Hello all, I have been working on improving my truck across a couple years now. I believe it is running as best as a 24 year old yee-yee truck can run, however there is one funny issue I have going on. The subject truck is a 99 Ram 5.2 4x4 w/ a 7" suspension lift, 37" mudgrips, 4.56 gears & an SCT tuner (currently running Sean's 87 octane tune cause gas ain't cheap!). The truck pulls great for what it is, but there is a certain scenario where it feels like there is no power. This scenario is under part/light throttle acceleration where it will shift into second gear seemingly early (?), and the engine lugs HARD getting up to speed once in 2nd gear. The rpms will climb slow, and it feels like running highway gears with 44" tires and/or pulling a freight train. If I give it some generous gas from a dead stop it will shift at a higher rpm into 2nd (per the usual 46RE programming) and will do much better. The best example of the lack of power is when turning right out of a tight turn and needing to go slow until you've straightened into your lane, at that point you can mash the pedal to the floor and revs climb slowly, resulting in little get up and go to match the speed of traffic Eventually, the 5.2 revs to its happy 3k rpm and I manage to do well in traffic, but up until this point I can absolutely floor it and the rpms climb pretty slow. I have no check engine light.

Regarding transmission (46RE) - I dropped the pan and changed filter probably 3000 miles ago at best. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea for me to do another tranny pan drop & change the filter since the magnet was full when I did and the fluid was brown-ish the first change. While I'm in there I would be changing the governor solenoid & transducer with Borg-Warner HD parts since the trans is in unknown condition and most likely adjusting the bands. It seems to shift really well and does have an aftermarket cooler plumbed in. The shifts are firm for the most part from what I can tell. I don't THINK I have any slipping going on.

Regarding engine work (5.2) - The plenum has been fixed with the Hughes aluminum plate, Fel-Pro gasket & attention to detail. The truck has also been completely tuned up with all new ignition components. I have also removed the throttle body and completely cleaned it to like new cleanliness and replaced all the sensors on it. All other engine sensors are new minus the crank and cam sensors - which have not posed any known issues.

I'm sure I'm missing some of the common issues that get asked - I've hopefully already addressed them.

I apologize in advance if my writeup is confusing. Perhaps I am mistaking the truck for too much of a sports sports, or at least a modern day engine and its efficiency. Ultimately, all I'm looking for is reassurance my truck is as best as it's going to get (without other modifications) or if anyone else has noticed or experienced this/there is some issue I should be chasing.

Thank-you!
David B.

 

Verify that the TV cable operates as it should. Might wanna chat with Sean about raising shift points in the tune as well. I am not sure 4.56 gears are enough for 37s.... Probably would be great with 35's.

 

Hey, HeyYou, - thank-you for your response. It does sound like I may need to reconsider my gears or tire size. Probably tires at this point since mine aren't in the best shape, and the local tire place will do it for me.

My TV cable was recently adjusted to stock setting (no delay behind the throttle cable movement). I actually was missing the spring that keeps the TV lever extended for who knows how long so the lever was in the fully retracted position. Funny thing is, the truck still shifted just fine and I didn't notice much change after replacing it. I have seen in some older threads that after a lot of miles, the TV cable can stretch, reducing the amount of travel the TV lever actually sees (even though there is no lag at the throttle body), and that some people will compensate for this by either tightening the TV adjustment a bit, or will adjust something in the valve body. I might take a closer look at my TV movement and see what can be cheated a bit.