I’m still getting acquainted with my new to me 2001 Ram. All in all, it’s an AMAZING truck! I’m so in love.

I don’t drive it on the freeway much, but when I do - I notice something. I have excellent acceleration and smooth shifts all across the board up until I hit about 55 MPH. What will happen, is the RPM’s drop and suddenly the truck will just veeeery slowly creep up to whatever speed I’m trying to get to. That is, if I don’t completely mash the pedal to the floor - then it picks up the way it should be picking up. My thing is though, shouldn’t I not have to give it full throttle for the truck to want to get up and go? Once it gets up and begins shifting normal again, I don’t have to be mashing the pedal. It’s really weird. I certainly can’t explain it.

I don’t know the service history on the truck. I’ve got the Accel TST24 “Super Tuneup” kit lined up to be installed. This comes with a new cap, rotor, plugs and wires. I am also going to be replacing the pickup coil inside the distributor, as well as upgrading the stock coil to an MSD coil. I’m wondering if what I’m experiencing is ignition related or possibly something within the electronics of the tranny?

I’ve also seen a solenoid upgrade kit from Oregon Performance Transmission. I wonder if this is something worth considering + a fluid and filter change for the trans. Fluid isn’t burnt, it’s still red but a little discolored. Probably never been changed…

 

Could be signs that the fuel pump isn't keeping up. Might want to connect a fuel pressure gauge to the fuel rail and monitor the fuel pressure when the problem occurs. Certainly, doing the maintenance you've mentioned isn't a bad idea to complete either..

 

Hmm never considered this. Seems like it’s definitely a possibility! I’m hoping if this is the case, it could even be a clogged filter. I’m sure that also hasn’t been changed. I just got the truck smogged and it passed with no issue, which leads me to believe I don’t have a clogged cat as I’ve read can be a problem for these trucks too…

Dunno if it’s also related, but if I turn off OD then the truck obviously downshifts and picks up great. I can then turn it off once I’m up to speed it’s all cherry from there. I’m stumped !

 

The filter/screen is built into the fuel pump mechanism. If you find the fuel pressure to be somewhat inadequate, be sure to install a quality fuel pump, such as a Denso or Delphi, so that the fuel pump lasts and the fuel pump replacement won't need to be prematurely redone.

 

How many miles on the truck? It could be a weak fuel pump, partially plugged exhaust or even dragging brakes. The timing could be worn out if you have a lot of miles on it.

 

Truck has 127,000 miles on the clock.

 

Might want to put a double roller timing chain and gear set replacement on the maintenance list at some point, given the mileage. Also, please check your intake plenum gasket to ensure its not leaking oil into the intake manifold - for more information, check out this thread - https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...um-thread.html

Given your symptom, I'm still betting on the fuel pump not putting out adequate pressure at higher speeds or when it gets warm, but need to do the fuel pressure check to confirm...

 

Plenum? Have a look down the throttle body, see any oil in there? (common problem on these trucks)

Don't bother with the MSD coil, stock coil is more than adequate to the task.

 

I just replace the timing chain (and plenum repair, and oil sending unit, and pull broken bolts, and resealed valve cover gasket and...) on my '96 with the 5.9. Your chain should be okay but is probably getting some slop into it. It's probably not like new but okay for now.

 

That’s awesome! Eventually I want to do all the big stuff to it like a new timing chain, water pump and possibly even a Hughes Airgap intake. The truck is my daily driver so I need something else to drive while it’s down.

my 1968 Chrysler 300 is nearly a driver so maybe in a year or two I could easily daily drive that car and have the money to put my truck down for a lil overhaul!