Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Engine surge or paranoia?

[jwgary]

I did a search of this forum for engine surge and no one had the same problem that I am seeing. When cruising at about 60-65 mph, I feel a surge or drop in power... kind of a nudge forward like the truck is slowing down slightly. I don't see any change in RPM and my fuel mileage has not been affected either. I just went out to see if there were any codes and nothing showed up. Am I having a real problem or have I just all of a sudden become overly sensitive to the wind blowing the truck around? I have about 135,000 miles now. Thanks.

 

[MBranciforte]

I had the same problem in my 2002 4x4 3500 6 speed. Feel it in the seat of my pants. Just repalced injector pump and lift pump.

 

[Herman8r]

I just noticed last week while accelerating on the freeway the engine felt like it skipped a beat--RPM dropped slightly-felt like a misfire. I pluged in the scan tool & no codes were found so I thought it was just a one time thing.



Came back home after a week off & drove the truck & the same thing happened--misfire upon acceleration. Still no codes. Still confused.



The fuel pressure is 12-14 psi running normal--10 psi +/- accelerating.

Any Ideas???



Herman

 

[jwgary]

Unfortunately, I don't have any gages (y'all can beat me up later) so I can't see it there is anything funny with the fuel. I don't ever have any of these feelings when I am accelerating. It's only when cruising. I am hoping that it is just the wind because that is a lot cheaper than a new IP

 

[JCyrbok]

My problem started the exactly the same way as yours. Eventually it went to a dead pedal off of a dead stop. Long story short, I have a new injection pump in my truck. I eventually showed codes after about 2 months of the problem .



Hope this helps

J-

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

(Sorry, rant mode ON!)



GUYS, GUYS, GUYS!



GUAGES, GUAGES, GUAGES!



Without at least the most BASIC of diagnostic tools - GUAGES - all those of us who really WANT to help have to go on is some vague "seat of your pants" feeling!



HELP us help YOU by at least doing SOMETHING to give us a few realistic clues - otherwise, it leaves us essentially tossing crap up against a wall, hoping SOME of it will stick in the right place! :-laf



The above related problem MIGHT be a MAF sensor, APPS, ECM, Lift Pump, VP-44, Clogged fuel filter, Fuel line sucking air, Clogged in-tank filter, clogged fuel tank vent - or a number of OTHER similar ills - OR as simple as frost-heaves in the roadway combined with bad shock absorbers!



And to try to GUESS what's wrong from a distance with so LITTLE accompanying info is sorta like trying to do brain surgery the same way!



NO, this isn't aimed specifically at THIS thread or poster - nor is it intended to offend anyone - but at what appears to be a growing tendency by OTHER members as well who pop up with similar vague problems, and ALSO with similar LACK of info "tools" to assist in delivering meaningful assistance!



(Rant mode off - and returning to regularly scheduled guessing game!) :-laf :-laf

 

[jwgary]

No offense taken. I had every intention of adding gages ever since I bought my truck 4. 5 years ago. I guess priorities change. I will continue to check for codes every once in a while to see if anything shows up.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

(SIGH!)



Sometimes I really long for the "good old days", when you could buy a car or truck, pay for it, and simply DRIVE the damn thing, with NO worries about reliability - or carry $2000 worth of spares with you and enough tools to nearly totally overhaul the dern thing...



Yeah, the new stuff sure has nice features - but sometimes an unacceptable degree of "fear factor" is part of the price of admission...



Sometimes, in some ways, newer is NOT "better"!

 

[mhenon]

Gary, That surge your having is the first thing I noticed before my lift pump went south. I changed out the fuel filter (hoping that was the problem) while on the road and thought I had cured the thing. About 500 miles down the road it started again.

Mine would surge and/or hesitate occasional. By the time we got back to Idaho (1200 miles) I was having real problems getting over 50 mph (towing TT. . 10k lbs).

I filled the tank in Boise (this did help the situation) and limped home another 100 miles. Changed out the LP and everything's fine. I hope the VP44 wasn't damaged but notice a slight "hint" of surge while in CC on level road. That goes away after everything warms up. . but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Yeah. . I agree. Nice truck and engine... just that $150. 00 LP in the back of your mind at all times. I did everything possible to keep mine alive (it went 68K miles) but wouldn't leave home without a spare.

Mike

 

[jwgary]

I had a LP failure at about 50k fixed under warranty. I was kind of hoping that it would have toasted the VP44 so I could get a new one under warranty as well. The LP failure felt much different than this. It was much more abrupt. Like running out of fuel or trying to start the engine without priming the fuel filter. This is very slight. I seem to remember there being something about a new lift pump that Dodge was using for repairs that was better. Is this true and how do I know if I got that one?

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I think at this point in time, just about ANY replacement LP you buy recently will have all the latest and greatest updates - they've been out for quite some time now. Look for an "A" on the end of the LP part number for the latest level of update...

 

[viper700]

When I got my new 04. 5 CTD 4WD QC DRW last July from Dave Smith Moters and headed home to Alaska I had the same surge and kind of dump on the power at least 3 times in the first 1000 miles. Each time it was in CC topping out on a long upgrade. I now have 23K on it with a trip to Arizona this past winter and a lot of CC at 70 mph and it has never has done it since. Go figure... .

 

[Fishin Guide]

This is the same issue I had had with my truck for months now. Feels like a stutter, or a miss in a gsser. I have tried everything that is simple. No codes yet.



Fuel pressure from in cab and external gauge is 12+psi cruising. Most noticeable on gentle acceration and fuel pressure is still good. Changed filters, checked for sucking air, checked and swapped injectors, changed intake filter, pulled turbo and confirmed all is well, and even had Bill K dial in my APPS.



Nothing has touched the problem and with no codes, I could only start guessing and throwing parts at it. Best guess by DDP? VP44 heading south.



So, drive it till it drops or?



Dave

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"Nothing has touched the problem and with no codes, I could only start guessing and throwing parts at it. Best guess by DDP? VP44 heading south. "



ACTUALLY, if you'll do a search, this (usually) slight hesitation or "miss" is pretty common on the 24 valve engines. Past threads have focused primarily upon the APPS as the curprit - and in many cases it WAS - but there are a significant number of instances that replacing the APPS and various sensors did NOT help the problem.



Most cases seem to usually surface in cold weather or temps, and are most objectionable in heavy loaded or towing situations. Mine has done it once, when we encountered below freezing weather down in southern Nevada after an all night stay towing our 5er - and it cleared up as soon as the engine was fully warmed up.



I occasionally *think* I detect it up here in eastern Oregon - but all my cold weather driving has been unloaded and no towing, so I may simply be feeling uneven road surfaces as they create minor variations in throttle application - that was why I mentioned frost-heaved roads and poor shocks as a possible cause...