Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Where's my power?

[biggy238]

I've been watching this forum for about two months without a subscription and i loved it so here I am logged on and live.



I bought this 96' truck (should be profiled already) in December of 2003. At the time it had 33" tires and would run like a beast. I could outrun anything I needed/ wanted too and had great power to accelerate and pass vehicles, but no more, and it never has left the line with any sence of power at all. In april I bought 35" tires and the truck has all but died. I noticed from the test drive at the dealer that the truck ALWAYS tachs 2000 rpm unless it is locked up. The lockup usually causes a 250-350 rpm drop at which point the truck torques like a rocket. I've also been watching mileage like a hawk because i was pulling 17mpg in winter and it ran 10mpg for two weeks (dirty filter) but even with a new filter the truck is getting 14mpg. The truck weighs approx. 10k lbs with the bumpers and tires and myself

 

[biggy238]

This is where my question starts:



Do I need to be looking at a culpret other than the torque converter? I had the transmission line pressure sensor and governor replaced in feb (it had stopped shifting) and wondered if maybe the clutches should be readjusted to compensate for the undue wear that low line pressure might have caused. I'm weary of the TPS sensor because the TC never has any logic to when it will lock or unlock unless i turn O. D. off. I'm going this week for my recalls to be patched. The truck WILL NOT start without hitting the fuel, so i'm hoping the new throttle cable will cure that.

I don't want to bomb the truck because it hasn't got a way to get the power to the ground with what power it already makes, I'm 21 so anything majorly expensive is out of the question (gotta love insurance) but if a defective or worn piece of hardware can be replaced to cure my problem, I will find a way.



I'm sorry for the long post but i wanted to divulge as much info as possible to get everyone started. I bought the truck because of the great balance of size/power/mileage and so far it's letting me down on all sides.

 

[biggy238]

got my signature fixed.

 

[y-knot]

You have all the makings of a real DOG. 35" tires, 3:54 rear gear and a worn out tranmission, all this stuffed into a, according to you, 10,000lb truck. Sounds like something is arye, though I doubt it it's all restricted to the trany.

 

[biggy238]

so you think i'm just stuck with what i've got? The reason i went with 35's was the fact that it ran so well with 33's. I knew they'd slow me down somewhat, but we did the same swap on a 302 ford truck and it barely hurt it. What it's doing just doesn't seem like normal performance when i see guys on here running goosenecks and rv's before they're performance drops like that.

 

[sewman]

Don't forget that your 35" tires are 12% bigger than stock so you have to add this to your miles driven to figure your mpg. That is of course assuming the speedo gears weren't changed.

Bob

 

[biggy238]

This would mean fewer revolutions per mile meaning less miles on the odometer. I dunno why I overlooked that, I've gone through the same process several times.



Any idea what it takes to recalibrate a 96 truck?



I just didn't realize i was driving the he!! out of it.

 

[Ram Medic]

Superlift

Superlift makes a speedo calibration box called the Truespeed. It works wonders. I had 35's on my truck when I bought it. Went like a wild dog recently dropped to 33's. I like the 33's a whole lot better. The Truespeed is easy to install and even easier to calibrate. My . 02