watching your egt's, running 1450 for an extended period (let's say a long, long grade towing 18k) and you melt a piston, burn a valve or roast your turbo then you can say "look what high egt's did!"
But if the same thing happens and you have no idea of how high or long you've been running high egt's then how can you document it? You or the mechanic will point to an injector or bad turbo because he has no idea of what the egt was at failure either.

John_P

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YES,....I had damage to my pistons and cylinder walls on my 1996 Dodge CTD 12 valve BEFORE I got smart and installed a pyrometer to watch those EGT's. I will try to get some pictures up to prove it to you.

After many years of towing heavy and drag racing I can tell you without a doubt that high EGT's can and will cause damage to our engines. While you can "get away with it" for awhile sustained high EGT's will damage an engine. FWIW, Cummins Engine Company did extensive testing on this early on when the Cummins 5.9 was originally installed in the Dodge Trucks. Their research and testing found as I posted above that anything above 1,300 degrees (manifold) or 1,000 degrees (post turbo/downpipe) is too high.

But, as I have said here before, each owner has the right to do whatever they want on this and other issues.

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John_P

05CTDN8

^^^^^ couldn't agree more.... John knows these trucks! Here is mine, and EGT is on order....

studio5o

Bringing up this old thread....was wondering if there was a gauge/monitoring system that plugs into the OBD port to get EGT, Boost etc without having to plumb a pyro?????

Roperteacher

YEP!!! Just bought an EDGE CST2 and it plugs directly into the OBDII port. You actually get FIVE EGT readings if you want them. It also helps with watching for Passive and Active Regens as well.

SOhappy

My $.02....

That's the way to do it if you're still under warranty*. Drilling and tapping your manifold pre-turbo puts you at greater risk of warranty problems than not having an EGT at all. Pyros melt, break off and can destroy the turbo.

*Provided the CST2 is just a "gauge/monitor" device and not a programmer, I'm not familiar with it.

studio5o

Thanks for the info...gonna do some research and hopefully be monitoring EGT's soon.