RedSRT4Me
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2015
- Posts
- 2,814
- Reaction score
- 2,279
- Location
- Scottsdale, Az
- Ram Year
- 2015 CC Sport
- Engine
- 5.7
Ok boys and girls buckle up this is a long journey to finally pass AZ emissions
Quick run down of the previous build that had passed
5.7 Hemi
aFe 1 3/4 Long tubes. Catted Y-pipe. 3.5" mid pipe. Carven R muffler 5" tips
Clutch fan delete to efan.
180° tstat
Mopar CAI with hood scoop
Hellcat TB
Diablo i3 pcm/tcm tune for 91 octane
4.56 rear gear
This setup lasted about 120,000 miles
I had a spark plug ground strap let go in the cyl and wreak havoc over time. My fault I kept driving it with a weird random misfire at that time. I really didn't have time to have the engine pulled, machined and possibly fixed. A reman 5.7 at the time was the same cost as the 6.4L SRT w mds hemi.
What was added was truck 6.4L intake manifold, S&B 6.4 intake, 6.4 windage tray. 6.4 truck injectors. PCM/TCM was same tuner. I also changed the Carven R out for a Magnaflow direct fit to quiet it down some. Honestly the cold start was similar to a Jet engine firing up. My neighbors hated me
Eventually the OEM oil cooler. ( this engine needs it but I would recommend air over water if I could give you the best advise) OEM works at removing heat faster but doesn't stop it from getting in the 240°s after repeated pulls, towing or mountain climbing.
No cooler at all can easily get in the 250-260 range.
The SRT Engine is a really nice upgrade. Yes having to run 91 or better all the time is costly but doing it over again I would absolutely do it. The pull to redline is awesome. Where the 5.7 felt like it died over 70+ mph the 6.4 continues pulling hard. For the money the power in my opinion is comparable to a centrifugal supercharger upgrade. The charger might have a touch more on the top end depending on supporting mods.
Now with the backend story done fast forward to February of this year. 20,000 miles on the new build. No issues what so ever. I go to get my tags renewed and I fail the test. The person who did my test was really rude and didn't give me much info other than I failed due to recalls. The two recalls were the cruise-control and the shift knob software. How I passed previous years but fail now is beyond me but that's the cards I was dealt.
Here is where it gets interesting. I tried researching what is the correct process for how to get these recalls taken care of while keeping my current tune intact and I can tell you it really doesn't exist. I used AI to aide me and the advice it gave was flat out wrong. It told me I could have the recalls fixed and be perfectly fine with the tune.
So I went in to have the recalls fixed, adamant to not have the vehicle flashed and took the truck back. Right away I noticed the mds is kicking on so I know the software is changed. I'm now in debate on whether I should just go to the emissions testing as is and try again or try and fix the tune. Well I tried to fix the tune. I contacted Diablo explained the situation, and was advised by the person on the phone to return the truck back to stock to flash it again. This is wrong. Returning the truck back to stock resulted in the tuner bricking the PCM. I call Diablo back explain the situation and this person tells me "we would never advise you to do this" Im explaining I was doing exactly what I was advised but getting no where. He asks me does the truck start? No it doesn't even turn over. The PCM is bricked. I had the truck towed to the dealer to see if they could help me. They call me back and asked what I did. I explain and they tell me they can't fix it. They said there is no software on the PCM at all. So plan B is send the PCM and tuner back to Diablo to have them reset or fix it. I get the PCM back but I cannot flash the truck with my tune.
When you have any software changed on your truck factory or modified it changes the backup which is how Diablo does its checks. If the backup is changed all your tunes have to be updated with the new backup. You need the person who made your tunes to update these with a fee of course. All of your old tunes are now worthless.
My problem was I was on a deadline at the time to get my truck to pass emissions before the end of February which was like 2 weeks away and I couldn't get ahold of my tuner. My only option was to find another one. Locally shops wanted $2000 and to switch to HP tuners but I was not willing go that route. I did find another reputable tuner that got me going but now I'm dealing with cat codes 0420/0430. I swear I didn't have these problems prior to the recall updates but now I can't go back.
I cannot speak on HP tuners but if you have Diablo and you do what I did the only resolution is to send your PCM and tuner back to them to have everything reset. Even if I had set my truck back to stock, did the recalls and try to flash the truck back would still end in failure. Your tunes are created on one back up and your new back up is now changed. The other thing I didn't realize is all your AlphaOBD changes have been reset My HID's kept going out right away because the truck was reset back to halogen. What an absolute PITA.
After getting that all sorted out (hell) I was back to reset for emissions. I fail again. Reason being is they said could not read my O2 sensors or cats. I report back to the tuner and revisions are made but the truck isn't happy. I start getting the 219A and B codes along with the 0420/0430. I attempted spacers which introduced new problems. Do spacers get rid of 20/30 yes. But they get replaced with new problems such as 0159 and 0157 I think are the correct codes along with 2271 and 2273. Basically either the rear O2's are lazy and or stuck rich. After what felt like weeks of banging my head against a brick wall I decided to replace the O2 sensors. In hindsight with the 180,000 miles on them it's a no brainer to replace them but when your mind is stressed with problem solving it didn't occur till that point.
So with new O2's in and no permanent or pending codes I go back to test again and fail AGAIN. Same issue, testing center cannot see O2 sensors or cats. Now when your tuner says they don't turn off the CEL light this is true however if they disable it for says cats you will fail the testing in AZ. The system says your vehicle is not ready for testing or tapered with. After sorting that out and getting them turned back on I drive yet another 100 miles to get the system ready to test again.
I go in and the day has finally come. I've passed with 3 month absolute pain in my pass problem to get my tags. I couldn't explain the feelings in that moment but I'm extremely happy it's over.
I'm writing this to hopefully save any of you who read this from the fate and problems I experienced. There were plenty of times I wanted to burn the truck down, sell it etc.
None is it was anyone's fault but my own. Ignorance, and lack of information in the moment is what got me there.
Some of you have pm'd me asking if the 6.4 swap was worth it. I confidently can say yes the swap is still worth it but realize future problems can come up and there aren't many who can guide you on this path.
If this isn't for you get yourself one of the 6.4 rumble bees with the scat pak upgrade. That engine is exactly what I have minus the new oil cooler you can see in the photo.
I'll do my best to update the thread with my typos or gibberish that doesn't make sense if anyone has questions.
Red
Quick run down of the previous build that had passed
5.7 Hemi
aFe 1 3/4 Long tubes. Catted Y-pipe. 3.5" mid pipe. Carven R muffler 5" tips
Clutch fan delete to efan.
180° tstat
Mopar CAI with hood scoop
Hellcat TB
Diablo i3 pcm/tcm tune for 91 octane
4.56 rear gear
This setup lasted about 120,000 miles
I had a spark plug ground strap let go in the cyl and wreak havoc over time. My fault I kept driving it with a weird random misfire at that time. I really didn't have time to have the engine pulled, machined and possibly fixed. A reman 5.7 at the time was the same cost as the 6.4L SRT w mds hemi.
What was added was truck 6.4L intake manifold, S&B 6.4 intake, 6.4 windage tray. 6.4 truck injectors. PCM/TCM was same tuner. I also changed the Carven R out for a Magnaflow direct fit to quiet it down some. Honestly the cold start was similar to a Jet engine firing up. My neighbors hated me
Eventually the OEM oil cooler. ( this engine needs it but I would recommend air over water if I could give you the best advise) OEM works at removing heat faster but doesn't stop it from getting in the 240°s after repeated pulls, towing or mountain climbing.
No cooler at all can easily get in the 250-260 range.
The SRT Engine is a really nice upgrade. Yes having to run 91 or better all the time is costly but doing it over again I would absolutely do it. The pull to redline is awesome. Where the 5.7 felt like it died over 70+ mph the 6.4 continues pulling hard. For the money the power in my opinion is comparable to a centrifugal supercharger upgrade. The charger might have a touch more on the top end depending on supporting mods.
Now with the backend story done fast forward to February of this year. 20,000 miles on the new build. No issues what so ever. I go to get my tags renewed and I fail the test. The person who did my test was really rude and didn't give me much info other than I failed due to recalls. The two recalls were the cruise-control and the shift knob software. How I passed previous years but fail now is beyond me but that's the cards I was dealt.
Here is where it gets interesting. I tried researching what is the correct process for how to get these recalls taken care of while keeping my current tune intact and I can tell you it really doesn't exist. I used AI to aide me and the advice it gave was flat out wrong. It told me I could have the recalls fixed and be perfectly fine with the tune.
So I went in to have the recalls fixed, adamant to not have the vehicle flashed and took the truck back. Right away I noticed the mds is kicking on so I know the software is changed. I'm now in debate on whether I should just go to the emissions testing as is and try again or try and fix the tune. Well I tried to fix the tune. I contacted Diablo explained the situation, and was advised by the person on the phone to return the truck back to stock to flash it again. This is wrong. Returning the truck back to stock resulted in the tuner bricking the PCM. I call Diablo back explain the situation and this person tells me "we would never advise you to do this" Im explaining I was doing exactly what I was advised but getting no where. He asks me does the truck start? No it doesn't even turn over. The PCM is bricked. I had the truck towed to the dealer to see if they could help me. They call me back and asked what I did. I explain and they tell me they can't fix it. They said there is no software on the PCM at all. So plan B is send the PCM and tuner back to Diablo to have them reset or fix it. I get the PCM back but I cannot flash the truck with my tune.
When you have any software changed on your truck factory or modified it changes the backup which is how Diablo does its checks. If the backup is changed all your tunes have to be updated with the new backup. You need the person who made your tunes to update these with a fee of course. All of your old tunes are now worthless.
My problem was I was on a deadline at the time to get my truck to pass emissions before the end of February which was like 2 weeks away and I couldn't get ahold of my tuner. My only option was to find another one. Locally shops wanted $2000 and to switch to HP tuners but I was not willing go that route. I did find another reputable tuner that got me going but now I'm dealing with cat codes 0420/0430. I swear I didn't have these problems prior to the recall updates but now I can't go back.
I cannot speak on HP tuners but if you have Diablo and you do what I did the only resolution is to send your PCM and tuner back to them to have everything reset. Even if I had set my truck back to stock, did the recalls and try to flash the truck back would still end in failure. Your tunes are created on one back up and your new back up is now changed. The other thing I didn't realize is all your AlphaOBD changes have been reset My HID's kept going out right away because the truck was reset back to halogen. What an absolute PITA.
After getting that all sorted out (hell) I was back to reset for emissions. I fail again. Reason being is they said could not read my O2 sensors or cats. I report back to the tuner and revisions are made but the truck isn't happy. I start getting the 219A and B codes along with the 0420/0430. I attempted spacers which introduced new problems. Do spacers get rid of 20/30 yes. But they get replaced with new problems such as 0159 and 0157 I think are the correct codes along with 2271 and 2273. Basically either the rear O2's are lazy and or stuck rich. After what felt like weeks of banging my head against a brick wall I decided to replace the O2 sensors. In hindsight with the 180,000 miles on them it's a no brainer to replace them but when your mind is stressed with problem solving it didn't occur till that point.
So with new O2's in and no permanent or pending codes I go back to test again and fail AGAIN. Same issue, testing center cannot see O2 sensors or cats. Now when your tuner says they don't turn off the CEL light this is true however if they disable it for says cats you will fail the testing in AZ. The system says your vehicle is not ready for testing or tapered with. After sorting that out and getting them turned back on I drive yet another 100 miles to get the system ready to test again.
I go in and the day has finally come. I've passed with 3 month absolute pain in my pass problem to get my tags. I couldn't explain the feelings in that moment but I'm extremely happy it's over.
I'm writing this to hopefully save any of you who read this from the fate and problems I experienced. There were plenty of times I wanted to burn the truck down, sell it etc.
None is it was anyone's fault but my own. Ignorance, and lack of information in the moment is what got me there.
Some of you have pm'd me asking if the 6.4 swap was worth it. I confidently can say yes the swap is still worth it but realize future problems can come up and there aren't many who can guide you on this path.
If this isn't for you get yourself one of the 6.4 rumble bees with the scat pak upgrade. That engine is exactly what I have minus the new oil cooler you can see in the photo.
I'll do my best to update the thread with my typos or gibberish that doesn't make sense if anyone has questions.
Red
