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What to do with my Hellcat Gladiator

V8flooz

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What color is this, and, how much? Thanks
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Free2roam

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Maybe this?!
 

Jimsteen

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I find myself in a bit of a situation...

I bought a 2020 Hellcat Gladiator for, what anyone in their right mind would agree is a STUPID good deal. All the pieces are there, asthetically in amazing shape - 13k miles, a really nice truck, no regrets given the price paid. BUT, theres a reason that it was a stupid good deal... it runs like CR4P.

It doesn't start well, it kinda has a mind of its own on throttle, it has huge power delivery problems (under partial throttle acceleration > 3000rpm), the transmission shift points are really inconsistent and terrible for the street. It cruises the highway at 75mph GREAT, but thats not what I bought it for.

The (nationally recognized) shop that did the conversion briefly answered a first email but has failed to respond to follow up emails and several calls. I am still in touch with the seller, he's great, no issues there. He wasn't really up front about how poorly this is running but it was cheap and its not his car anymore - no biggie.

I took the Gladiator to a shop by me, well known for dyno tuning Hellcats, LTA/LT4s... they said they had never seen anything like this. There is no emissions equipment on the car (no cats - I think they were resonators, no oxygen sensors.... etc), the tune on the JT ECU is locked and the fuel system is sort of 'tricked'. The ECU thinks its a 5.7L (according to the tuners) and/or at times a 3.6L; at no time does it think its a supercharged 6.2L.

I had intended to use this Gladiator as a replacement daily driver, trailer hauler and enjoy the utility of the pick up bed. I have a few toys, including a dedicated off-road vehicle, I wasn't looking for this to be another.



My options:

1) Sell the truck as is, with FULL disclosure and let someone else take on the project
Pretty sure I am even money even after shipping the truck and paying the tax to register

2) Try to pursue the original builder further.
I didn't commission the build. Further, it was done almost 3 years ago... I dont really have any recourse; could there be an easy fix I am missing?!

3) Ship it to AMW for a PROPER conversion, including Tons, and enjoy it. I have been in touch with them (Jared has been awesome).
Pretty sure I am IN the money after a proper conversion... thats why someone would buy it from me now. BUT, going this route would mean that this Gladiator is no longer an ideal "daily"

3) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"maybe its something really cool that I dont even know about"



All input appreciated
Call Dennis Collins in Wiley T.X. Collins Brother's Jeeps. He can fix it right.
 

RidinDirty

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Sad, but buying someone else's project car has this risk. Looks like all the expensive stuff's been done . Just send it some one to get it up to snuff and pay what needs too.
 
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Johnny3

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UPDATE: What this turned into was a cautionary tale for anyone getting work done these days.

This truck had fouled cats. Thats it.

--> The local performance shop was trying to rip me off, preparing me for thousands of dollars of work/tuning the truck didn't need.

--> AMW tried to sell me a complete tear down and rebuild for $30k. In their defense, they never saw the truck in person to diagnose it. But $30k, when the engine, transmission, harnesses, cooling, accessory drive, etc etc are already there? That was a joke.


I went on line... I bought Kooks Greencats (they weren't cheap but they flow like the rio grande) from Summit. I bought a section of 3" exhaust tubing.

I took these items to a local, cash only exhaust shop and explained what I needed... What we cut out of the exhaust today were completely fouled, cheap replacement catalytic converters (the tuner lied). The cats were replaced, some exhaust sections fixed (there were oxygen sensors in the system, though they weren't functioning properly).

Truck now runs like brand new.

And I have since spoken with Dan at Dakota Customs a few times (perhaps this thread helped?), he was very helpful once we made contact. I am going to reach back out to them, though the truck does not need a re-program as we suspected.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and input.
 

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Jeepasaurus_Rex

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UPDATE: What this turned into was a cautionary tale for anyone getting work done these days.

This truck had fouled cats. Thats it.

--> The local performance shop was trying to rip me off, preparing me for thousands of dollars of work/tuning the truck didn't need.

--> AMW tried to sell me a complete tear down and rebuild for $30k. In their defense, they never saw the truck in person to diagnose it. But $30k, when the engine, transmission, harnesses, cooling, accessory drive, etc etc are already there? That was a joke.


I went on line... I bought Kooks Greencats (they weren't cheap but they flow like the rio grande) from Summit. I bought a section of 3" exhaust tubing.

I took these items to a local, cash only exhaust shop and explained what I needed... What we cut out of the exhaust today were completely fouled, cheap replacement catalytic converters (the tuner lied). The cats were replaced, some exhaust sections fixed (there were oxygen sensors in the system, though they weren't functioning properly).

Truck now runs like brand new.

And I have since spoken with Dan at Dakota Customs a few times (perhaps this thread helped?), he was very helpful once we made contact. I am going to reach back out to them, though the truck does not need a re-program as we suspected.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and input.
soo... can we still suggest option 3! haha. I wanna see that
 

kennyglm

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UPDATE: What this turned into was a cautionary tale for anyone getting work done these days.

This truck had fouled cats. Thats it.

--> The local performance shop was trying to rip me off, preparing me for thousands of dollars of work/tuning the truck didn't need.

--> AMW tried to sell me a complete tear down and rebuild for $30k. In their defense, they never saw the truck in person to diagnose it. But $30k, when the engine, transmission, harnesses, cooling, accessory drive, etc etc are already there? That was a joke.


I went on line... I bought Kooks Greencats (they weren't cheap but they flow like the rio grande) from Summit. I bought a section of 3" exhaust tubing.

I took these items to a local, cash only exhaust shop and explained what I needed... What we cut out of the exhaust today were completely fouled, cheap replacement catalytic converters (the tuner lied). The cats were replaced, some exhaust sections fixed (there were oxygen sensors in the system, though they weren't functioning properly).

Truck now runs like brand new.

And I have since spoken with Dan at Dakota Customs a few times (perhaps this thread helped?), he was very helpful once we made contact. I am going to reach back out to them, though the truck does not need a re-program as we suspected.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and input.
how did you figure out the csts were bad ?
 
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Johnny3

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how did you figure out the csts were bad ?
I always thought it was the cats... process of elimination confirmed.

The seller who sold it to me represented nothing wrong with the car. I flew to North Carolina and drove it before I paid him, it seemed ok. I drove it all the way back from NC (to CT about 700 miles) and it was 98* that day. It was something that happened (rather, got worse) along that trip. Cars dont just come "un-tuned".... especially in slow motion on a highway drive.

Separately, I previously owned an AEV 6.4L conversion... the cats became fouled on that one at one point and the symptoms were similar.

Once back in CT I took the Gladiator to well regarded tuner/speed shop (as mentioned) based on the fact they are a) a licensed Borla dealer and they build custom exhausts, b) versed in hellcat tuning (which was secondary). When I got the truck up there, and asked for new cats and an exhaust they started down the road with "I have never seen anything like this before" and "this car wont pass emissions... I think we need to do some major stuff here..." "then we will tune it - I think something is wrong with the tune - this isn't a cats problem - this thing doesn't even have cats on it!"

I do MOST of my own work on my cars... I should have been smarter.

Thats when I put up the original post.

Then I had sort of a sleazy sales experience with AMW.

Then I finally spoke with Dan McKeag, the owner of Dakota Customs. It was a good convo... he basically told me to get the exhaust back together and he would work with me to get it tuned.

So - I ordered parts, we put em on today... doesn't need the tune at all.

Again- It was the local cash guys (who do most of the dealership work under the table) who just put on the parts I asked them, without selling me on thousands and weeks of time, it took 2 hours.

Incredible.
 

Escape.idiocracy

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I find myself in a bit of a situation...

I bought a 2020 Hellcat Gladiator for, what anyone in their right mind would agree is a STUPID good deal. All the pieces are there, asthetically in amazing shape - 13k miles, a really nice truck, no regrets given the price paid. BUT, theres a reason that it was a stupid good deal... it runs like CR4P.

It doesn't start well, it kinda has a mind of its own on throttle, it has huge power delivery problems (under partial throttle acceleration > 3000rpm), the transmission shift points are really inconsistent and terrible for the street. It cruises the highway at 75mph GREAT, but thats not what I bought it for.

The (nationally recognized) shop that did the conversion briefly answered a first email but has failed to respond to follow up emails and several calls. I am still in touch with the seller, he's great, no issues there. He wasn't really up front about how poorly this is running but it was cheap and its not his car anymore - no biggie.

I took the Gladiator to a shop by me, well known for dyno tuning Hellcats, LTA/LT4s... they said they had never seen anything like this. There is no emissions equipment on the car (no cats - I think they were resonators, no oxygen sensors.... etc), the tune on the JT ECU is locked and the fuel system is sort of 'tricked'. The ECU thinks its a 5.7L (according to the tuners) and/or at times a 3.6L; at no time does it think its a supercharged 6.2L.

I had intended to use this Gladiator as a replacement daily driver, trailer hauler and enjoy the utility of the pick up bed. I have a few toys, including a dedicated off-road vehicle, I wasn't looking for this to be another.



My options:

1) Sell the truck as is, with FULL disclosure and let someone else take on the project
Pretty sure I am even money even after shipping the truck and paying the tax to register

2) Try to pursue the original builder further.
I didn't commission the build. Further, it was done almost 3 years ago... I dont really have any recourse; could there be an easy fix I am missing?!

3) Ship it to AMW for a PROPER conversion, including Tons, and enjoy it. I have been in touch with them (Jared has been awesome).
Pretty sure I am IN the money after a proper conversion... thats why someone would buy it from me now. BUT, going this route would mean that this Gladiator is no longer an ideal "daily"

3) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"maybe its something really cool that I dont even know about"



All input appreciated
Sounds like the pocket depth isn’t a concern…. So OPTION 3!!!!

Edit…. Still vote for ton’s dynatrac’s 😎

Can you post a video of some badass supercharged v8 gladiator doing badass supercharged v8 gladiator things…!?🍺👍🏼
 

JTPatriot

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I would still be cautious of the tune. If your cats are fouling, could be a number of things, tune over fueling or not setup properly with a boost tune, O2's not working properly and forcing over fueling or a combination of things. If Dakota Customs is willing or if you can find a honest tuner, have them check it out with data logs or dynoing it. Better safe than sorry and for piece of mind.
 

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Rusty PW

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I would still be cautious of the tune. If your cats are fouling, could be a number of things, tune over fueling or not setup properly with a boost tune, O2's not working properly and forcing over fueling or a combination of things. If Dakota Customs is willing or if you can find a honest tuner, have them check it out with data logs or dynoing it. Better safe than sorry and for piece of mind.
2X

If the cats are fouling. Find the reason why.
 

XJFanatic

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Thought fouling cats was normal, it just like cleaning a litter box
 
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Johnny3

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Thought fouling cats was normal, it just like cleaning a litter box
Funny but, in all seriousness the inside of your exhaust system actually looks like kitty litter when you pull it apart - ceramic element breaks down from the back pressure once it fouls/cogs.

I agree with the feedback above, will still get the tune looked at. Still need to replace one oxygen sensor first. Check engine light is on but running like a top.
 

@californiajeeping

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Why does it have cats 🫣
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