There is a bolt in the intake of your 6.7L Cummins holding the factory grid heater together. It backs off, it arcs, and the nut drops straight into the engine — usually cylinder six. The engine is finished. We remove that bolt from the truck permanently with the Banks Monster-Ram intake and Killer Grid Heater upgrade.
The factory grid heater sits in the intake, right ahead of the cylinder head, and it is held together by a bolt and nut carrying serious electrical current. Heat cycles, vibration, and corrosion loosen it over time. Once it is loose, current arcs across the joint and erodes the fastener until it lets go — and there is nothing between it and the engine.
Years of heat cycling and vibration back the grid heater fastener off. Nothing on the dash tells you it happened.
High current jumps the loosened joint. The arcing eats the metal away until the nut or bolt head separates.
Airflow carries the debris into the head. Cylinder six is the usual landing spot on the 6.7L.
Piston, valves, and head take the hit. Repairs start around $6,000, and a replacement engine runs $32,650 installed.
The failure is documented across 2007.5–2018 6.7L Cummins trucks and is rare on 2019 and later. High-mileage trucks are the most exposed, but low-mileage trucks are not immune — the fastener loosens with time and heat cycles, not just odometer readings.
Banks replaces the factory grid heater assembly with a billet intake plate — the bolt that fails is simply gone from the truck. In its place, the Monster-Ram intake carries a coil heater mounted vertically inside the elbow, so you keep cold-start heat without keeping the failure point.
Both numbers below are real jobs we quote. One of them is a scheduled visit. The other is what it costs when the fastener finally lets go — and it is the same price whether the truck was worth fixing or not.
Sale price reflects parts and labor for the listed fitment. Final quote may vary by truck condition, accessories already installed, and location. Engine pricing shown is for the cab and chassis application — pickup and other applications quoted on request, and a failed engine is always inspected before anything is ordered. Fleet pricing available for multiple units. Running a 2007.5–2012 truck? The bolt carries the same risk — call and we'll spec the correct kit for your year. Not sure where your truck stands? We'll check the fastener and scan for intake heater codes before you spend anything.
The honest answer is that plenty of these failures arrive with no warning at all — that is exactly why the fix is worth doing early. When there are symptoms, they look like this:
If the fastener has already let go, continuing to run the engine only spreads the damage. Shut it down and get it looked at.
Get It Checked| Do the upgrade | Leave it stock | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | The failure-prone bolt is removed from the truck and replaced with a billet plate | The bolt keeps heat-cycling and loosening for as long as you own the truck |
| Airflow | Monster-Ram intake flows dramatically more air than the factory elbow | Restrictive factory elbow and grid heater stay in the way |
| Downtime | A single scheduled visit, at your location | Weeks, if the bolt drops — engine out, or engine replaced |
| Cost | $1,950 installed | Up to $32,650 for a replacement engine |
If your fleet runs 2013–2018 RAM 2500s and 3500s, every one of them is carrying the same bolt. We inspect the whole fleet, tell you which trucks are furthest along, and schedule the upgrades at your yard in batches so you never lose more than one unit at a time. Ask for fleet pricing.
The failure is documented across 2007.5–2018 6.7L Cummins trucks and is rare on 2019 and later.
The Banks kit we install at $1,950 fits 2013–2018 RAM 2500/3500. If you run a 2007.5–2012 truck, call and we will spec the correct kit for your year.
Not necessarily. The fastener loosens with time and heat cycles rather than odometer reading, so low-mileage trucks are not immune.
High-mileage trucks are the most exposed, but age and heat cycling do the damage either way.
It works loose from years of heat cycling and vibration, with nothing on the dash to tell you. Current then arcs across the loosened joint and erodes the metal until the nut or bolt head separates.
Airflow carries the debris straight into the head — cylinder six is the usual landing spot — and the piston, valves, and head take the hit. Repairs start around $6,000, and a replacement engine runs $32,650 installed.
Intake heater codes P2609 (intake air heater performance) or P0542 (circuit high), a wait-to-start lamp behaving oddly or no grid heater cycling at all, rough cold starts or new white smoke, and a visibly loose, discoloured, or corroded grid heater terminal at the intake.
A sudden knock, misfire, or power loss means you should stop driving and call immediately — continuing to run the engine only spreads the damage.
No. The Banks Monster-Ram carries a 750-watt coil heater mounted vertically inside the elbow, so you keep cold-start heat without keeping the failure point.
You also gain airflow: Banks' published testing shows 72.7 lb/min versus 38.6 lb/min stock, with better throttle response and lower intake air temperature under load.
$1,950 installed against up to $32,650 for a replacement engine is the whole argument. The strongest evidence is that the replacement engine itself ships with a Killer Grid Heater kit — the failure is not something you want to reinstall.
For fleets running 2013–2018 RAM 2500s and 3500s, every truck carries the same bolt. We inspect the fleet, rank the risk, and batch the work so you never lose more than one unit at a time.
Tell us the year and mileage on your Cummins — we'll get you scheduled and back to work.