Your input is appreciated.
I have owned diesels since 1995 with the F250 and 7.3 IDI and took diesel fundamentals in college. I live at 5200 ft above sea level and have passes that range from 8-10000 feet to get out of the valley and it is windy in Wyoming and the FJ40 is as aerodynamic as a brick. The 2F would struggle to do 55 westbound on I-80 until a truck blocked the wind. I put gauges on my 2005 Dodge which included fuel pressure, boost, EGT, and the transmission temp of the G56 transmission. Then the 2 6.7s I have had I use the Edge monitor and boost and EGT are what I use it the most for. I use the boost and EGT to tell if I am in the right gear when pulling a grade, if my boost is low and my EGTs are high I know I need to down shift to get more air flowing across the head. I had a collapsed air filter on my 2012 Ram and it ran terrible and was pulling my 5th wheel against the wind on I-80 in Nevada and was not paying attention to the EGTs because the 6.7 doesn't get high temps normally. But noticed that they were up to 1500 and had to pay attention and slow down.
I do not have any operating experience with this motor so I want to have real time information.
I was also told that there is no fast idle for cold weather like my other 4 Cummins I have owned so eventually they may entail a tune.
1500 seems oddly/dangerously high, but if you have a tuner box, or have reflashed the ecu, that'll do it. LOL
I've had two diesel pickups, and 01 Dodge Ram 2500, and a 18 Fiat RAM RAM 3500. That 01 was a great vehicle, the 18 was just garbage. I had a programer stacked with a tuner box on the 01, Southbend clutch, cold air intake, exhaust, FASS lift pump as well. I loved that pickup. Great power, great mileage. That 6.7 was such a disappointment, and the amount of money you have to spend on the Mercedes van transmission to get it to hold any power is astronomical. I did like the light clutch pedal though. I wish they would've stuck with the NV5600, that was a fantastic transmission for longevity. I bought a Ford F350 with a gas engine to replace the RAM RAM. I get slightly less mileage, costs half changing the oil, and saved $10k on the purchase price, and I don't have the time bomb of emissions crap. Modern diesels are a joke being saddled with the emissions equipment.
I've bitched at Cummins numerous times about there not being a high idle on the R2.8. My vp44 pumped pickup, it had 3 cylinder high idle. I miss that. It'd warm up fast dragging three cylinders. The 18 would close the exhaust brake, and that kinda did the same thing. Worked it a bit to build temps faster.
It requires a massive radiator to keep the R2.8 cool when you're working it, so it takes forever to warm up, but it heat soaks fast when you start working it. I don't know if they screwed the pooch on coolant volume in the block, or if the water pump is undersized. Or both. It builds coolant temp fast. It's pretty rare that you actually get to use the accelerator that much though. Snow wheeling is about the only time where I've held that thing at or close to governor for extended periods of time.
I have to cover my radiator at about 30 degrees if I expect to have heat and I'm just driving down the road. I've never seen temps get very high with the setup that Proffitt did on mine. I don't think I've seen water temps over 200 ever, and that was AC cranked, and 108 degree air temp in Salt Lake City.
The other absolutely infuriating thing about the programming on the R2.8 is that the alternator does not kick on if you just start it and let it idle. It needs sustained engine RPM over about 1500 for a certain amount of time, or the water temp to be above 100F. In colder months, where I'll start it and go back into the house, I'll come back with a low voltage code because the alternator isn't engaged. The pulley is turning, but it's not putting any juice into the system.
