Hello i have a 1999 dodge ram 2500 ex cab 4x4 with a v10 with only 80 k its been running crappy for a long time but got really bad recently, no power no codes . since it not used much i thought maybe the injectors i took them out had them cleaned /rebuilt installed , the truck still ran crappy ,so i disconnected the two 02 sensors , now it runs very good , . i dont care about the check eng light since it emissions exempt . the question is will it run even better with new o2 sensors ? and will running without them cause any damage or any thing else .the truck is all stock thanks

 

I bought mine with almost twice the miles as yours but I was had issues with the o2 sensors being bad and they never threw a code. It only threw it after I plugged a scanner into the truck to see if it would show anything (which it didn't) and then unplugged the scanner and drove off. The truck ran so bad after I did this, that I barely made it home. I'm still trying to figure out what made the PCM do this. I put two new sensors in and haven't had a problem since.


I know the cats on these trucks are known for going bad pretty quick. Where I live I don't have emissions testing so I cut off cats and muffler and put a Flowmaster 70 in. I've read it's one of the better options for this truck being that the v10's are hard to get to sound decent without cats and stock style muffler. Here's a guy that did it to his.



Another thing you might check is for leaks around the exhaust flanges ( where the pipe mates up with the manifold). Mine were bad for a while and never knew it till I decided to stick my hand by them for the hell of it, and both where leaking. I'm not sure if it's something with the v10 action, but they are not as audible as one going bad on a v8. Probably the same reason its hard to get aftermarket exhaust to sound right on them. Fixing those made a big difference.


After that, I would say do your usual tune-up stuff, throttle body cleaning, check out your coil packs for cracks and resistance readings. My readings were off a little and new ones were night and day.




Also, there is a note out about the routing of the plug wires that you need to have the #5 and #7 wires should be separated by #9. from what I've read, the routing on the '99 and up was done correct, but you might make sure.

 

thanks racefan41 for your response i think i will just put some new o2 sensors in and go from there ,and check for leaks . it does pull my 6 thousand pound boat well . any improvement in mpg with the cats out and exhaust change? mine is still good and very quite but i would like to have a nice sound and duel exhaust tips but it seems the v 10 always sounds week . thanks

 

I haven't really looked at MPG's on it pre or post-changes, so I couldn't give you real number. But you remind me, I need to dig into how to reset the info display (mpg's, compass, temp) on it. Right now it says I'm getting about 7.7 or something. I've hit every combo of buttons on it, and still cant get it to zero out. It could be malfunctioning cause the average MPG never really seems to change. I want to see how accurate it is to what I figure at the pump with a calculator. The two owners before me never addressed the engine at all except oil changes, so I hope its better now that I've gave it some love. It definitely feels like its getting better mileage, but I may be putting my foot it more now, too.


I'm loving the low gas right now, but back to $4/gal., I may sell.


Do you know if the cats on yours still original? I know you have half the miles I do, but just curious if they are still good at 80,000. I've read about them going out with low mileage on them.

 

oh, I forgot about your question to running without the o2 sensors. It may run a little better, but it will hit your gas mileage hard. I don't know the side effects on other systems running like this over a long period of time.

 

The truck is all stock and original ,at first I was thinking the cats were clogged ,the truck sits a lot less then 500 miles this year , also because it ran poorly . Now that it's. Running better I'll take it out and run it . It is a monster

 

New O2 sensors (NTK, or Denso please, skip the bosch sensors, our trucks don't seem to like them.) will help the engine run better, hopefully improve fuel economy, and help your cats last longer...... Dodge tended to run the engine a tad rich in open loop, (which you would be running in all the time with no O2 sensors) and that will overheat the cats in relatively short order.

 

Hay you thanks for the info Just ordered the o2 sensors should be running very good after that . never had any check engine light on until after I disconected the sensors . Just gave it a try after I did the injectors , that was not to hard a job , just had to replace 2 bolts on the peilem , they were out of round . Only could fined 3 in the dealer data base in the us ,parts are hard to find