I think I just really screwed up. I have been running the SRL tune all winter. I hooked up to our fifth wheel at 13k pounds and towed it about 30 miles to the campground. It towed great. I don't have studs or a Pyrometer. The coolant level has never moved since I've owned it but it looks low right now. It is parked on a hill though.

This may have been a $5k mistake! I'm sick to my stomach!

 

I hope for your sake you dodged a bullet......but IMHO, 'running a tune' and 'without studs' don't belong in the same sentence.....you are flirting with disaster with that combination. tick,tock....tick,tock

 

I hardly ever"get on it". I pretty much baby it every where and run the tune for the mileage. But this is the first time I forgot to tune it back to"unlimited tow".

 

Good luck. Regardless of whether or not you baby it, i'm sure you didn't baby it on the tow. Just because it's babied 50 times, doesn't mean it can take abuse
Let's hope for the best

 

Oh come on, we all know you were just looking for an excuse to stud the engine right?
Seriously, hope it works out. Did it puke at all? Are you deleted?
If it did try a new degas cap before you throw in the towel.......time will tell.

 

Yea towing 13k with the SRL tune is not babying it at all, I agree.

It did not puke out of the degas cap. I have it sitting sideways on a hill with the driver side high and I can't see any coolant in the tank. The upper radiator hose sounds empty also. I'm the one who is about to puke!

 

Top her off and see what happens is about all you can do at this point.
What year truck and how many miles?
Is it deleted?

 

I wouldn't worry about it...

 

It's a 2006 with 130k miles. I deleted the egr cooler last year before heading to Yellowstone. I watch it like a hawk with torque pro and all the numbers have always looked good. Ficm never below 45v, delta always 5-8 psi, coolant Temps around 192 empty and around 200 towing. I did a coolant flush with Distilled water last year and installed a coolant filter.

I just put the truck level and there is some coolant in the degas tank but it looks lower than it was before. I will just watch it very close. We have several trips planned this summer

 

Continue watching it. Unfortunately, regardless of meticulous maintenance and gauges up the a$$, there is no gauge to tell you how much power you can push until the truck pops a gasket. Some people do stock, some people don't regardless of how abusive. Luck of the draw bud

 

I do hope it turns out well. I can say it is nice having the hg and studs done and pretty much not thinking about a thing. as much as i HATED dropping the coin i can say the piece of mind is nirvana!!!

 

It's easy to think it looks low now that you're looking for it to be low. I've been there.

Just monitor it the next few days and you'll surely notice if it continues to drop.

 

Towing with a tune and no EGT gauge is silly. If you had a gauge and kept egt's below 1250 on climbs you wouldn't be worried right now. I tow on a regular basis on a 8k tune but watch the egts. My 5er is over 11k. Combined 20k+.
No worries monitoring EGTs and temps.

 

You're not studded either? Does the 8k tow add power?

 

30 miles is hardly enough to get the temps up. As long as you were not trying to burn the tires off or pulling a steep grade @ 70mph you will be fine, provided the gaskets were good to start with.