I have a really strange situation here and I'm not exactly sure how to search for such an issue.

So, what I have:
2018 Ram 1500 5.7L Hemi w/ 162k miles. No mods
I do pull a trailer when fully loaded about 4000lbs

I was having fuel mileage decline and I was noticing a slight stutter in climbing small hills, nothing major but definitely there. So I decided to replace the Plugs. This didn't change the overall performance of the motor, but it did wake up the deeper drone of the exhaust. I did gain about 1.5mpg. But the slight stutter was still there.
Also while I was replacing the plugs, I tried to get resistance measurements on the coils, and some of them I couldn't get any reading on them, and others seemed to be out of spec. So I decided to replace the coils as well. I got the OE Walker ones.

I didn't drive it right after the swap of the coils, but the next day I was headed to work, pulling the trailer, and an area where there's a decent hill but not bad, the motor started bucking/kicking, and after a few seconds it downshifted and the problem basically vanished, for the moment

Later on as I started testing different driving styles to see what repeated the condition, it was this:
Pretty much always can do it in 3rd gear, 1st/2nd is harder to do, but can be done with WOT tho
In 3rd, around 35mph which is about 1400RPMs, it'll start to accelerate if I give it just a little throttle. As it approaches 1600RPMs the kicking will get noticeable. Hold the throttle and allow for gentle acceleration and it'll stay about the same kick until about 2500RPMs
If I start to give it more throttle to increase load without downshifting, then the kicking will start to be bucking, and when it gets to about 2000RPMs, it can get *very* violent.

Hold the throttle and when it hits 2500RPMs, it like flipping a switch and the bucking/kicking practically stops and drops to almost nothing. I can still feel a little stutter, but it could be road vibrations, not sure.

The only code being thrown is P219B, Bank 2 air to fuel ratio imbalance.
Research shows this could be a few issues, such as plugs, coils, wires, faulty O2, Vacuum leak, etc.

This I'm thinking could be being *caused* by the engine misfiring issues, and not be the *cause* of the issues.

If someone has posted a thread similar, please point me there so I can go over it. I'm just not sure what words to search for on this one.

Kori

 

Easy test, disconnect the front O2 sensor on bank 2. Go for a drive. (this WILL set a code....) Problem gone? Replace the sensor. Still there? Keep troubleshooting.

 

Yeah, kinda thought of doing that too. But I was thinking of disconnecting both. But yeah, I know that it will toss a code if I do that.

 

have you tried tow haul vs not tow haul, that seems like the range MDS would be activated, tow haul should deactivate MDS though

 

I used it the day earlier when pulling a heavy load (different trailer) and there wasn't any issues that day. I didn't have anything happen until "after" the coils were replaced. I'd like to not think that one of the new coils are defective (not impossible I know), but this doesn't appear to a coil issue considering the RPM anomaly range.

 

All the injectors have 11.8-9 resistance. So they are just fine.

I was able to get some output with AlphaOBD, and I included all the logs so far.

If someone could tell me which values I should be looking at in the app so I can log what would actually be useful, I'd greatly appreciate it. I have no idea what points would be good to data log. It's a shame the Demo version is limited to just 12 points

 

Ok, wanted to post an update about the situation

Replaced the Spark Plugs, no change in performance
Replaced the coils packs with NGKs, no change in performance (replaced, again, because the ones I got from RockAuto were damaged so returned and got a great deal on new NGK's for a few $$ more than the Denso's I was going to get as replacements from RA)
Replaced the fuel injectors, no change in performance

A quick rundown of what it's doing: While idling I can feel a skip every so often. When I rev up to about 1400rpms the skips are more often and noticeable Under load, the skips are a lot more prominent and becomes more of a kick/buck. Accelerate at moderate and there's a lot of kicking. After replacing the injectors I took it out for a run without the trailer. I went WOT a couple times and I noticed blue cloud behind me.

I do have oil on the air intake filter coming in from the drivers valve cover. And there's also oil build up on the throttle plate

The filter spots seem dried, but obviously was wet at one point. The flap has caked oil on the edge and there's definitely wet oil down the barrel. I put my thumb down there and came back black (I'm a white dude) (that is, black where I rubbed the wall of the throttle housing)

Question now is, could it be possible that I have a fouled valve and/or ring(s) allowing oil to enter the chamber and messing with the plug(s) spark?

 

what do your old plugs look like

 

Here ya go. I didn't keep the packs separate as far as the paired cylinders. So 1&3 were in the same box, not sure which one was cyl 1, and which is cyl 3. Hope these come through good enough.

 

Noting stands out to much on any one cylinder, that gap looks plenty wide, hopefully the new ones were check. I also would not replace with new iridium plugs, but I'm guessing that's what you got.

Cant say its un usual to find oil in the filter. Have you cleaned or changed the PCV recently? If it rattles its probably ok. It turns into the intake lower passenger side of the throttle body.