This is my first truck I have had, Its only got a 5.2L engine and I dont think its got all the power it should. Maybe its me or is it my truck? I see videos all the time of 01 dodges burning tire with no problem, But my truck has a hard time I cant do it on dry pavement and even in sand or wet pavement I can with the gas to the floor and wont do a break stand very long before it dies down. Also whats the average miles to a tank of gas cause im only getting about 270 miles per tank seems low maybe something is wrong with the engine not letting me get all my horsepower and sucking up gas? Also any idea why my transmistion doesnt shift when I floor the gas from a stop? I get up to about 5,000 rpm and I have to let off for it to shift is that normal or is it the truck? If someone with the same truck could explain to me if this stuff is normal and if so how can I improve it? My truck does have 106,xxx miles but it drives very nice for a truck its all tight and smooth ride seems like the last owner used it only for highway use, so maybe its because of the 5.2L I dont know..

Thanks,
Mirko~

 

The tranny doing that is not normal. My 1995 Dakota with the 5.2L did that for two years, never got worse, never got better. Up to you, I dealt with it because I didn't feel like putting $1500 for a rebuild into a truck worth $4000. It never got worse, so I guess I got lucky. Was told it was a sticky valve, but the procedures for dealing with a sticky valve didn't fix it. Stopped worrying about it when I traded it in for my Ram.

The thing about it not being able to spin the tires is probably a combination of a couple things:
1. Blown plenum gasket. Do a search using the link at the top of the page. 99% of our Dodge trucks have this issue.
Solution: Hughes or APS plenum plate kit. You should also find more info on these in your search.
2. "Death Flash". This is related to the blown plenum gasket. Again, do a search, you should be able to find it easily, as both have been re-discussed within the past month.
Solution: A tuner or custom flash. Again, you should be able to find info on this in your search.
3. 3.55 gear ratio. Most trucks came with this from the factory. A few were ordered with 3.92 gears. Off Road editions came with 4.10 gears. 3.55 gears is a decent gear for gas mileage if you have small tires (factory size 225s, for example). Anything bigger, and they aren't really a good match.
Solution: I will be upgrading to 3.92s when I have the coin to pay for the install (have the ring and pinion for both axles sitting in a box in my closet). Do a search for this as well, as others have explained it far better than I can.

 

4x4, bigger tires, extra weight (crap you carry) etc all add up to loss of ability to burn out and loss of mpg's. My truck gets around 270 a tank and thats with 265's all my tools and of course the 4x4.

 

how can I tell if my plenum gasket is blown never heard of that before

 

I'm gonna teach you to fish.

Click on this: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/search.php

In the "Search by Keyword" section, type in "plenum".
In the "Search in Forum(s)" section, scroll down and highlight "2nd Gen Ram".
Then click "Search Now".

Read, read, read ... there's a TON of information.

 

Or you could take off the air hat and look down in to the throttle body with a flash light and a mirror. What you are looking for is pooled oil. If there is pooled your gasket is blown. Another indicator is if you are pinging on acceleration.

 

Yes ... for the THOUSANDTH time.

 

your shifting issue sounds like the front transmission band needs adjusted. several posts on that around here, just search band adjustment.

 

I have a limited-slip rear end in mine and I can only peel out on dirt. I have a 98 QC 1500 318. These 318's aren't made for performance. They are made for very light duty work. I've had several 318's over the years and none of them would really "light 'em up". Now the old 318 wedge, those suckers could crank it up.

 

The 5.2L (318) is actually decent if you fix the death flash and the plenum gasket.