Hey guys, I hope y'all can help me. I have a 2001 Ram Sport with the 5.9 and won't seem to rev past about 4K rpms and just backfires. I checked the plug wires and they all seem to be connected correctly although I only assumed the cap connections are correct. Any ideas?

 

probably your catalytic convertor.......get under the truck and kick it or hit with a hammer and see if you can hear it rattle

 

+1 for the cat.

Any issues with speed as well as RPMs? Usually you can't make it to highway speeds when your converter's plugged.

 

Cat, I think...when my cat was clogged, it misfired and I couldn't get past 45 mph

 

Thanks guys. I'll check the cat tonight when I get home. It has been lacking power and since I'm not the driver of the truck, I didn't know about it until the problems started.

 

fuel pressure? if it leans out too much due to high rpm or load it will backfire... also check the cat, lol

 

If the cat is bad then I am pretty sure that a couple years back Dodge actually recalled it and it can be replaced for free!

When my cat got plugged up (about 6 mths before the recall) I couldn't past about 2500 rpms and it was a major PITA to get up to 40 mph!

The cat's are very common problems!

 

If Dodge won't replace the cat for free (that is, if it turns out to be the problem), look at a Magnaflow High Flow cat. Cheaper than the factory converters, and better. Slightly louder exhaust tone and more power, and still legal. Unless, that is, you live in Cali.

 

Unfortunately, I do live in CA. I checked the cats and there was no rattle. What kind of noise I am suppose to hear because there was not much. I only have the pre-cats since the main one has been cut a long time ago and I drove the truck today to test it and seemed to be lacking power but it does go hwy speed but took a while to get there for a v8. It seems to backfire anywhere between 3500 and 4300 rpms. Any other ideas? Shouldn't a clogged cat set off a cel?

 

That does in fact sound like a clogged cat. It may be so plugged up that the particles inside can't move around. The only other way to tell is to cut the pipe behind the cat where you could install an adapter afterward and run a piece of pipe into the cat and knock the catalyst loose. Hang your exhaust after cat up out of the way and start the truck and see if it is better after knocking the catalyst material loose(read hollowing out the cat).