Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Low Power, Black Smoke

[DAldous]

I returned to Sacramento (50 ft altitude) yesterday after a week at the South Rim of Grand Canyon (7,400 ft altitude). 1700 miles round trip. I pulled my 11,000 lb 5th wheel.



Several times during the trip I experienced very low power with lots of black smoke when starting from a dead stop until about 10-15 MPH, then it would be normal.



Several times at high altitude, no trailer attached I had so little power that I could not back up a very slight incline. When I put it in gear to try, the engine would kill. It was not consistant but seemed to happen when engine was cold. Lots of black smoke!!



I don't have a boost gauge. Could this be lift pump problems?

I have checked the intercooler connectors. They seem to be okay.



Most of the time, the truck ran fine. (I averaged 10. 7 MPG) The Triplelok is fantastic!!



Thanks,

Darwin

 

[Snow man]

Id check the wastegate actuator,make sure the rod is hooked up,and the wastegate is fully closing.

 

[Sticks]

Check all of your inter-cooler hoses/boots/clamps. Really look at the bottom two boots for a tear from the fender.

 

[plongson]

Get your gauges in!! This is EXACTALLY why you need them, so you know what the engine parameters were BEFORE and AFTER the problem. It helps anyone working on the truck diagnose the problem correctly. It ends the "I wonder if".....

 

[B.G. Smith]

Thick smoke, dim lights and??

Pull the rubber hose from the air cleaner to the turbo inlet and turn the turbo with your finger, sounds like it might not be working all the time. It should spin free. (don't run ther engine with the hose off) bg

 

[BatMan01]

DAldous

This may be out there but when I had my 96 with automatic I experienced a similar problem. When starting out from a start it would be real doggy and heavy black smoke and it ended up being the transmission. The transmission was not shifting down to 1st gear and it was starting in 2nd gear. This usually happen after a long trip while the transmission is still hot.

 

[DAldous]

Thanks for your suggestions and help. I didn't find an obvious solution but I learned a lot.



I think I over-reacted a bit to the black smoke and engine kill problem. In retrospect, I didn't allow the engine to warm up at all before dropping it into gear. I can get away with that at sea level but apparently not at 7,400 ft altitude.



The Tripplelok clutchpak has so much more friction than stock it jumps Oo. when dropped into gear, even at an idle.



Thanks again,



Darwin

 

[Tom W]

Are you sure the exhaust brake is working properly? Maybe it's closed when you have the low power condition.



Tom

 

[Pat@BD]

When this happened had you used your brake shortly before? This really sounds like your brake is sticking. This causes low power, lots of smoke. Give that a check.

 

[plongson]

Not to insult anyone, but..... you would have to be either hearing impaired or brain dead (OOPS... really out of touch with the way your truck sounds) to NOT know that your exhaust brake was stuck...

 

[Pat@BD]

Originally posted by plongson

Not to insult anyone, but..... you would have to be either hearing impaired or brain dead (OOPS... really out of touch with the way your truck sounds) to NOT know that your exhaust brake was stuck...

You would be suprised what some people have done.

 

[plongson]

You would be suprised what some people have done.

I would have to agree with you there. There is an old saying: "There are more runnin' loose than there are locked up!!"