Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Had a low boost / low power problem with my 2003 yesterday while pulling a 6k tall enclosed trailer during a 8 hour trip. Sorry for the lengthy post but wanted to provide as much info as possible.
Truck is shown in signature: 2003 Ram 2500 Quad Cab Long Box 2wd with 76k miles, Standard Output 250HP stock with no performance mods (ever), 48re auto, 3.73 gears, fuel system upgraded with Walbro lift pump and CAT prefilter at 25k miles for reliability with no problems since. Truck has a Autometer Fuel Pressure gauge, Boost Gauge, and transmission Temp gauge, but no EGT gauge.
We pulled our trailer to Kentucky on Wednesday with no problems whatsoever. The boost was normal and the lift pump pressure was fine at 15-20psi. Great power and I got 12mpg which is normal with this very tall trailer (lots of wind resistance). Truck gets low 20's for mpg when empty.
Coming home yesterday I noticed the truck seemed down on power after about 3-4 hours into trip. Looked at boost gauge and boost was only showing 5psi max. The boost would range between 0-5psi when pushing accelerator, but it would not go over 5psi. Lift pump fuel pressure was still normal at 15psi. No smoke, CEL or codes, and the idle was still smooth. The truck still ran ok except for some loss of power, but I could still maintain 65-70mph. I did hear some faint turbo spool noise but it just did not seem as loud as normal. No other abnormal noises.
Pulled over and idled to check for leaky or loose intercooler boots but they all seemed tight and normal. Let truck idle for 10 minutes and resumed trip but problem continued. We stopped for fuel and lunch and I shut down truck for about 45 minutes. Upon resuming our trip the boost was initially still 5psi max, but during the next hour the boost slowly increased by 1-2 PSI every few minutes up to a maximum of about 17psi (still low) with partial power and turbo spool noise returning. However, after another 2 hours the original problem returned with maximum boost of only 5psi until completion of trip (2 more hours). Upon reaching home the idle was normal, and I let the truck idle for 20 minutes to cool down before shutting it off.
I’m going to crawl under it today for a closer look but my initial guess is that perhaps the turbo wastegate is sticking open? If the problem was a torn or loose intercooler boot I would think the boost pressures would be low all the time. The fact that the boost slowly partially returned for a couple of hours makes me think sticky wastegate, but I’d appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. Since I could still maintain speed, had good lift pump psi and no smoke I don’t think fuel is the problem but unfortunately I don’t have EGT info. Fuel economy did seem to be lower while the problem was going on.
Thanks for any thoughts, and I’ll update after I have looked closer.
Truck is shown in signature: 2003 Ram 2500 Quad Cab Long Box 2wd with 76k miles, Standard Output 250HP stock with no performance mods (ever), 48re auto, 3.73 gears, fuel system upgraded with Walbro lift pump and CAT prefilter at 25k miles for reliability with no problems since. Truck has a Autometer Fuel Pressure gauge, Boost Gauge, and transmission Temp gauge, but no EGT gauge.
We pulled our trailer to Kentucky on Wednesday with no problems whatsoever. The boost was normal and the lift pump pressure was fine at 15-20psi. Great power and I got 12mpg which is normal with this very tall trailer (lots of wind resistance). Truck gets low 20's for mpg when empty.
Coming home yesterday I noticed the truck seemed down on power after about 3-4 hours into trip. Looked at boost gauge and boost was only showing 5psi max. The boost would range between 0-5psi when pushing accelerator, but it would not go over 5psi. Lift pump fuel pressure was still normal at 15psi. No smoke, CEL or codes, and the idle was still smooth. The truck still ran ok except for some loss of power, but I could still maintain 65-70mph. I did hear some faint turbo spool noise but it just did not seem as loud as normal. No other abnormal noises.
Pulled over and idled to check for leaky or loose intercooler boots but they all seemed tight and normal. Let truck idle for 10 minutes and resumed trip but problem continued. We stopped for fuel and lunch and I shut down truck for about 45 minutes. Upon resuming our trip the boost was initially still 5psi max, but during the next hour the boost slowly increased by 1-2 PSI every few minutes up to a maximum of about 17psi (still low) with partial power and turbo spool noise returning. However, after another 2 hours the original problem returned with maximum boost of only 5psi until completion of trip (2 more hours). Upon reaching home the idle was normal, and I let the truck idle for 20 minutes to cool down before shutting it off.
I’m going to crawl under it today for a closer look but my initial guess is that perhaps the turbo wastegate is sticking open? If the problem was a torn or loose intercooler boot I would think the boost pressures would be low all the time. The fact that the boost slowly partially returned for a couple of hours makes me think sticky wastegate, but I’d appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. Since I could still maintain speed, had good lift pump psi and no smoke I don’t think fuel is the problem but unfortunately I don’t have EGT info. Fuel economy did seem to be lower while the problem was going on.
Thanks for any thoughts, and I’ll update after I have looked closer.
