I recently took my 2001 2500 Dodge diesel Ram pickup to the Colorado mountains pulling my 25 foot fifth wheel. When climbing over one of the mountain passes, the engine kind of shifted and seemed to lose power towards the top of the pass. My engine temp gauge showed around 190 degrees or a little above but coming down the other side of the mountain, it immediately cooled down to normal. Ever since this trip and getting back down to my home location in the flatlands, the truck seems to run very sluggish after starting up from a cold start. After running for only about 2 or 3 minutes, the sluggishness goes away and I have normal power. But each time I start up in the mornings, I have this loss of power and no matter how much I press on the accelerator, there is no power or acceleration until the engine begins to warm up a bit, usually around 2 to 3 minutes. I just changed the fuel filter and also the air filter after my trip to the mountains thinking that this might improve the performance. What can this problem be and can I fix it myself, or do I need to take it to the dealership? I have around 93,000 miles on the truck and this is the first problem I have encountered with it.

 

get a pressure test done on your lift pump. . .it may be going out. . .also you may want to have a good diesel tech take a look at your VP44 and make sure you have the propper pop-off pressures.


edit, forgot to mention that you should have more then 12psi isle, 8-10psi cruising, and no less than 4psi full throttle from the lift pump.