It really is a quick install. I've performed it twice now. My suggestion is to use a small 1/4" drive ratchet with a 1"-2" extension to get at the bolts holding the ECM in. I find the hardest part is getting to airbox back onto it's posts.

 

Have read you can only remove the top half/lid of the air box if you will and filter, may try that, I just hope its there when I get home and not have to wait on the UPS guy till 9 pm or something.

 

When i was undercoating behind my front wheel wells I pulled back the pass side plastic wheel well ( something like 4 or 6 screws) and the ECM is right there in front of you. I had also taken the wheel off though ( some people think it's too much work to remove the wheel ) but it's Super easy to get to ALL of the bolts and connectors.
Easy for me to work on in my garage so that's the way I'll probably do it. Just lettin ya know, options are a good thing......

 

@MAS, how did it go with the install? Mine is arriving today probably around noon 30 here in central Oklahoma. I have about 20,000 miles on my 2016 Laramie, so hoping it makes a big difference. Was wondering if you had any problems, if you even got to install it yet.

 

I was not able to get it put in last night. Ended up taking the toddler to play in some fake snow (snow is a big deal in south texas, doesn't happen often) at a local restraint and dinner with the inlaws, didn't get home till after 10 pm. Thankfully my GDE ecm was still leaned against the gate post at the end of the driveway... darn ups.

I will get it in tonight, I almost took it to work with me and did it at lunch, but its raining and I don't have covered parking. The procedure seems pretty simple though.

 

It is the best warranty you can purchase for your ED.

 

Whats the consensus on the best way to order one of these? Do the ECM swap(spendy)? Or just purchase an ECM outright(Really spendy)?

 

If I had to do it again would just get the ECM swap. I purchased mine and it wasn't worth it when you consider for $50.00 they will fix any overwrite issues. But the call is yours and what your comfort level is.

 

I guess the big worry would be if I have to take it into the dealer for anything. Don't want the GDE ECM in there and have the knuckleheads overwrite it or notice it and tell my warranty is voided or some crap like that.

 

I'm doing the swap on mine, I don't want to keep up with and extra.

 

For anyone who has done the exchange, how much did it cost to send the core back?

 

Its a tough choice IMO. It's nice to have the stock ECM on hand but an extra $650 for another ECM is not cheap.

 

I'm also doing the swap. Looked like most people that kept them said they just turned into paper weights. I just got mine installed with a few scuffed knuckles jacking with those bottom bolts. Everything else was easy cheesy. I used to run around in tow/haul mode to limit lag and keep rpm's up and now it seems to run more like that without putting it in tow/haul mode and without the higher rpm's.

 

@mas
I just sent mine back in a usps flat rate with $700 insurance for $20 I think. Without insurance was like$12. I shipped two different packages using the same size box so I could be off a dollar or two

 

As far as it being a paperweight, my stock ECM is still worth serious $$ when and if I decide to sell it when I sell my truck.
You'll love it. I took mine to the dealer to try and fix rambox issues and have taken it back 3 times now since they cant fix it. Took 15 minutes to swap the original unit back in. My mpgs have dropped from 21 to about 19.5 since so I cant wait to put the GDE unit back it, but mostly because the truck is much more responsive.
That 1/2 second lag when you stomp on the gas trying to clear an intersection gets old fast.

 

Got the tune installed, was miserable job after dark in the mid 30's raining and a stout north wind but didn't want to drag the boat out to make room in garage took me about 30 minutes start to finish.

First opinion is it drives like the truck ram wanted to build. Much more responsive a little more pep and looks like it will definitely help out the fuel mileage a bit. Had a little different sound at idle and actually seemed quieter while under way. Looking forward to putting some miles on it.

 

I installed mine this afternoon. Pretty straightforward install. Bottom two bolts a bit of a pain but not too bad. I had a much harder time getting that damn Kats heater cord to plug into the block heater.

My first impression is like yours. Throttle response is like night and day and feels like there’s a bit more power. It was close to 60 here today so didn’t get to check out the high idle option. Also took a good bit of driving to get the 90% regen message to go away.

Now I need to figure out the best way to get about 6 gallons of DEF out of the tank. I’m still not sure how I feel about leaving that tank dry indefinitely and the system unused for who knows how long. I kinda wish it was like prior year models where you could at least run distilled water if you want.

 

I'll probably end up ordering this tune in the next couple of months. Really love what I'm hearing about it. Also read that the tune for the 17 models does away with DEF?

 

The tune for all of them as I understand it does away with the def. You can put distilled water in it instead of DEF I believe.

I know there is a separate control module for the transmission, but the truck definitely upshifts sooner and holds gears longer, it with shift to 8th and hold it as low as 50, not a big fan of that, but its not much different than before other than before the tune it would shift to 8th at 50 with little throttle and then would downshift again right away.

Pretty pleased with it and I believe it will net me a little better fuel mileage too.

The DPF 90% full is the first time I have ever gotten any message like that, was uncomfortable but all went as the directions said it would. I had to drive longer than I would have thought to clear it. Happy so far and only regret is not doing it sooner.

 

Cool, I can't remember where I read the post but I was under the impression that only the 17's had the DEF delete. Maybe it was an older post? So is it actually still injecting the distilled water in the exhaust or is the distilled water just there to have something in the tank?

 

Maybe there is a difference, I do not know for sure.

 

According to GDE, 2017 tuned trucks turn the DEF off, as in your guage shows half full and you don't need anything in the tank. The rest of the model years (14-16) adjusts the sensors/parameters and you can run DEF or distilled water, but you have to run something and your guage still works.

 

Thanks for clearing that up!

 

I deleted when my truck had 25k miles, I'm now at 37k. I've reinstalled my tuned ECM twice, and to be honest, have not noticed any difference in power, although, I have noticed that the engine is MUCH hotter with the stock ECM. I would suspect that because the hot exhaust gasses are being pumped back into the intake, that would cause the engine to be hotter. I did NOT delete for any added power, or fuel mileage, I did it because it keeps the intake manifold clean of soot. eventually I plan to do a complete exhaust delete, but until then I am very happy with not pumping all that soot into my engine!! I'm hoping to keep this truck for a good 15 years, that's what I kept my last few vehicles for, and an ounce of prevention is worth the pound of soot!!

 

Another thing I have noticed is that the truck seems to perform much better in the cold. Before it was pretty sluggish when cold had a different sound to it as if it was struggling/too cold to run before the tune. Now it just sounds normal all the time even on cold start up.

 

Earlier question on DEF or distilled water injection - Mine does inject something with the GDE. You do drop and use what's in the tank.

The 2017's are probably not like that as I do not think there is any water/DEF injection. Would be good for GDE or a 2017 owner with GDE to provide a definitive answer.

 

I can't seem to find the thread where GDE specifically stated that DEF is turned off on 17 models but its around here somewhere. This leads me to another question. My DEF tank is 3/4 full. If I installed this tune soon is there an easy way to drain the DEF tank besides sticking a hose down the hole and siphoning? Obviously you don't want to leave anything sitting in there indefinitely. To tell you the truth I think I'd almost prefer that it still used DEF or distilled water like the prior year models. I'm not exactly comfortable with draining the tank dry and having functioning parts sitting dormant on the truck for years unused. Have to go back to stock tune for some reason and then you have something in the DEF system that's not working.

 

Here's the thread that GDE confirms the 17 no DEF usage and why.

http://www.ram1500diesel.com/forum/green-diesel-engineering/47761-want-tune-newbie-2.html

 

Well just pulled the trigger on the GDE tune. Got the regen message and high idle option. Now I’m off to go rob a bank.....