Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Odd symptom

[RonaldLarson]

Towing 6000 Lbs. (GCVW +- 14000) over steep I 15 hills through Montana. 1999 2500, 275 injectors, edge three stage box, Raptor pump on the frame, 4 inch exhaust, waste gate orifice, 3. 55 gears, 47Re trans. , ATS triple clutch TC, ATS lockup controller, Edge box in the #2 position, fuel pressure at WOT 10-13 PSI. In overdrive, climbing steep hills above 4000 altitude. Moderate to violent bucking occurred. Turn off OD and issue disappears. transmission temp 130-150. transmission built by top tech about 9 years ago.

Any opinions would be appreciated. Of note, on our return trip, the symptoms disappeared, and the same hills were climbed in OD, and the fuel pressure came up to no lower than 14 PSI.

Many thanks!

Ron

 

[JR]

Are you positive your lift pump pressure remained steady while the truck was acting up? If it acts up again I would try disconnecting (not just turn off) your Edge. I've seen a few of them cause grief before and would be first on my list to eliminate, unless something like a cel pops and points to something more obvious.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I was wondering were the steep hills on I 15 in MT are?

 

[RonaldLarson]

Are you positive your lift pump pressure remained steady while the truck was acting up? If it acts up again I would try disconnecting (not just turn off) your Edge. I've seen a few of them cause grief before and would be first on my list to eliminate, unless something like a cel pops and points to something more obvious.

I agree that the Edge might be the problem. Wife monitored fuel pressure during the events, and it was steady and high. We towed a 27 foot rig much heavier, and had a VanAAken on board. No hill climbing issues whatever.



The steep hilly section on I 15 is between Monida and Butte, at up to 6800 foot elevation.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Ron, I hope you're not trying to run OD up hill with that kind of load anytime I have a decent hill with less trailer than that I always drop OD and run around 23-2600 RPM.

 

[JR]

I can generally hold od with up to 8 - 9 k lb load on the freeways running through the 6% grades in WV. But anything slower and im with you on dropping a gear into 3rd. Shell run all day long at 2400 rpm. Hauling with the tall gearing in the 47 can be a bit finicky sometimes, I tend to drive by the egt gauge more than the speedometer in the hills.

 

[RonaldLarson]

Agree on using Od towing up hills. I have had no issues doing so, and I continue to use OD up hills, unless they are very long. My EGT was well within safe values, around 700-750 after turbo.
Interesting to note, the same hills on the return trip caused no problems running OD all the way up, but for one long hill, where I had to go to 3rd. I'm thinking bad fuel from Idaho Falls. Even the 10PSI fuel pressure went to 12-13 on the return trip.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Kinda odd it did it the opposite way coming back . . . I say if it still has a chronic problem after you refill you could try disconnecting the Edge box. I know sometimes they can start going bad and cause issues.

One time in 2004 heading to Maine I fueled my '96 up in Missoula, it was an Exxon just off to the south side of the freeway. It was by far the worst diesel I've ever filled up with. It must have had a cetane rating of about 20 because my '96 rattled much louder than a HO 24 valve! And in the morning it ran pretty rough until it warmed up.

 

[RonaldLarson]

Edge emailed and asked me to remove the box and call them. They are going to fix it if it's not too old. There is no mfg. date on the box, and it was installed about 18 months ago. Might be a very old unit.

 

[JR]

Ron was there a definite problem with the truck that went away when you removed the Edge?

 

[RonaldLarson]

Affirmative, it is seemingly Edge related. My old VanAAken had none of the symptoms, but it went to module heaven.

 

[RonaldLarson]

Edge tested my EZ box and cables, and found no problems. They did, however send me a new box and cables set at no charge. Sure happy for this nice surprise, and sure do miss the power with it off!
Many thanks to Edge!