Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) loss of power/overheating

[GCK]

Good morning to all! I have a 2000 Dodge with the mighty Cummins with the standard transmission that is running a hotter than normal and seems to be down on power. Even pulling slight hill with a 16 foot trailer here in central Texas the speed drops much more than it has in the past. The truck now has slightly over 100K and gets the normal regular maintenance. It is not getting to the overheat range but is getting close. Anybody got any suggestions on what I should look for?

 

[LLeaton]

Does it do it on flat land? do you have an exhaust brake? are you on the original injection pump? do you have gauges? you should fill out your signature it will help people answer.

 

[GCK]

Sorry LLeaton, Not real versed on this. The truck is bone stock. It has the original injection pump with no exhaust brake. The only gauges are the factory gauges. The truck is a work truck used around farm and ranch. It seems to do fine on flat ground. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to my post.

 

[rweis]

On the overheating part - The blowby bottle comes to mind



Bob Weis

 

[GCK]

Thanks rweis,

Can you elaborate?

 

[rweis]

On my 02 there is a oil vent blow by bottle that is attached at mfg at the front of the gear case on the engine. It is NOTORIOUS for distributing a oily residue to the radiator system over on the drivers side. Add some normal debris from use and it becomes a totally blocked area (sometimes the whole radiator) of the radiator system.



There are many threads on it about the blockages. You should do a search on it.



A lot of TDR members have extended the hose connected to the blowby bottle either to the outside generally under the engine (with or without the bottle), remounted the blowby bottle under the engine, put the bottle in a sock under the engine (actually the best solution I have seen (after I had already done the extension), I took the bottle off and extended the hose under the engine and zip tie an old foot sock to it and change the sock when I change the oil.



Time for a little reading



Bob Weis

 

[GCK]

Thanks rweis,

I had a 98 12 valve that had the blow by tube under the filter. I used a large pill bottle fastened with a zip tie on it. The radiator seems to be clean so I am going to change coolant and thermostat this weekend to try that. It probably needs to be done anyway. I am afraid the loss of power may be a fuel pump but I will probably take it in to get codes read.

Thanks again for your responses.

 

[MBFARMS]

You may have the older version Thermostat. My truck was climbing in temps up hills and we changed my thermostat to the newer one and it fixed my problems. Do a search on the thermostat, you should find several posts on it.

 

[GCK]

Thanks MB,

The searches I found do talk alot about the thermostat. My old 98 12 valve was sold with 249K and still had the original water pump and thermostat!

I am going try the thermostat this weekend. Thanks again for your time.

 

[nps]

Thanks rweis,

The radiator seems to be clean so I am going to change coolant and thermostat this weekend to try that.

The radiator may appear clean, but the buildup is usually between the intercooler and the radiator where it can't be seen. You can check at night by putting a drop light behind the radiator and look through the grill for passages between the radiator fins. The only way to clean it is to pull the radiator and give it a good degrease and hose down.

 

[GCK]

Thanks NPS,

I will try that with the light tonight!