P00AF less than 5 miles into first tow

[biodiesel]

The trip has been great so far. 475 miles today and stopped in Tucumcari for the night. No issue with cel or limp mode. I’ve been trying to stay around 65 mph but a few times have dropped down into the 50s to keep EGTs down.

That's good news. Did you stay at the KOA in Tucumcari?

The stretch you mentioned leaving Santa Rosa tomorrow will be the test.

I'm not sure, but I think our truck will drop down to 4th coming out of Santa Rosa pulling the camper. I've always been surprised at how well the EcoDiesel does at maintaining speeds with cruise.

I'm looking forward to your trip report!

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[Rusty PW]

Did they get you approved and scheduled for turbo warranty?



The Garrett turbos on the Gen 2 EcoDiesel have been known to last 400,000+ miles. The key is to let the turbo cooldown before shutting off the engine and service the air filter regularly. With that said, I wonder how long the actuators will last on the Gen 3 engines. We do have a few 200,000- and 300,000-mile Gen 3 engines in the Ram. Those are all running the factory turbo with no issues.

Stellantis doesn't see the actuator as being related to safety, so they haven't issued a recall for the turbo actuator. A turbo actuator isn't considered a wear item, either. This probably explains why the part was never intended to be sold separately.

We don't see actuator issues on the Gen 2 EcoDiesel. So, it will be interesting to see if the actuator on the Gen 3 will degrade faster than the Gen 2. So far, mine has held up with no issues and I've been averaging between 6,000 - 8,000 miles per year of towing since the truck was new.

That's low mileage per year.

 

[biodiesel]

That's low mileage per year.

The 2020 Ram EcoDiesel average closer to 10,500 miles per year, but 6,000 - 8,000 are the actual towing miles.

The 2023 Jeep Gladiator EcoDiesel is low mileage. It currently has 8,000 miles on it (averaging about 3,000 miles per year)

The 2015 Ram EcoDiesel is averaging 12,000 miles per year. It now has 135,000 miles on it.

 

[RhinoJT]

Did they get you approved and scheduled for turbo warranty?



The Garrett turbos on the Gen 2 EcoDiesel have been known to last 400,000+ miles. The key is to let the turbo cooldown before shutting off the engine and service the air filter regularly. With that said, I wonder how long the actuators will last on the Gen 3 engines. We do have a few 200,000- and 300,000-mile Gen 3 engines in the Ram. Those are all running the factory turbo with no issues.

Stellantis doesn't see the actuator as being related to safety, so they haven't issued a recall for the turbo actuator. A turbo actuator isn't considered a wear item, either. This probably explains why the part was never intended to be sold separately.

We don't see actuator issues on the Gen 2 EcoDiesel. So, it will be interesting to see if the actuator on the Gen 3 will degrade faster than the Gen 2. So far, mine has held up with no issues and I've been averaging between 6,000 - 8,000 miles per year of towing since the truck was new.

Still waiting on word from dealer. I will say, I love the jeep, and the diesel is amazing. However, after the HPFP, then the corrosion on all doors hood and tailgate; and now this. These aren’t small or even moderate issues, I can’t help but be somewhat annoyed.

 

[JTdiRtyD]

Still waiting on word from dealer. I will say, I love the jeep, and the diesel is amazing. However, after the HPFP, then the corrosion on all doors hood and tailgate; and now this. These aren’t small or even moderate issues, I can’t help but be somewhat annoyed.

Service 4x4 lights and now the P00AF are the only issues I've had at 70k miles. 4x4 light is an easy fix, I just need to inspect the FAD harness and find where it's starting to crack.

Theres really nothing else out here that interests me enough to replace the Gladi. It'll take a pretty stout and well performing engine/trans combo to make me consider getting rid of it.

 

[mgenbox]

The 2020 Ram EcoDiesel average closer to 10,500 miles per year, but 6,000 - 8,000 are the actual towing miles.

The 2023 Jeep Gladiator EcoDiesel is low mileage. It currently has 8,000 miles on it (averaging about 3,000 miles per year)

The 2015 Ram EcoDiesel is averaging 12,000 miles per year. It now has 135,000 miles on it.

doesn’t the def crystallize or do you have a work around for that

 

[biodiesel]

Still waiting on word from dealer. I will say, I love the jeep, and the diesel is amazing. However, after the HPFP, then the corrosion on all doors hood and tailgate; and now this. These aren’t small or even moderate issues, I can’t help but be somewhat annoyed.

I can understand the frustration. The HPFP recall wasn't a big deal unless if the CP4 failed. The corrosion issue would be very annoying and the P00AF (turbo replacement) would be equally as annoying, even if both of those problems are covered under warranty. Hopefully this will be the last of your issues for a very long time.

 

[biodiesel]

doesn’t the def crystallize or do you have a work around for that

I run Additivated DEF (Platinum) in all vehicles which minimizes deposit formation. So far, I haven't had any DEF issues in the 5 years I've been running Platinum. Last summer, I added a bottle of Rislone to each vehicle. I'll probably skip the Jeep this year, but I'll add another bottle next month in both Ram trucks. It's probably overkill, but I'd rather error on the side of caution.

 

[Cadguy]

If you have anything to tow, I’ve found that I only ever get the code after driving for 1.5+ hours while towing and then stop for fuel, food, etc. I only ever get the code after I start back on the highway after stopping briefly and shutting the jeep off for 5-15 min. It’s like while sitting it heat soaks and that’s the trigger point.

You guys know that you have to let the turbo cool by idling for a few minutes after stopping? right?
Right in the manual, in a very small paragraph, it show a chart of load, i.e. city, highway, etc. for how long you should idle before shutting the engine off. I ALWAYS idle mine plenty long enough, and I have a diesel Promaster as well, and I let it idle for a while also.

 

[Idlethunder]

Thank you all again for the towing help and advice! The trip went well and I had no trouble or codes towing. All I did was drive with the transmission in manual and watch the EGTs. Anytime they started to climb quickly, I downshifted. As biodiesel mentioned, there is a 50 mile section going west on I-40 between Santa Rosa and Clines Corner where you go up 2,400 feet. There were a couple of climbs there where I had to drop down to 4th gear. Other than that, I was able to hold speed in the upper 50s or low 60s with 5th gear and the majority of the drive I was in 6th. Heading west is almost entirely uphill going from 850' at home in Oklahoma to a little over 7,000' at the highest point I saw in New Mexico. I averaged 14.4 mpg towing the trailer 617 miles west staying around 65mph.

I have come to the conclusion that my turbo is fine. I believe my problem was that I was towing in automatic and the transmission wasn't using the appropriate gear. It was trying to use turbo boost to hold speed and it was getting too hot. Once I started paying attention to EGT and shifting manualy, I had no trouble. I don't see a reason to have my dealership look at the turbo but if anyone suspects I'm wrong, please let me know.

 

[JTdiRtyD]

If it got hot enough to pop the code, it may have gotten hot enough to start throwing the worm gears in the actuator out of whack. Also, running higher rpms to keep EGT's down isn't always going to work, because thats what causes oil temps to climb, and then you can run into derate from high oil temps. You may have been fine this trip, but next trip the conditions could be different and you may not be so lucky.

IMO, it's better to just replace the turbo now while it's still covered under warranty, rather than chance it and have to do it once its not covered.

 

[biodiesel]

I was able to hold speed in the upper 50s or low 60s with 5th gear and the majority of the drive I was in 6th.

Well done. Keeping those speeds in check and being in the right gear helps. Do you remember what your highest oil temps were?

I have come to the conclusion that my turbo is fine.

Your turbo is fine for the speeds and load that you were towing. But what will happen when you want to pull the camper up Bobcat Pass (9,836' feet), Wolf Creek Pass (10,857' feet), Eisenhower (11,158' feet), etc.?

 

[biodiesel]

IMO, it's better to just replace the turbo now while it's still covered under warranty, rather than chance it and have to do it once its not covered.

I agree, especially if he plans to do a lot of towing in mountainous terrain.

 

[Idlethunder]

Well done. Keeping those speeds in check and being in the right gear helps. Do you remember what your highest oil temps were?

Your turbo is fine for the speeds and load that you were towing. But what will happen when you want to pull the camper up Bobcat Pass (9,836' feet), Wolf Creek Pass (10,857' feet), Eisenhower (11,158' feet), etc.?

I saw the oil temp hit 260 twice but both times it dropped back down within a few seconds. There were several times it was in the low to mid 250s for a minute or so. My coolant stayed 215 to 230 for the most part and the highest I saw was 234. I really expected higher transmission temps but it never got much over 200 even on steeper climbs. The highest was 208.

I've put 13k on the ecodiesel since buying it in Feb and I'm changing the oil every 5k. I've never had to add any between changes. I thought I might when towing but the dipstick shows the same now as before we left. I am very impressed with the 3.0.

I fully admit to knowing next to nothing about these turbos. When the first short tow caused P00AF twice so quickly, one of the things I read talked about commanded vs actual vane position. After seeing that I set the idash to watch both and they were either the same or within 2%. I have not seen anything that directly says what percentage would mean there's an issue. Matching exactly would be ideal but two percent or less seems very good. Is that enough to indicate a problem?

 

[biodiesel]

I saw the oil temp hit 260 twice but both times it dropped back down within a few seconds. There were several times it was in the low to mid 250s for a minute or so. My coolant stayed 215 to 230 for the most part and the highest I saw was 234.

What level of EOC tune were you running when the P00AF code first appeared? What level of EOC tune were you running when you were towing to New Mexico?

Keep in mind, you're also running taller tires. Taller tires will generate additional stress/heat on the drivetrain. Re-gearing would be something to consider or go back with stock tires.

For example, I'm running the optional 3.92 towing gears on my 2020 Ram EcoDiesel with stock 275/55R20 tires (31.9"). You're running 3.73 gears with 35x11.5 tires (34.9").

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