I have a dodge ram 1996 gasser 2500 with a 5.9l. I know this is a very heavy truck and when i tow, just not happy with the performance. My boat only weighs in around 1500 lbs. Even when i am just driving up-hills for a long time with no boat, it seems to not have much power. It does great on flat land. It also has a burning rubber, or break like smell more from the back , but not sure , but only when i am working the truch hard uphills only. I am nor rideing the be\reaks ither, it smells uphill also. One tome i had to stop to get out because it was so bad. seems like it is comming more from the rear. maybe dif fluid ?I plan on changing out all fluids this summer to full senthetic oils. I was told that this truck woud pull very nice. it is only a 3 speed with over drive so what grar should i use when going up steep hills ? i sometimes use 2nd but try for 3rd when not towing. od off when towing up hills and in 2nd gear. Is there ant test or some way to get more power or torqe?
Dodge ram 5.9l gasser?
the power output on these trucks was always inconsistant. it is not really that much engine for a 3/4 ton truck when you start pulling with it. be sure the plugs, wires, cap, rotor are ok, look down the throttle body to make sure there is not alot of oil in the intake (leaking plenum pan gasket). if the catalytic convertor was plugged it would lose power to the point of not being able to take throttle when it is warm, and would hum out the throttle body. there are aftermarket programmers, mopar performance has a tunnel ram intake, four barrell throttle body, iron and aluminum cylinder heads, you can get headers, dual exhaust, underdrive pullies, etc to boost power if the truck is running normally and still doesn't have enough power.
Dodge ram 5.9l gasser?
the catalytic converter is plugged
you can have the computer scanned on it to see if there are any stored trouble codes in it,that might explain the loss of power,i would also check the free play in the timing chain and gears,when a gas engine gets a lot of wear on the chain and gears it throws the timing way off,bad enough that the computer cant make up for it,so that may be the loss of power problem or some of it anyway,it being a 2500 series it should have a good gear ratio and should pull a lot better than that,you might want to have the catalytic converter checked on it,to see if there's any blockage in it,that will cause a great loss of power,as for the burning smell that could be the converter getting hot,first thing i would do is have a computer scan done on it to find out if it did have any bad sensors on it,at least you,ll be able to rule that part of it out,then all you can do is start checking anything that has to do with it loosing power,id also check the differential grease in it,if it gets low enough the gears will get hot and swell causing it to almost lock up,that might explain a few things also,really all you can do is start checking things on it,you,ll sooner or later find the problem,any exhaust shop can check the converter for you,and tell you if that is bad,they don't charge much for doing this either,good luck with it.
