No power when towing!

[tcaron]

I'm a new owner of a 96 4x4 quad auto. I've been getting around 15mpg around town which I thought was low. I towed my 27' Traveleze for the first time today and could only get 60 mph on the flats.

My boost was around 18-19 and pyro 900. I don't know the trailer weight, but it wasn't loaded. The old owner said he changed something to get more hp, but I don't know what. It has 57,000 miles and seems to be pretty stock. It has the stock air filter. Should I expect more speed or better mpg

 

[Boldt's Wagon]

15 around town is about right for your rig. The speed and temp are low. Change the fuel filter as your first remedy.

 

[Cooker]

How does the truck run otherwise? Does it idle rough? Any other "habits" motor has that you might consider abnormal?



Are you sure the truck is shifting into O/D. What RPM were you at?

 

[tcaron]

I had od off and rpms were around 2200. Otherwise the truck runs great.

 

[Cooker]

Here is probably what is going on.



The fueling of the truck is governed. That is the truck will only deliver max fuel up to a given RPM. Typically for a 12v this number is between 2400 and 2700 rpm's. At 60MPH you are proboably pushing against the governor and this is the reason you cannot get any more speed.



You say your RPM's at 60 are 2200. It is possible that the governor is at around 2200, but not too likely. When you tried to go faster, and obviously increased RPM's, did you lose boost?



I'd say your mileage seems a little low, but around town MPG's or even 50/50 driving, can vary quite a bit. I wouldn't be too concerned until you get a mileage number from an almost 100% highway trip and go from there.

 

[Driftwood Ram]

Originally posted by tcaron

I had od off and rpms were around 2200. Otherwise the truck runs great.

By "od off" I assume you mean the od light was on = od off. Do you have 4:10 gears?? If you are at about 2200 rpm I do not think you are going to go much faster without dgoing into od. I'll look tomorrow and see what my '96 does at that rpm with the od off. Your "around town" mileage is about the same as I have gotten after break in.

 

[chrgr446]

I must agree with everyone else about hitting the governor, it will seeem like the truck has run out of power. My experience has been, as soon as I added power with the stock convertor and valve body the truck was, a chore to drive, lots of noise and rpms with not much forward motion. If you want to use OD when towing (with power enhancements) I would recommend T. C. , valve body, and gov. spring kit.

You'll think you bought a new motor.

Let the BOMBING begin!

 

[Dennis Garrett]

If the truck is new to you, possibley it's not going into TC lockup. Make sure the previous owner installed a "mystery switch" & didn't tell you about it's location, or purpose. It might be in the "off" position. Might be some other reason for it's not locking up.

 

[Floor It]

Hey Dennis

 

[Pogodually]

Towing my fiver, once I hit 55 mph or better, my OD is ON, (light off) otherwise at 55 to 60 my rpm is nearing that 2200 or more you talk about. Turn ON your OD (light off) let it go into 4th and lockup the TC. But, change your fuel filter first.



Thats my experience. Have about 15,000 towing so far.

 

[tcaron]

I have 3. 55 gears. Listening to you guys I think I just needed to turn the od on. I just thought when towing you normally drive with it off. The truck runs like a champ.

 

[SlyBones]

Well I will add to check that nasty little overflow valve. -- Did not tow at all last winter and driving empty did not notice the slow loss of power. Then this spring came, the trailer was hooked up and it was real obvious then. -- was stock at the time.

 

[Cooker]

tcaron,



It is ok to tow with OD as long as you keep your RPM's up. They should at least 1700 while towing. Otherwise it is better stay out of OD and run a little more RPM's.



If you are going to tow often, and a new VB and/or TC are not in your future you may want to tweak your stock transmission.



-Ryan

 

[Dennis Garrett]

Most overybody finds out quickly, if your gonna run with the pack, & move with traffic instead of balling it up, you have to tow in OD. The next thing after that is Lock UP. It's a good idea to back off the power while that occurs, to avoid frying the lock up clutch. Once Lockup occurs, you can apply power again, but like the previous post recommended, try to stay above 1700 RPM or so. When you're locked up, your crank shaft is pretty much "welded" to the driveshaft. No more "fluid drive", slippage & rising fluid temps.

 

[ltamarra]

My observations with 4:10's

I get 20 mpg solo and avg. about 15 mpg towing our 31' Alumalite Custom TT on the flats. Goes to approx 12 mpg in mountainous terrain.

From what I have experienced, here's my observations:

2000 rpm w OD off = approx 44 mph

2000 rpm w OD on = approx 63 mph

WE NEVER TOW FASTER THAN 65 MPH except for passing but NEVER over 70 for short periods.

I tow with OD "on" until I see the rpm's dropping to approx. 1700 and monitor both boost/egt. If road conditions tells me I need more throutle to keep going at a reasonable speed, I take OD off and keep the rpm's at 1900 - 2300 to maintain a reasonable headway without getting the EGT over 800 (post turbo). So far so good and I've been able to merrily putt along even at 45-50 mph going up 6% grades with OD off. BTW, other's passing me with tow rigs DOESN'T BOTHER ME ONE BIT! Forgot to mention that I have not seen transmission temps exceeding 150 while towing.

Will add however, when arbitrary disposible $'s become a reality, I'm headed north to Have Bill K. do his thing to our transmission.

Lou T.

 

[Deezul1]

I have no experience with automatics but had the exact low power problem you describe with my 5sd truck. It was the over flow valve. check fuel pressure for at least 15lbs prefer 20lbs. A quick cheap way to check is to remove the valve and measure the spring. It should be at . 500 long. if not stretch to . 550 and see if power comes back, mine did and I never replaced the valve.

 

[jlroberts]

Low Power

I tow a 10,000 lb. fifth wheel with a '95 and auto. If I push accelerator real hard I can get maybe 62 mph, in overdrive off, and out of curze. But in cruze it will bump up a few mph. I tow in overdrive some but it seems to put a strain on my driveline at certain speeds, so mostly I tow in strait drive. I say you have no power problem.

 

[danandamy]

Stock Power Sucks!

I have two 95 auto equipped trucks and both were stock when I bought them. Stock power absolutly sucks goats. If I couldn't have upped the power on them I would have gone back to a big block gasser Hey, I'm just speakin' the truth. Stock power was pathetic. I was getting spanked by my dad's 95 psd very, very regularly Thanks to everyone here, that doesn't happen anymore When you up the power, it's a new truck. I will never never go back to stock power again!!



Dan

 

[MxerChris]

I have a question about putting a switch on the lock up, say I'm pulling a hill with the OD on and the rpms start dropping below 1700 do I just flip the switch and unlock the converter or do I still have to turn the OD off? And how hard is it to wire in one of the switchs? Thanks, Chris... ... .

 

[Jeff Burke]

Tcaron, something else you may want to consider is sliding your stock plate forward, or adding a TST or other plate. You can pick up some extra horseys, and may eve help your milage some. Also, the plate will allow you to stay above the 1700 rpm mark on some of the less flat areas.