So..... Pulling a 3 horse trailer which is about 8000 lbs up over wolf creek pass in Colorado I sustained 1475 exhaust temp for over 4 minutes. The outside temp was 79. To get it to "cool off" to 1475 I had to set the edge at stock. When I had it on tow it was running around 1535. Also, my engine temp went to 245. I backed it off before it went higher. I do the return trip tomorrow. Since this truck is suppose to be able to pull much more then 8k should I just put her to the floor and let her melt? I am very frustrated in this truck. I had a guy with Dodge and a six horse trailer pass me going up the hill. He would of been about 5-6k heavier then my rig. Kinda Pi---- me off. Also when towing the trailer in the mountains it used 1 quart of oil in 300 miles. My truck has 39000 miles on it. Any one else have this kind of luck in the mountains with the Duramax? What is the hottest and longest some of you run your EGT to?

Based on your signature, I would say #1, you need an exhaust to help you get rid of that heat. Then I would suggest a boost stick to also help with EGT's. Then I would read up on the overheat threads. Depending on how you want to drive the truck when towing, (i.e. you want to pass that dodge) you might want to invest in a v2. Also, make sure you keep your air filter clean. My old LLY would heat up more when I had a dirty air filter.

Yep, sounds like another overheating LLY. EGTs are much higher than I've ever got mine though, that seems weird.

You can start here; http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170192

I regularly tow through the Grapevine pass. Couple days ago the outside air temp was 125 per the temp gauge (really) the hottest I've ever seen. It's a steep grade and I tow a 15K lb trailer (can weight more at times). Here's what I do to keep the engine and exhaust temps down...

drop it into 3rd gear (Allison), go 50-55 mph, set the cruise. The higher rpm's will dramatically lower your exhaust and therefore your engine temps.

Ya, I hate to do any more mods to the thing. I already have to mess around taking the Edge off when I take it into the shop which seems like once every 2-3 months for one thing or another. It's just frustrating because I would expect a stock truck to do the things it should without putting mods on it.

I did put a new air filter on it because it I noticed it was using oil a few months ago while towing. The indicator for the air filter still said the filter was better then 50% but the dealer said those don't work at all. Good thing it has that stupid thing too!

I would certainly do the 4" exhaust, the truck will run better for you. I bought mine via ebay, then took it down to a local muffler shop and had them put it on. I recall the exhaust system cost $300 and the install $125. What ever it was it was certainly worth it.

Ya, I hate to do any more mods to the thing. I already have to mess around taking the Edge off when I take it into the shop which seems like once every 2-3 months for one thing or another. It's just frustrating because I would expect a stock truck to do the things it should without putting mods on it.

I did put a new air filter on it because it I noticed it was using oil a few months ago while towing. The indicator for the air filter still said the filter was better then 50% but the dealer said those don't work at all. Good thing it has that stupid thing too!
I hear ya! I agree you shouldn't have to do anything to the truck to get it to perform under rated limits. Unfortunately, the LLY has a known problem with overheating. GM knows about it and won't fix it. Thankfully, there is an aftermarket fix and I and others have taken it (truck with aftermarket fix) into the dealer and had no problems with warranty work. My dealer actually was so impressed with the V2 that he asked where to get them so he could refer his other OH'ing customers to the site. Sad but true. A CAI would help you also and can be had fairly cheap. All these suggested mods could stay on the truck while at the dealer for warranty work with the exception of the boost stick. (but that goes in and out quick and easy after initial install with the extension) My truck goes in with aftermarket exhaust and V2 and never had the dealer mention it. It's all what you feel comfortable with though...

Ya, I hate to do any more mods to the thing. I already have to mess around taking the Edge off when I take it into the shop which seems like once every 2-3 months for one thing or another. It's just frustrating because I would expect a stock truck to do the things it should without putting mods on it.

I did put a new air filter on it because it I noticed it was using oil a few months ago while towing. The indicator for the air filter still said the filter was better then 50% but the dealer said those don't work at all. Good thing it has that stupid thing too!

You're kidding me right? Imagine you needed to run the bleachers at the stadium, and they gave you a shot of super energy stuff that will give you a big boost in energy and power. Now you have to breathe through a three layer dust mask... Not going to do as well are you?

If you are going to add extra fuel to the engine, you need to add extra air as well. Then with all that extra air, you need to increase the capacity to evacuate the air. A cold air intake like Banks, Volant etc... and a 4" exhaust like RBP, MBRP, Banks, Magnaflow etc.(name one) will have you breathing easier and will help bring down the exhaust temps.

I may just jump out tomorrow on the way home and let it run off the edge of the mountain. We will see what kind of mood I am in and what else goes wrong with this thing!

I may just jump out tomorrow on the way home and let it run off the edge of the mountain. We will see what kind of mood I am in and what else goes wrong with this thing!

$1500 for a V2 and a 4 inch exhaust would do wonders for your truck. Plus the are alot cheaper than vehiculer manslaughter when you kill someone with your truck. :D

and a CAI can be had for $60.

Made it back over Wolf Creek pass in Colorado. I kept it in 3rd and about 50mph and was able to keep the EGT's at 1375, I think that still sucks when pulling less then 8k. Also the eng temp was steady at 234 and the outside temp was 54 degrees on top of the pass. On the 350 miles on the way home it used about 3/4 of a quart of oil. I love this truck for everything but pulling. Looks like I may need to budget a new dodge or ford in the next few years for pulling a new horse trailer that will be about 12k loaded. Still bugs the heck out of me that I would need to mod the truck to pull much less then the truck is rated for. One the way home I was wishing I had the phone number of any GM garage that would listen! Ok, Just Venting......

and a CAI can be had for $60.


Where do I get it for that little money? and What kind is it?

Where do I get it for that little money? and What kind is it?

www.coolmyduramax.com (http://www.coolmyduramax.com) :D while you're there order a v2 w/fan and your overheating and fan cussing days will be gone.

yeah ok sodfarmer looks like a great idea. But there are really no good pics of it there. I know he probably doesn't want anyone to see so they make their own but the pics sell it for me. I need to see what i am buying ya know what I mean. So is there any pics out there that show what it really is? he says on the site that he uses stock box and everything so what isit that its doing? Is he just swisschessing it or what?

You know, it is stories like these that make me think of those people pulling trailers without gauges who have no idea what the EGT's are at. With the mods and setup I have now, the max EGT's I see are around 1250 pulling my toy hauler. The TxC CAI is probably next just for the increase in fuel milage and decrease further in EGT's.

my friend in his 03 dodge going up wolf creek pass with a four horse slant trailer can see 1550 stock.

What was the backdown temp set at on the Attitude adjuster?

If you havent added a real CAI on your truck, you will never be happy with the EGTs or power when that fan comes on, it doesnt matter what else you do to the truck.

I pulled the same pass with a high profile 16K toy hauler and had no issues.

4" exhaust, V2, TX CAI, Blocked EGR, Boost Stick, Edge with Attitude 2/2, and a little home grown stack sealing.

yeah ok sodfarmer looks like a great idea. But there are really no good pics of it there. I know he probably doesn't want anyone to see so they make their own but the pics sell it for me. I need to see what i am buying ya know what I mean. So is there any pics out there that show what it really is? he says on the site that he uses stock box and everything so what isit that its doing? Is he just swisschessing it or what?



http://www.coolmyduramax.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50
No you don't swisscheese the box. It is a big piece of rubber that seals the airbox from sucking hot engine air. Above is a link that has more pictures.

If you are looking for something impressive looking for when you pop the hood to show your buddies, this is not it. If you are looking for something that is inexpensive and delivers great results, you found it.

D Lafleur, I had the back down temp set at 1500 just to see what it would do. And yup, it used it all up! So your telling me that a CAI will fix my EGT's? I notice no power loss at all when the fan comes on, just the darn noise. To me, it seems like the power loss is no biggie when it comes to the fan. This is if I am pulling a load or just going up a hill with no load.

D Lafleur, I had the back down temp set at 1500 just to see what it would do. And yup, it used it all up! So your telling me that a CAI will fix my EGT's? I notice no power loss at all when the fan comes on, just the darn noise. To me, it seems like the power loss is no biggie when it comes to the fan. This is if I am pulling a load or just going up a hill with no load.

The Cai will not solve your egt by itself. It will help alot though. A 4 inch turbo back exhaust without the cat will drop your egts by about 200 degrees.

ya, I thought I would need the exhaust but then you have warrenty issues pluss you are out several hundred bucks on a truck that should not need these mods.

I disagree. I think a stock truck does not "need" these mods, but when you start adding power to the engine, with the mods you have already done, you gotta feed it. Intake (CAI) and exhaust are necessary when you are making more power.
Get cooler air in, hot exhaust air out and away quicker and your EGT's will come down. Also, add a boost stick and your EGT's will come down a little more. You are saying you shouldn't have to do these mods to a stock truck, but at the same time, you aren't running a stock truck...

ya, I thought I would need the exhaust but then you have warrenty issues pluss you are out several hundred bucks on a truck that should not need these mods.

Sounds like you have 3 options. 1. Sell the truck and lose money. 2. Spend some money and force Gm to buy your truck back. 3. Spend some money and fix the problems on your truck.

I chose to fix the problems because I felt it was cheaper than the other 2 options.

I disagree. I think a stock truck does not "need" these mods, but when you start adding power to the engine, with the mods you have already done, you gotta feed it.

I have seen 1500* with stock programming with exhaust. It is easy to do. Adding more fuel may make it run cooler, but air movement in and out is key.

Blksmok, The high EGT's are running it stock. So if you are to have cool EGT's you must do some type of mod or take the chance of cooking something.

I also went over wolf creek pass twice with a 8K lb, 3 horse trailer( see my garage) and twice without it.
I don't have gauges but was running stock everything.
It did great!
Tow haul coming down the mountain was amazing, the engine and tranny ran very chilly!!
On the way up, (80 deg outside) the fan ran quite a bit towards the top, engine temp got to about 230-235 very briefly. Tranny temp was at 220.

Only for about 2 minutes right before I hit the peak.

I really enjoyed going over wolf creek pass. Living in Kansas, I don't get to put my duramax to the test very often.

On the return trip (40 deg outside), the engine was at 225, tranny at 200. Did much better on the return( heading back to Kansas- I'm sure it had to do with the outside temp being much lower).

If you are running completely stock, I wouldn't worry about EGT's. If GM isn't worried about them I wouldn't be... Once you start adding things to the engine, you are taking things into your own hands and you have to take some responsibility. Thus, CAI and Exhaust are high on the list. I never towed with mine stock...Exhaust went on almost immediatly.

With my PPE my egts are almost the same while towing stock or on level 2(90hp) tune. I have guages and like I said my egts run about 700-1150. Not a very hot tuner but safe I guess they say.

I have the exact same problem with my lly and I have straight exhaust, it helped but egts are still aroun 1350 with the Bully Dog on the stock setting. I also have a AEM Brute force intake. I also just got a fingerstick and egr blocker I havent installed yet. What the heck is this v2 you guys are talking about. I love my truck and anything I can do to make it run longer is a plus. I just ignore the pyro anymore if the engine goes I would rather have an lb7 anyway.

The LLY engines have a known problem with overheating under certain conditions. Most people will never see these conditions, but for the few of us that do, there is an auxilliary radiator known as the V2 that will fix the problem.

I have the exact same problem with my lly and I have straight exhaust, it helped but egts are still aroun 1350 with the Bully Dog on the stock setting. I also have a AEM Brute force intake. I also just got a fingerstick and egr blocker I havent installed yet. What the heck is this v2 you guys are talking about. I love my truck and anything I can do to make it run longer is a plus. I just ignore the pyro anymore if the engine goes I would rather have an lb7 anyway.
What he said ^^^ but here is the website. coolmydmax.com

I just towed my 32 foot 10,000 lbs camper in the moutains of pa this weekend and the most i saw on the edge was 1290 up hills with the a/c on,i can tell you since exhaust and taking the kitty off egts went way down.Also the boost stick helps alot too,remember keep the edge on no more than #2 for towing,Hope this helps.

My truck always runs high EGT's and I have the Banks turboback exaust,CAI,boost stick,egr blocked,built tranny,stackseal. td-eoc. I use the edge attitude for the tunes and the preditor(sp)for EGR disable only. My egt's will run 1500 easy and it doesn't matter what level I'm towing in. I haven't noticed a difference with or with out the cat. probly the only thing that will really drop EGT's is a different turbo. I tow a 30' weekend warrior that weighs in at around 11k. To get my egt's down I have to back off the gas and that means doing about 45-50mph up the hill. Then it's real embarassing when my brother-n-law blows by me doing 75 plus mph in his 04 dodge pulling the same load that I am. Even with the edge set on 5 I still can't keep up.

bsanders, ya, I feel your pain, certainly not the pulling truck that I had hoped for. I am thinking about keeping my lly for driving unloaded and buying a dodge for pulling.

maybe you guys should try a handheld programmer, My egt's are fine and within the limits even in our humid climate uphills towing. Just a thought. They all build power and heat different i think.

My truck always runs high EGT's and I have the Banks turboback exaust,CAI,boost stick,egr blocked,built tranny,stackseal. td-eoc. I use the edge attitude for the tunes and the preditor(sp)for EGR disable only. My egt's will run 1500 easy and it doesn't matter what level I'm towing in. I haven't noticed a difference with or with out the cat. probly the only thing that will really drop EGT's is a different turbo. I tow a 30' weekend warrior that weighs in at around 11k. To get my egt's down I have to back off the gas and that means doing about 45-50mph up the hill. Then it's real embarassing when my brother-n-law blows by me doing 75 plus mph in his 04 dodge pulling the same load that I am. Even with the edge set on 5 I still can't keep up.
What level is the edge set on when you tow. Where is your EGT probe? I tow a 40' warrior the same place you do and don't see EGT's that high unless I'm trying to run too much tune. We should hook up and you could tow my trailer up 87 to test that td-eoc...You have a 5er hitch?

The question that blksmok posed is interesting concerning the placement of the egt probe. I tend to run higher egt's as well. Honestly after I turned the edge down to stock and it was still high (over 1400 pulling up hill) I stopped worrying about it. Sometimes a gauge is a not necessarrily a good thing. I understand the egt's are critical but what do you do when yours reads over 1200 just accelerating unloaded and the edge no higher than level 3? (again, not that it makes a difference on my rig) I say let it blow and have GM fix it.

Does anyone know how much warranty trouble there is for removing a cat? I tend to agree with alot of these guys that are confused as to why we need to spend $$$$ on exhaust/performance parts to get these trucks to do what they were designed to do in the first place.

Just wondering.... pulling 10,000 lbs over the hills, how does a gas engine compare with the lly. Will a 454 or the 8.1L outperform a very warm LLY. If is does then there is definately a problem with these trucks. GM charges more on the sticker for the diesel "upgrade".

From what I understand, there is no comparison in pulling power between the diesel and even a big block like the 454 or 8.1L. Mielage for starters won't even be close. I thought I read somewhere that some of GM's gas engines were prone to overheating as well? If you work any engine hard enough, it will overheat. Maybe some of the guys that have pulled similar loads with both the 8.1 and 6.6 will chime in to clarify?

i will vouch for the overheating but maybe this is cuz of certain circumstances but i had a 6.0l gasser and id overheat every time the plow went on it no matter what angle or height. Also overheated once while pulling a trailer maybe 10k but it was ohhh 95+ outside.

What level is the edge set on when you tow. Where is your EGT probe? I tow a 40' warrior the same place you do and don't see EGT's that high unless I'm trying to run too much tune. We should hook up and you could tow my trailer up 87 to test that td-eoc...You have a 5er hitch?

It doesn't matter what level I tow in it's all the same. The only difference is on the higher levels it gets to 1400 faster than on the lower levels. The lower levels gets to the same egts as the higher ones it just takes a little longer. I have two egt probes. One is place on the pass side manifold and the other is post turbo. There is about 200-300 degree difference between the two readings( manifold being higher) I would love to pull your trailer but I don't have a fifth wheel hitch. I would suspect your truck acts completely different than mine is becouse your motor is alot different.

It doesn't matter what level I tow in it's all the same. The only difference is on the higher levels it gets to 1400 faster than on the lower levels. The lower levels gets to the same egts as the higher ones it just takes a little longer. I have two egt probes. One is place on the pass side manifold and the other is post turbo. There is about 200-300 degree difference between the two readings( manifold being higher) I would love to pull your trailer but I don't have a fifth wheel hitch. I would suspect your truck acts completely different than mine is becouse your motor is alot different.
True, but I pulled this trailer with my last truck which was an '05 LLY. I'm very familiar with how your truck would pull my trailer. (just not with the td-eoc) I'd love to do it to get some data on that td-eoc. Not worth installing a 5er hitch though...

True, but I pulled this trailer with my last truck which was an '05 LLY. I'm very familiar with how your truck would pull my trailer. (just not with the td-eoc) I'd love to do it to get some data on that td-eoc. Not worth installing a 5er hitch though...

To much work and to dang hot out right now. Did you notice a difference between the two trucks?

Yeah. Biggest difference? The LBZ can turn the temps around with the engine fan whereas the LLY would just keep climbing. The LBZ was still getting warmer than I like before it would chase the temps back down with the engine fan, not to mention the power the engine fan robs from you when you need it most so I went ahead and put the V2 on it. Now I NEVER hear my engine fan while empty and only rarely hear it while towing. Even when it does engage, it's only for a few minutes if that and then it's gone again.

just a post about egts pulling horse trailer with edge across colorado that happens because of the extra fuel poring in to your motor which will shorten engine life or blow her up these manufacturers dont tell you this but there is one safe module out there that gives the power and fuel economy and doesnt pour all that fuel in motor go to dr performance.com and read about predator power module these people are honest about there product