5.7 Running Rich

[lancec19]

I have a 2007 Dodge Ram that I have recently replaced the heads on, with some re-manufactured ones.

Since I have replaced the heads, I have not been able to get the tune back to running properly; it runs rich, with grey smoke and black residue on the concrete.

I have replaced all 4 O2 sensors since they were bad. One of the O2 sensors I had to weld in a new seat about 4 inches ahead of the old one (driver side front O2 sensor)

I have replaced all the other sensors in this truck.

I have not replaced any injectors or the intake (these are the only items left on the truck that have not been replaced)

The only nonstock items are a CompCams Camshaft #112-300-11, MDS Delete, and MSD Blaster OEM Replacement Coils 82558

I am attaching my last tune file and also my last scan.

Where do I go from here to get this truck out of my garage and on the street? Looking for some advice. My goal for the truck is to have a daily driver that I can use off-road for Hunting and Fishing without worrying about wear and tear.

Should I invest in a Ballenger AFR500v2 with NTK Sensor for wideband O2?

Thanks in advance, you guys have given me great advice in the past.

[Team_hellcat]

your ve table looks like rocky mountain , your 02 delay ugly and to see all tq tables like someone played inny minny mighty moe catch a tiger by the toe !!!
i do not have stock file to compare but based on first look off tip of my tongue these are things sticking out to me using ten seconds of my time
ve table needs love
o2 stuff back to stuff
possible vaccum or exhaust leak on driver side or when cam was installed one of grounds

[gulfcoastauto]

Grey Smoke? White smoke is coolant with a smell you cant mistake. Black sooty smoke from running rich.
But I have recently seen a grey smoke , a dusty smoke from a truck with a very bad clogged cat.

Why new heads?

Any misfires?

Intake valves not letting in enough air could cause that rich condition.

[lancec19]

New heads since the old original ones had burnt valves. I started the tune over from where I had gotten the old system idling; the tune file attached is mostly stock other than my trying to get it idling properly. Nothing in VE tables other than messing around to see if changes made it better or worse (since there was no change, I assume this is a physical issue)

I will take out the O2 sensor and reweld the mount this weekend (it is possible that there is a pinhole there)
I will also spray some soapy water on the intake to see if there are bubbles (maybe I don't have the intake fully seated.

[PurpleRam]

Not to be that guy
head bolts new?
Who did the heads?

[lancec19]

I purchased re-manufactured ones from Summit Racing, I wanted to get new Edlebrock Heads, but they have been out of stock now for years.

I still have the original heads, but they would need a professional valve job since that is above my skill and tool level.

New head bolts, new rocker arms, bolts, gaskets, sensors, etc. Most of the motor has now been replaced

[PurpleRam]

Summit has a good replacement, so that eliminates warped heads, eddy heads need a lot of work to be worth it, so no big loss there, AFR was going to bring a g3 head out this past year, but they decided to postpone it , might never happen.

I will look at the tune and logs tonight, I will get Ray to post a stock 07/08 ram file today, between him and his kid they’ll have 1 if not a hundred, The cam your using i ran that on stock file with some success, it’s the largest that can be ran in the 03’s with out cracking that waste of a pcm ,

Have you done a compression test with the new heads?

[lancec19]

I have not done a compression test yet; I do have the tester, though, so can "learn that" and test it as well.

I used an 06 and an 08 stock file to initially set up the computer. (the computer was replaced, and the "replacement" computer had some very strange settings in it.)

[rays04gtx]

Here are 2 stock tunes , and the 3rd is a modifed verson of your tune.


08 Ram 5.7 6M Base.hpt07 Ram 1173 stock.hpt9816 Tune Aa.hpt

[SleepyRT]

Before you go diving into the ECU do some basic trouble shooting. First things first, pull and read the plugs. If they're clean and bright you have a coolant leak. If they're dark and sooty then you're running rich. If they are a nice light tan, you're golden. If all you have is sooty plugs, call Summit and find out if they surfaced the heads (typical during a recon). If they did, then have then send you the correct thickness of head gasket. That will correct the compression ratio back to stock and return you to your stock VE. Alternatively, you can carefully adjust your VE to accommodate the smaller cylinder volume and higher compression ratio. It's important to remember that these heads have squish areas that hold fuel and cool the piston edges. This prevents flash over and ring land carbonization. If you reduce the squish area the engine will run rich and the piston edges won't get cooled properly. The O2 sensor will tell the ECU that the engine is running rich, but it will only go lean a known safe amount. I suggest you avoid running under a load until you get it straightened out.

[lancec19]

Thank you all for the advice, pointers, and review; I did find that there was a 1-2 millimeter seam where I didn't correctly weld the new spot for the Drivers side O2 sensor (as many people have said in other posts, check for physical issues first). Upon fixing that, it now idles like I imagined it should have with an initial tune.

For those new to tuning, I am still new to tuning as well (I have tuned 1.5 vehicles now). I have posted the updated tune and the initial scan at idle.

[lancec19]

@rays04gtx - your files helped me a lot, thank you!