Hey guys,

I've been having quite a few performance issues with my Ram lately. My truck seems to have a lot of low end power but once I get up past about 60 mph it starts acting really weird. Sometimes it will make rattling noises and other times it won't even want to shift up to o/d until about 3500 rpm. I mean even going from 70-80 (flooring it) seems like it takes forever.At first I suspected a bad cat but I'm not quite sure if that is really the problem. If I had a bad cat wouldn't it be acting up at low speeds too? And sometimes when it's shifting from o/d down to 3rd gear it almost sounds like something is jamming but it's only done that a couple times.

My truck is pretty much stock aside from the dual american thunder flowmaster exhaust system that I had put on last year. I also am running BFG All terrains (265s) without regearing. I've heard that my stock gearing might be a problem with the tires that I'm running but I'm not sure if that's really the problem. BTW, at 60 mph my truck is at about 1600-1700 rpm. Is this normal?

Sorry for asking so many questions.... I'm just trying to resolve the issue...

Thank you

 

Yea I don't think it's a cat problem either, I'm guessing it's a gear issue if this all started after the new tires. Is yours a Sort?? I know a guy who works at the proving grounds in Chelsea and he told me that some of the Sports have crappy rearends when it comes to bigger towing and bigger tires. The tranny thingIthink is something else---keep an eye on that one.

 

It won't be the gears if you're only running 265's, that's only about an inch over stock size. I'm running 285's on the stock gears without a problem and i've seen guys running up to a 35" tire on the stock 3.55's and while that isn't recommended, it can still be done. The problem with shifting into overdrive could be as simple as a bad throttle position sensor, which is only about $40 at NAPA. As for the rattling, that could be anything from detonation (pinging) or a bad heat shield. You've identified a number of symptoms here but they're all a bit vague. A bad cat is not noticible at idle, but as soon as the engine is under load and typically from about 2000 rpm and up, the truck will start losing power and bogging down significantly, ie not developing any mid-high range power. I'd say for now, start with the basics. Do a full tune-up (if you haven't done one in the last year) including plugs, wires, cap & rotor, and while you'
re at it, throw on a new TPS. That's a relatively inexpensive start.

 

compression compression. my truck is doing the same thing. great low end but pulling or hauling a load or even just driving on highywat between 55-65 hit a small incline and i have to keep getting into throttle. the same truck w/ a 3.9 would kill me on the highway. i have very bad commpression in all cyls, pings and rattles badly. get it checked before severe damage occures. i know my valves are most of my problem but w/ 110k i am going too upgrade my truck with a 360with 2 new heads.

 

This is what I do to ALL of my vehicles, and NONE of them would have any problems achieving speeds well in excess of 100 mph while pushing the rpm's as far as they go because I love the sound of a racing engine.
Unfortunately, a good driving record prevents me from doing most of that illegal stuff, but I do Soooo love outrunning every other car in my class, for the only reason that I do my maintenance (and I use the High performance stuff only because the regular crap is a waste of time, and fuel).

This does take some technical know-how, and more likely than not it's your transmission that needs a fluid and filter change, but:

Remove and throw away the Air filter assembly, and replace it with a 14-inch shiny round high-performance open air filter.
I bought mine at Advance, it is made by Mr. Gasket Co, comes in a square sorta black and yellow cardboard box, costs around $20-$25 (Once installed, the only thing needs replacing from time to time is the $5 paper element).
In addition to having to drill out some pre-marked holes in the bottom part where you attach the (supplied) plastic pipe where that black rubber hose from the breather cap fits onto, I did have to cut the (supplied) center bolt to size with a grinder, then after I threaded it in that convenient hole on the throttle body, had to bend it back some with a hammer so the filter's cover hole would go through it.

Get Taylor 8mm High Performance spark plug wires, Autolite Double-Platinum spark plugs (and gap to .035) and Accel High Performance Ignition Cap and Rotor.
Buy the Haynes Dodge Manual and open it to the page with the firing order diagrams, then replace all of the above.
The engine is easy: Driver's side 1-3-5-7 front to back, pass.side 2-4-6-8 front to back. The ignition cap is another story thou.

Get 6 quarts of 10w-30 Full Synthetic Motor oil and a storebrand oil filter, then change the oil and filter with the engine HOT.
Not sure how much it takes, check the manual, I put 5 in mine and kept the 6th until I can get it to level ground.
If you want to save money, Walmart sells 5-quart containers of Full Synthetic for $12.50 from time to time.
Oil filter Advance Auto Parts number AA16.

Get 6 quarts of ATF+4 transmission fluid and a transmission filter kit, then change this with the engine HOT but refill ONLY 5 quarts and keep the 6th just in case.

Replace the breather, and the PCV valve.
Replace the fuel filter.

If you still have money, replace the 02 sensors as well.

And your truck will run like greased lightning, guaranteed.
You'll need to be extra careful on the throttle when taking off, and let off between 1st and 2nd gear or she'll spin tires on shifting (especially dangerous on wet pavement).

For reference, the air filter (and you can see the blue High performance wires):
And yes, a '95 Ram 2500 SLT 360 Cid v-8.

 

Btw, my air filter is a LOT easier to replace now (thou the assembly does just barely fit up in there lol).
And no, you do NOT need one of those expensive $200 cold air infusion kits from K&N.

Ohhh man, my truck Mooooves, lol.
I love the sound, too.
Yes, it makes a new noise now, and it sounds GOOD.
So good, most people won't even TRY to race you lol!

But no, it won't beat sports cars like lexuses and gt's and stuff.
Still, it mooooves.

 

Thank you for all the advice guys and I'm really sorry that I was a bit vague on the details. First the reason that I think it probably isn't the cat is because I typically let it hit 4500 RPM in 1st gear while racing and it never starts acting really sluggish until 3rd gear. My truck is just a few miles away from 40,000 so I'm definitely planning on getting it a tune-up. Do you think they'll be able to tell what's wrong with it?To be honest the damn thing has never had a real tune-up.All I've ever had changed is theoil, transmission fluid,etc.. aside from that nothing has really been tuned.

I mean it just makes me mad when my friend with an 85' Chevy Blazer with 35 inch tires, stock gears, and stock 350 can totally smoke me past 60 mph.It just feels slow. The compression issue that johnalm mentioned seems very similar to the problem that I'm having. It will fly in the first two gears but past that it seems to just give up. It definitely seems to have issues maintaining 60 mph when it hits an incline on the freeway. I really don't know much about cars to be honest. Do you guys just suggest that i have it tuned up and hope for the best?

 

with your mileage, it is most likly a tune up. but a compression test is a good idea. if you are having a valve problem and find it early is best. but i bet it will be fine.