could a bad cat cause a running rich situation? i have been reading some folks having a high or erattic idle from a bad cat.

Reason i ask i was starting the truck today and i could hear a rattling coming from the cat [:'(]

it will need to be replaced, but i wonder if i should have any hope for it being my problem?

 

i'd wait till someone else here who knows more says something, but if the cats not working properly than the o2 after the cat wouldnt be sending the proper info back to the pcm. I think it could cause it. but i learned everything i know from these guys... so i'ld wait to see what they say

 

I had a surging problem much like yours, just not as bad. I checked th Engine coolant sensor(on top of the thermostat housing). It was out 10 degrees celcius. Truck would over compensate for the difference and run rich.

[&:]

 

Well, just wanted to let you guys know i gave up on trying to diagnose my truck. Thank you all for you help I have taken the truck to the stealership[:'(]. it has a 7am appointment so i will update this post as i know more ... so people with simliar issues in the future might know where to start.

Thanks again to those who tried to help.

 

Hey, keep us other v 10 guys in the loop, your grief and agravation could help the rest of us out. I don't have this problem yet but it is good to know what I could face in the future. Thanks!!!!

 

Well where to start, it’s now a week from the day I dropped the truck off, I got the typical runaround with the Stealership...their first estimate was 4300$ they wanted to just redo everything @ 105 dollar per hour. I laughed and told them I’d come get the truck... all the sudden the estimate dropped significantly. 1300$and that’s a bit more doable. So here is what they said:

The PCM Unit is bad. The CAT is bad. Clean throttle body (which i just did but im a noob so I agreed) they also said the heater performance was going to be addressed. He said they wanted to clean the throttle body do a few smoke tests on the exhaust and vacuum lines. This was Thursday of last week.

This is the list the dealer wanted to do:
• Replace PCM
• Clean throttle body
• Redo exhaust from the manifold back
• Smoke test- vacuum and exhaust.
• 5 Full tranny service including adjusting bands.
• Battery Service
• Replace all 02 sensors.
• Reset manifold intake air pressure.
• Coolant Flush and T-stat replacement
• I know I am forgetting some more but its late and I am frustrated.



This is what we agreed on:
• The cat - I will take it to a muffler shop myself.
• Clean throttle body
• Address Vacuum leak- dealer found my loose connection and fixed it
• Coolant Flush - I swear it’s the same old brown coolant I brought them in the truck
• Battery Service - BS indeed they put felt pads on and that’s it 16 bucks!!!!
• Replace PCM [sm=icon_blah.gif]
• Program New FOB


He told me he would get started on the other stuff and when the PCM arrives in a few days they will finish the job. So I was out of truck for a few days... and it was the weekend!! He said I would have the truck Monday... anyways let’s skip to Monday... Service advisor called me and said the PCM they got from Mopar was also bad it would be another few days. I pitched a fit and ended up with a 2007 ram 1500 SLT rental truck.

Wednesday he calls and says the truck is done. I got anxious and headed down to visit my truck which I hadn’t seen in a WEEK!!! After paying the 1542$ and some change. Signing my life away on countless silly forms I finally get the truck in my hands. Drove it straight to my girlfriends’ house which is about 15 miles away.

Well guess what, truck still has all the problems it had, and now some new ones. The power steering completely shot.(maybe it’s a coincidence but very odd to happen when I receive the truck after it was in their care. You can turn the truck unless it’s moving. The heater performance still very low. I and my mom and her friend a lawyer are going to the stealer ship when they open in a few hours.

I will continue to update this saga for anyone who has tried everything and nothing works maybe what ever I find will be the cultrate.

I still love this truck and I know once the problem is addressed correctly…she will run well for many more years to come. But this is so frustrating. I have a race in less than two weeks. I am almost out of time to fix the truck I don’t want to borrow a truck.

Thanks for reading along and I will continue updating as my journey leads me down a new path.


*on edit the dang check engine line came on again gonna stop at autozone before i take it back to the stealer.*

Oh tomorrow i will be typing word for work what they wrote on the invoice. what a joke

 

This should all be in a movie. I am so interested.

 

damn! I would never have agreed to the pcm swap unless they can tell you exactly whats wrong with it.

one question for you though, have you had a fuel injector cleaning done on it? there is a possibilty you have crap in your fuel rail and its plugging up the tops of the injectors intermittantly.

did you get the cat swapped out? if not, here's a test you can do...have someone sit inside the truck and rev the motor to 2k~2200 rpms (after it's warmed up of course) and measure the inlet temperature with a temp measuring gun and verify that it is colder than the output by at least 20 deg or so... if its equal then the cat is not working and is dead, if the input is hotter than the output, then it's plugged, if the output is hotter than the input than its most likely ok. I did this test on alot of cars years back and it worked 100% of the time.

another thought is have you checked your injectors to make sure they are not sticking? put a mechanics stethescope on each injector and listen to it, it should click on/off as it opens & closes. anything that doesnt sound right should be investigated further.

 

hey it just hit me... your surging, could it be the tranny causing it? I just replied to a post where the guy was getting a gov press solen. code and it reminded me of my truck a couple of years back, did something similar to what your talking about. not 100% sure if thats your problem or not but it's worth mentioning.

 

well, they removed all of the labor charges. And they are now fixing it "courtesty of the service manager". I broght the truck down today and had a nice hour long talk with the guy. He said that the truck has no thermostat (i had no idea maybe thats why it ran fine in the summer?) and since its not warming up to running temperature this will cause all of these symptops. He gave me another rental car and said the truck would be done friday (tomorrow).

On a side note he said he could be a great deal on a 2007 2500 bighorn with cummins 5.9 4x4 quad cab. 22,000$with my turck as trade for 14,000$(i guess Stealer prices are really low?) its almost tempting if this thing is not fixed tomorrow. i priced the truck he showed me online and its like 45,000 are they really marking up that high?
i guess the motto is sales before service.

Steve, havent done the cat yet but ill check it when and if i get this truck home. Also i havent done an injector cleaning but i run techron fuel. Good idea on the injectors i have not done that didnt know what to listen for but when its back in my possesion i sure will.

I dont think its the governer pressure solenoid because i saw them checkin it out on the DRB III and it was doing well(plus i have not thrown the code yet), also the truck shifts fine at WOT

oh and the only reason i said go to a PCM swap is a buddy of mine with a snap on scan tool was having trouble communicating with my truck on more than one occasion. (that and i dont care how much it costs anymore i just want it fixed. [&:] )

anyways thanks for reading along, its far from over..Stay tuned for tomorrows exciting adventure.