1997 Dodge Ram LOSS OF POWER

STEVEBERGER58

MEMBER
1997 DODGE RAM
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
16,000 MILES

The truck idles great, and has no problem going from 1st gear to 2nd gear, and can even make 3rd if I keep a tender increase on the gas, however, as soon as I press a little too hard, I lose power. It is as if I blow a vacuum or the accelarator cable has come off. The engine is still running but wont get above 20 mph until after I stop, and then start adding gas slowly again. I get no codes from my OBDII. At first I thought it was a transmission issue, now I think I may have a larger engine problem. Could it be a loss of vacuum in the manifold?

4 Replies

RASMATAZ

MECHANIC
75,992 POSTS

Sir

What we need to do here is confirm the fuel pressure is correct when that checks out, check the exhaust system for restriction, throttle position sensor/MAP sensor to include the cam and crank sensors.

Dirty fuel injectors (cleaning the injectors often fixes this).
Bad TPS (throttle position) sensor
Low fuel pressure (leaky fuel pressure regulator or weak fuel pump)
Vacuum leaks (intake manifold, vacuum hoses, throttle body, EGR valve)
Bad gasoline (fuel contaminated with water or too much alcohol)

Sometimes, what feels like a hesitation is actually ignition misfire rather than lean misfire. The causes of ignition misfire may include:

Dirty or worn spark plugs
Bad plug wires
Weak ignition coil
Wet plug wires

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Friday, August 22nd, 2008 AT 4:06 PM

STEVEBERGER58

MEMBER
1 POST

I changed the TPS and did some looking around. I was able to recreate the "loss of power" in park, eliminating the transmission. It almost feels like when I increase gas pedal to a certain point quickly, I blow a seal of some kind and the air escapes with a hissing sound and although the car is still making great rpm, there is no power being applied. Does this narrow anything down at all?

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Sunday, August 24th, 2008 AT 11:03 AM

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

Hi steveberger58,

I would suggest checking the catalytic converter and O2 sensors.

Can you please provide more details as to the engine variant of your vehicle and model type?

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Friday, September 5th, 2008 AT 11:17 AM

BANGMX