97 ram low power after cylinder head gasket repair

[ranger71]

Having a weird issue, low power going up hills. Truck acts as if it is starved for fuel, has a hard time spooling up the turbo without downshifting. No smoke issues. Know I have an air leak somewhere in the fuel system, could air in the system cause the problem? Replacing seals on top of fuel filter today but thought I’d throw it out there and see if y’all have other ideas. Thanks

 

[Austin Diesel]

air in systems will cause a bog or stumble lack of throttle response,

f filter assembly full to hte top/

pressurre readings from a guage?

 

[Missouri Mule]

When is the last time you changed fuel filter?
If you change it regularly, could be dirty or a piece of large dirt is plugging things up when need fuel. ( going up hills or taking off fast, carrying or pulling load) If the seal was not right it should be hard to start.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Saw after my post head gasket replaced.
Any leaks around head (air, oil, fuel).

 

[GAmes]

Air leaks get the blame for dozens of things that do not apply. Air leaks cause no start or hard start problems. If your engine starts normally you are not introducing air into the fuel. It sounds to me that you have a boost issue. A loose boot or a missing bolt on the intake manifold top, something related to the head gasket work that was done. The rule of thumb is if you have an issue after performing maintenance, then start looking at the work done first. BTW, it is next to impossible to help without some feedback from you. Answer the questions asked in order to get more information. If you stumbled onto the fix let us know what you found. There is a lot of experience among us, but we don't know it all.

 

[fest3er]

Oh. Pressure leak. The boost line from the manifold to the AFC could be leaking. If the AFC doesn't see enough boost, it won't allow enough fuel.

My intake heater relays stuck on once and melted the boost line to the AFC nearly off. Truck was lucky to do 0-60 in the same day until I replaced the line.

 

[JMcCoy]

Fuel return line behind the pump got me once. Took months to find.

Oh, and the help of members on this forum...