Hello everyone! This is my first post on this forum and I wish it was under happier circumstances

The culprit: 1999 Ram 1500, 5.9, 74K miles, auto

The problem: The engine sputters, bogs, and won't rev above 1500 rpm. No check engine light (or any other warning lights for that matter).

One thing to keep in mind is that this truck sat for about 1 year with little fuel in the tank.


I bought this truck yesterday and it was running great during the drive home (about 40 miles, mostly highway driving). Half way through the drive the truck started to lose power and refused to rev up; within 5 minutes it was almost stalling out and refused to rev above 1500 rpm (perhaps in honor of it's model name heh..). At that point it wouldn't drive faster than 5mph and that was with some effort. The weird thing is though, it idles good but it starts to crap out when I try to rev it. Needless to say, I had to tow it home.

Here's what I checked so far:
- Fuel pump. I checked the pressure, it consistently shows 50. The pump sounds like it's doing well when the ignition is turned on.
- Catalytic converter. I thought this was the problem, but probably not. After the truck sat for half the day, I started it again and it still ran like crap. I would assume if it were the cat then the truck would run ok until the exhaust system would heat up again. Plus the exhaust doesn't seem like it clogged, the tail pipe is hard to block because it's blowing so hard.
- Air filter/intake. I took off the whole air box (as you'll see in the video below), exposing the throttle body and it made no difference. I also sprayed some carb spray in there and no difference.

Some things that I assume:
- Bad spark plugs. But if they were bad, how could try truck run so well for 20 miles and then just die out all of a sudden?
- Fuel filter. So what I understand, this truck has something called a fuel sock. Could that be causing my problem even though the fuel pump seems to be working?
- Bad fuel. The guy who I got the truck from filled the gas tank with fuel out of another car that was sitting for a while, so there's a chance the fuel was bad. But if this bad fuel was put in on an almost empty tank, wouldn't it cause problems much sooner than after 20 miles of driving?

So that's where I stand. I recorded a video of how the engine sounds during idling and while being reved. Keep in mind the whistling sound at idle is just the throttle body sucking in air, this is how it sounds without the air box. Here's the vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMjxdTXmO-g

Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Thanks!


Alex

 

i would try some good gas and new plugs wires cap rotor and then if its still running like that check the TPS *throttle position sensor*

 

some seafoam might not hurt either if indeed there was some bad gas in the system

 

+1 on the TPS, if it's not a clogged cat. You can rule out the cat by temporarily removing the O2 sensor in front of it. That would allow the exhaust to get out, if the cat were actually plugged....


give this a look also, the plug wires have to be rerouted just right or it'll crossfire and miss and whatnot.... can't hurt to try

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...lug-wires.html

 

I just bought some fuel treatment, I will put that in and idle the engine until the truck runs out of gas. It only has a few gallons left.

In regards the rerouting the plug wires, would that be a potential cause taking into consideration that the truck was running fine before the issues started?

I'll concentrate on unplugging that o2 sensor before the cat and i'll check the tps sensor as well. So it's possibile for the engine to run bad with a faulty tps sensor? I always thought that the engine wouldn't even start if the tps was bad. By the way, where is the tps on this motor?

Thanks for the suggestions so far, guys.

Alex

 

Installed on the throttle body, driver's side, centered under the bore. The other thing that plugs in on that side, in the front, is the MAP sensor. On the rear is the IAC (Idle Air Control motor).

The TPS is held in by a pair of Torx screws, and can be replaced without even removing the airbox. It takes about two minutes if you're slow like me.

 

Thanks.

I'll try out some of these suggestions and get back to you guys. I have to leave for a few days, so I'll get back at this next week. Thank you all for the suggestions, please keep them coming if you have some more ideas, i'll be checking this thread as I travel.

Alex

 

sounds like it needs a oil change too

 

Ninja, reporting in.

Check for any vac. leaks?]

I dont see how a TPS would make much of a differance here. Its clearling bogging with open butterfiles. Do a leak test, and check compression. Seems like all that air isnt getting into the cylinders.

I know this is hammered to death, but have you checked your plenum gasket? Look in your TB and see if theres any pools of oil in your intake manifold. Seems like that air is excaping somewhere.

 

well, here she is, but doesnt know much dodges: