I have a 94 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.2L and 198K miles. I consistently have problems with the truck loosing all power mainly when towing my boat (trasiler breaks not on). This usually occurs after driving for an hour or so. Will go from driving 70 to 5 mph in no time. Having the gas pedal pushed to the floor has no affect, RPM may go up slightly.I have heard some popping (miss) a few times before this happens. I am at a loss of what to do next.
Have changed all trans fluids and ensured front cooler was not clogged (all good). Had atemp rise but, changed thermostat and flushed radiator (maintains 200 degreesnow). I also had the CAT checked no problems there either.
Once I have the problem I must let the truck cool off for a while then try again. Runs fine for a while but the problem come back. Someties it ebven pulls the trailer fine for some time without any problems. I do not have any problems driving the truck without the trailer, runs good. Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions.

 

my94Ram, I had this same problem. I will try to give you the short version. At about 45k miles my factory cat busted into pcs and rattled like hell. the dealer replaced it for me and I didn't seem to have any problems until I hit about 90k miles. Truck would loose power and sometime wouldn't speed up when getting on the hwy etc. I check the cat again and again but never heard any rattles. When I hit about a 125k miles I decided to put on dual exhaust. When the muffler shop cut off my old exhaust, the face of the cat was almost completely melted over, was very little area for the exhaust to flow past. This cat never made a sound and was still in 1 pc. After the new exhaust was on, it ran like new again. This is just my experience and was mentioned incase you are just using the "bang on the cat to see if it rattles" method of checking the cat. I know from this forum there is a way to check the before and after temp of the exhaust gases and I'm sure you could even check the flow at the tailpipe. Hope this helps, good luck. Jeff.

 

with a 5.2 hauling a trailer will feel like that.

 

did you check your fuel pressure ?? []

 

First off thanks for the replies, I did not expect the fast response to my question. Took the truck out yesterday towing the boat and ran like a champ. Still Scared to go further than 20 minutes from the house because I know it will happen again soon. Do not want to be stranded out there.

Jram99: Concerning the CAT actually found out the insides are removed notrequired at my location so I am sure it is not melted over.Done before I purchased the truck I will check into seeing if the exhausttemp can be checked.

Dodgepartsm: I have not had the fuel pressure checked. Can any parts store do this or do I have to take it to a dealer? I have never done this. This might bea dumb question but if the pressure is bad wouldn’t the loss of power occur all the time not after driving for a while?

Indy: I was not exaggerating the truck actually is at 70mph one minute on a straight away and the next minute I am off to the side with the flashers on going 5mph. Pulling a bass boat and trailer so not that much weight.

Thanks again
my94Ram

 

sounds to me like the fuel pump is goin on the blink.. we had one in the shop the other day.. same exact scenario.. what happens.. under normal load.. the fuel pump is working ok.. under duress.. fuel pump is working overtime.. hence.. getting warm.. therefore giving out.. lose all power.. got no where to go.. but stop... another thing to check is the filter.. filter could be stopped up.. but it sounds to me like your starving it for fuel when it warms up.. normally the fuel pump.. take it to a lil mom and pop shop on the corner.. and tell them to check the fuel pressure.. OR.. get the haynes manual.. and get a fuel pressure test guage.. 20 bucks at the local auto supply.. keep it in the truck.. when it bogs down again.. check it.. the haynes manual will tell you what range it should be in ..

 

welcome to df... sounds like fuel pump issues to me. when it does it again, let off the gas for a short period and see if power comes back. if it doesnt, check the fuel pressure if you can. should be 49psi +/- 5psi...