I have a 2001 Off Road with the 5.9, 4:10 gears and stock sized Buckshot tires. Problem is this thing drinks fuel and it is a gutless pig. I can live with the bad fuel mileage if I have power, but bad fuel mileage and no power don't cut it. The converter has been removed (it plugged up a couple of months ago). When I say gutless I mean it won't break a tire loose with your foot to the floor power braking it let alone leaving a stop sign. Seems to be stronger from 2800 RPM on up but from a takeoff it is terrible. I have a 96 jeep cherokee with 31" mudders and the stock 4.0 engine carrying 154,000 miles that will absolutely eat this truck alive and damn near out pull it as well.
What can cause this terrible low end power problem??? I have checked with 2 different dealers in the area and they both run a scan on it and say everything checks out fine. I say if they all ran like this one there would have been very few sold, so what is up?.

Can I be losing this much power through the tranny? Would I benefit from a Hypertech Power Programmer?

 

Dont forget your truck weights a crap load. When I had a thunderbird 5.0 I had it at 230hp and once in a blue moon I could smoke em with a break torque. Never could I floor it and squeel em. My truck wont squeel when I floor it, I can break torque no problem though. Different intake, full exhaust, maybe edelbrock alum heads will give you the power to do so

 

Mine can spin the tires if I floor it. Maybe there is something wrong with your truck?

 

I can roast em and go sideways if its damp on the ground. Freshly sealed tar I can to. On regular pavement never. One day I will be able to squeel off the line

 

01 ram 5.2 4x4 and mine will spin the tires on dry pavment dude there is something wrong with ur truck i hate to say that

 

i got an or offroad sport with 4:10's and 90,000 miles on it and if i got the wheels striaght and smash the gas the assend will go all over the place (LSD) and if im turned slightly...one tire will smoke and ill ****** traction really quick... also i can smash the gas and just tap the brakes and ittle spin all day unless i let off the gas...

 

I know what my trucks problem is, not enough power haha. My brothers truck cant squeel from a WOT standstill either. MY uncles cant either.

 

Sounds like the "death flash". I have a 2001 offroad also and couldn't get the slightest spin from the rear wheels when I first got it. I checked out the computer one day and saw it had the "death flash" sticker on it. So I went out and got myself the hypertech power programmer. Now that I got the hypertech and did away with the death flash, I can break the rear loose any time.

 

Don't get me wrong fellas, I don't expect the truck to run like a race car, that isn't what I use it for. I just want to know where to start looking for a power problem because these trucks should definately have more power than this thing does. We pull a 16' enclosed trailer for racing quads, weighs somewhere around 4,500# loaded. It seems like it works this truck to death to pull it and you certainly don't pull out of an intersection without a 1/2 mile opening in traffic or your going to scare them and yourself to death trying to get outta the way! This can't be normal with a 5.9 and 4:10 gears plus mods.

I used to pull a 5,200# Ski Brendella boat every weekend with both a stock 4.0 explorer and a 2wd chevy sport pickup and I never felt as underpowered as I do in this truck. What is up?????

 

Look on the computer for a sticker that says "authorized software update". If there is a sticker on there that says that, you have found your problem.