The stock 6.7L Cummins grid heater can fail at the bolt and stud assembly. When that hardware breaks loose, it can be pulled into the engine and turn a simple repair into a full engine replacement. That risk is real, and catching it early is pure luck. Our Banks Monster-Ram Intake and Killer Grid Heater Upgrade is built to solve that exact problem. It replaces the stock grid-heater layout with a high-flow intake plate and coil-heater approach, removing the factory failure point from the engine’s air path while preserving cold-start function. At the same time, it clears a major intake restriction, so the engine breathes easier and throttle response improves.
Brad from Protect Diesel Center in Kamloops presents a follow-up to an earlier video about the Banks Monster-Ram intake. During service on a customer's 2015 Ram, which had come in for rear brakes and an exhaust manifold leak, the shop decided to inspect the grid heater assembly as well. Because of the known issues with the factory setup, they used the opportunity to check its condition while the truck was already in the shop.
The inspection revealed another failed factory grid heater assembly. According to Brad, the assembly was loose and broken off, confirming the same type of problem discussed in the previous video. In this case, the stud was still mostly intact rather than fully separating and entering the engine.
The key finding was that the broken portion had not gone through the engine. Because the stud remained in place and had not been ingested, there was no engine damage at this point. Brad emphasizes that the customer was very fortunate, since a complete separation could have led to severe internal damage and a costly engine replacement.
With the failure identified before catastrophic damage occurred, the shop's plan was to replace the factory arrangement with a Banks Monster-Ram intake assembly. The decision was presented as a preventative and corrective upgrade based on what they had already seen in the truck and in prior examples of the same issue.
Brad refers back to the earlier video and says the newer Banks heater design is substantially improved over the factory original design. He describes it as a more robust solution intended to address the weakness of the stock assembly. In the context of this inspection, that improved design is the reason the shop chose the Banks Monster-Ram as the replacement.
The recap frames the installation as a way to prevent expensive failures later. Since this truck had already developed a broken grid heater assembly but had not yet suffered engine damage, it serves as an example of why catching the issue early matters. Brad's point is that replacing the original setup with the Banks assembly can help owners avoid the much higher cost of engine replacement down the road.
Brad closes by thanking Gale Banks and Banks Engineering for developing the product for this application. From the shop's perspective, having the Banks Monster-Ram intake available gives them a practical option for trucks like this 2015 Ram when a factory grid heater problem is discovered. The overall takeaway is straightforward: this customer's truck was inspected in time, no engine damage had occurred, and the shop moved forward with a Banks replacement to reduce the risk of a far more serious failure later.