The problem is simple and expensive: the stock RAM 6.7L Cummins grid heater uses hardware that can deteriorate, loosen, and drop into the intake manifold. Once that bolt and nut go through the engine, the damage can be severe enough to wipe out a piston, valves, head, or the whole engine. That is exactly the kind of failure a working truck owner cannot afford. Our Banks Monster-Ram Intake and Killer Grid Heater Upgrade addresses the issue at the source by eliminating the stock grid-heater assembly from the airflow path. That removes the bolt risk while also opening up a restrictive factory intake path. The result is protection from a known failure point, better engine breathing, and the throttle response benefits that come with improved airflow. For owners running one truck or a whole fleet, this is about removing a preventable engine killer before it turns into downtime and a major repair bill.
The video opens with the core issue: Ram grid heater failure can destroy an engine when a small fastener breaks loose and is ingested through the intake. The failed part is described as the culprit, a ticking time bomb sitting under the hood of every affected truck. The point is not theoretical. In fleet service, a single bolt or nut from the grid heater assembly can turn into a catastrophic engine failure that costs far more than the hardware itself.
Steve from Leonard Petroleum Equipment explains how the problem appeared in one of the company's fleet trucks. He received a call reporting a knock from the engine, and the truck was sent to a mechanic for inspection. Inside cylinder number six, they found the end of the bolt and the nut that had separated from the heater grid. According to Steve, the nut and remaining portion of the bolt fell into the intake and were carried into the engine, causing the damage.
The financial impact was severe. Steve says the incident cost a little over $60,000 because the company ultimately purchased a brand-new truck and transferred the equipment from the damaged vehicle. That included moving the bolt bins, toolboxes, and lift gate onto the replacement truck. The example shows how the failure of a small intake component can create a major operational and capital expense for a commercial fleet.
The work shown in the video involves three Ram trucks from different model years: a 2018, a 2013, and a 2020. That spread shows why the company is treating the problem as a fleet-level concern rather than an isolated incident. Steve says Leonard Petroleum Equipment operates 45 trucks, multiplying the potential consequences of the same failure mode across a large number of working vehicles.
For Steve, the cost extends beyond the price of an engine or replacement truck. With 45 trucks in service, he says the company cannot afford to have even one down for a day. The fleet represents approximately $2.7 million invested in Ram trucks, making uptime a critical business consideration.
In that environment, preventing a known failure mode becomes as important as repairing a truck after something breaks. A single failure can remove a revenue-producing vehicle from service while adding replacement costs, labor, equipment transfers, and other downtime-related expenses.
The solution presented in the video is the installation of Banks Monster-Ram systems across the fleet. The goal is to address the factory grid-heater failure point before another engine is damaged. Rather than waiting for another bolt or nut to separate and enter the engine, the company is proactively replacing the factory intake and grid-heater arrangement.
Reliability is not the only reason given for the upgrade. Steve says the fleet is also seeing improvements in fuel mileage, and the video points to restriction in the factory intake as part of the explanation. The stock intake passage is shown directly to illustrate the airflow limitation.
The Monster-Ram is therefore presented as serving two purposes for the fleet: eliminating the factory grid-heater failure point and providing a less restrictive intake path.
By the end of the segment, it is clear that this is not a one-truck repair. It is an ongoing fleet-wide upgrade program. After completing another installation, the team notes that there are still approximately 30 trucks to go.
That scale reinforces the business case presented in the video. After experiencing a failure that ultimately cost more than $60,000, Leonard Petroleum Equipment is systematically upgrading its remaining trucks in an effort to prevent another grid-heater-related engine failure and keep the fleet in service.
