first of all i am new to the forums...just got my Ram this past weekend..and lemme say i love it
but anyways, to the subject matter....
for the first minute i am driving, my truck doesn't seem to have the power it should, the duals don't rumble like they normally do....
after it is drivin for a few minutes, it rumbles and runs like it should....in that first minute i have noticed a knock or a rattle kinda noise..i have been told some of the 318's have problems with the valves......
also there is a sticker under the hood that says the motor has had a dealership approved reprogramming....anyone know if this was recommended for all the 318's, or has the previous owner had it reprogrammed...the reason i ask about that is because while sittin in park if it is revved up it cuts out around 3500rpm, it also doesn't have the acceleration it should...but upon thinkin about that, if i have a valve problem, both of these symtoms could be related to the valves....

anyways if anyone has any insight on this please let me know

-Jarred-

 

I believe that your ride has the nortorious "Death Flash" ... a reprogramming of the PCM performed in a last ditch effort to eliminate detonation.

 

[:@] The death flash!!!![sm=chairshot.gif][sm=shootshoot.gif] Your computer was reprogrammed to stop pinging but it also totally took away power. You can get a mopar pcm or a hypertech programmer will take care of it as well. If you search for death flash on here you will get some more detailed info.

 

well hell that's not what i wanted to hear.......does it mean my truck is destined to die?? it only has 122,000 miles

 

Death Flash is just a cute term bantied about ... it doesn't really kill your truck ... it only FEELS that way. [>:]

 

no a lot of 2nd gen rams came with the "death flash".. dealers put that on to stop the engine from pinging.. just get a hypertech programmer.. they are 284 from www.truckaddons.com .. it'll really help with your preformance.. they also recommend getting a low temperature thermostat (180 degree) when you get it to help keep the ping down also

 

hmmm well i had planned on gettin a programmer sometime pretty soon...so that is definately on the agenda....and one of my dad's friends is a diesel mechanic and can work wonders with any computer in a vehicle when it comes to gettin power out of em, so a visit to him may be in order as well

 

yall are forgetting another common problem... clogged cat. (reason why i say is that his exhaust is acting up and also the motor seams to have to work to rev up..) get your cat checked.. you can also search for that too.. these cats have a tendancy to fall in on themselves and clogging.. increasing the temps in the manifolds and heads.. causing not such good things...

 

what kinda of price difference is there between the Mopar PCM and the Hypertech pregrammer. As earlier mentioned the Hypertech's are about $200. Any have any idea on the prices of the Mopar?

 

programmer* sorry for the misspelling too much listenin to college professors today