Check the Fan Shroud on your Ram Cummins
A 90 degree section of the rubber fan shroud on my new 2016 Ram 3500 6.7 (800 mi.) was somehow pulled in towards the fan. The rubber fragments spewed everywhere damaging the fan shroud and radiator. I was very fortunate. Many have their radiator punctured loosing all their coolant. Apparently it's not an uncommon occurrence. It's happened to a few on cumminsforum.com, plus the service manager at a local dealer said he's personally seen two other trucks with the torn shroud (both lost all coolant).
There doesn't appear to be a definitive reason why this happens. Possibly a design flaw, or the shroud wasn't installed correctly at the factory. In any case, I'd suggest checking to make sure the rubber shroud is contacting the radiator shroud completely (not folded or tucked in behind the radiator shroud). Some folks are using small plastic inserts to secure the rubber shroud to the hard plastic radiator shroud. A great idea if your truck is out of warranty. If your truck is still under warranty this fix could be construed as contributing to the problem if something were to happen---potentially voiding any warranty repairs. So, be careful.
Speaking of warranty repairs, I had a local dealer (one of two) go above the call of duty yesterday. First dealer I visited responded in the typical dealer fashion: can't do anything till next week, sorry---end of story. Called the 2nd dealer---totally different response! Yup, we're busy as hell, but go ahead and bring your truck down around 4pm and our diesel tech will at least take a quick look before he leaves for the day. Arrived at 4pm. Within 10 minutes the service adviser, diesel tech, and service manager, agreed to replace the radiator, fan shroud, and fan. 30 minutes later they had the parts on order and firmed up a day/time to do the repair. Awesome service! If this service ends the way it started I'll definitely be spreading a good word about this dealer's service department. All-in-all, a good end to a very disappointing day.
There doesn't appear to be a definitive reason why this happens. Possibly a design flaw, or the shroud wasn't installed correctly at the factory. In any case, I'd suggest checking to make sure the rubber shroud is contacting the radiator shroud completely (not folded or tucked in behind the radiator shroud). Some folks are using small plastic inserts to secure the rubber shroud to the hard plastic radiator shroud. A great idea if your truck is out of warranty. If your truck is still under warranty this fix could be construed as contributing to the problem if something were to happen---potentially voiding any warranty repairs. So, be careful.
Speaking of warranty repairs, I had a local dealer (one of two) go above the call of duty yesterday. First dealer I visited responded in the typical dealer fashion: can't do anything till next week, sorry---end of story. Called the 2nd dealer---totally different response! Yup, we're busy as hell, but go ahead and bring your truck down around 4pm and our diesel tech will at least take a quick look before he leaves for the day. Arrived at 4pm. Within 10 minutes the service adviser, diesel tech, and service manager, agreed to replace the radiator, fan shroud, and fan. 30 minutes later they had the parts on order and firmed up a day/time to do the repair. Awesome service! If this service ends the way it started I'll definitely be spreading a good word about this dealer's service department. All-in-all, a good end to a very disappointing day.
