power & pick up issue
 

New to the group. Still trying to figure out where to start. My 95 4x seems to lack pick up power when in tow. I hook up my utility flat bed trailer. maybe 2400# loaded. It seems to take a long time to pick up speed. I hitch up the 5er 6600 gvwr. I'm doing good on flats hit a hill down to 35 mph nothing flat. <br>Any ideas where to start. Pretty much stock other than k&amp;n filter in the box. And running 285's on the road. had the truck for 2 years now.

Re:power & pick up issue
 

Thats why one of the first things I did was to up my HP with a TST fuel plate the 95s only have 160-175 HP and it just didnt have much power on hills with a load

Its possaible your timing mite be off some also

The best bang for your bucks would be a set of gauges and a TST fuel plate...but without upgrading your tranny or clutch dont go more then 230/605 fuel plate

http://www.tstproducts.com/

Re:power & pick up issue
 

I have been thinking about the banks stinger kit. I do have what I hear as the weak link. Auto trans. So I have concerns there also.

Re:power & pick up issue
 

What Pappyman says,<br> TST will give you the best bang for the buck. Either the 8 plate or the 6 plate will give you the missing power. The 5 is too much for the tranny and too much heat. ( I know). You can also add more air via the BHAF and delete the cat to keep your temps down. <br> You need at least the EGT guage before you add the plate though as towing temps will climb real fast.<br> I also suspect you are running 3.54 gears. With the tall tires that will bog you down on the hills real quick and run your temps high too.<br>Bill

Re:power & pick up issue
 

Bought the Banks stuff and wouldn't do it again. After the fact found out there are better products for same or less money.My 95 was in need of power also and I decided not to go too far out into the path of those BOMB's because of the trans,but soon I'm gonna have to do the trans and then the only thing stopping me will be my wallet.(read:wife) Do yourself a favor and check the vendors around here before you buy anything!

Re:power & pick up issue
 

Found this article by Ted Jannetty about the proper steps for bombing our trucks<br><br>http://www.dieselram.com/reviews/properorder.htm

Re:power & pick up issue
 

redram ...<br><br>First things first ... you already have a low power complaint ... before you start putting &quot;goodies&quot; in your engine for power .... you first need to find out the cause for your initial low power condition. Adding stuff to an already improperly running engine doesn't make any sense at all.

Re:power & pick up issue
 

redram95:<br><br>Welcome to the website!!<br><br>I agree with what &quot;Rammin On&quot; has told you about<br>adding power to your truck.<br><br>My 96' displayed some of the same &quot;symptons&quot;<br>you describe immediately after I bought it (new).<br>The local Dodge dealership tried to &quot;fix&quot; the power<br>problem but actually made it worse!! I finally<br>took the truck to &quot;Scheid Diesel&quot; in Terre Haute,<br>Indiana after talking to the owner, Dan Scheid.<br>My P7100 fuel pump was out of calibration<br>BIG TIME!!! They &quot;re-calibrated&quot; the pump on<br>a Bosch &quot;Test Stand/Flow Bench&quot; and the<br>difference in the truck was like night and day!<br>In addition to the pump being &quot;out of calibration&quot;<br>I also had a bad overflow valve along with a few <br>other problems. Anyway, Scheid Diesel set my<br>P7100 fuel pump to &quot;the high side&quot; of the stock<br>specifications and as I said it made a huge<br>difference in the power, including when I was<br>towing my enclosed cargo racing trailer.<br><br>I would check around to see if there is an<br>&quot;authorized&quot; Bosch Diesel Shop near you<br>and see if they can &quot;calibrate&quot; your P7100<br>pump first. Scheid Diesel is a very good<br>shop to deal with! Both &quot;Rammin On&quot; and<br>myself use them to work on our pumps.<br>We are both over 400 H.P. at the rear<br>wheels!!<br><br>If you are interested, you can call them<br>@ 1-800-669-1593. Ask to speak with<br>&quot;J.P.&quot; He will definitely treat you right!<br>If you want to &quot;P.M.&quot; me, I can look in<br>my Bosch Directory to see if there is a<br>shop near where you live!<br><br>Good luck and welcome aboard!<br><br>--------<br>John_P<br><br>

Re:power & pick up issue
 

Thanks for the tips.. that does make sense to look for problems first. I have had it in the shop here local. A reputable one from what I'm told. They could not find anything wrong. The only thing was I was running a fleet guard air filter &amp; they felt it was restricting the air way to much. So on went the K&amp;N. That did pick it up some, but still have a quite the lag &amp; lack of power for hills. Of course I compare apples to oranges. My friend has a powerstroke &amp; he leaves me sittin still even pulling. I have always been a big cummins fan since I was a kid always dreamed of having this truck. The time came &amp; here we went. So now just learning more about them as I go.. Thanks all. Will keep reading on. <br><br><br>Happy Holiday's to everyone.

Re:power & pick up issue
 

redram95:<br><br>If you're going to listen to anyone about HP, listen to the last two above and pappy. I haven't seen pappy's truck but I have seen ramminon and johnp's trucks in person and they are very impressive. Ramminon hit it right on the head, find out what the initial problem is and then build from there. Don't mess around with the shops that are guessing or replacing parts, been there done that with my low power 95. Go to someone that knows like JohnP said. It will be money well spent and you will never regret it.<br><br>Good luck.

Re:power & pick up issue
 

Two days after I got my 3500 I took a 500 mile round trip to N.C. everything was great had power that I thought would pull a house around...then I hooked to my trailer S*#t first hill I could walk that fast...when I got home took my truck to Cummins South (I know the service manager very well) they checked the timing it was ok...they said it was just lower HP then the later models and to up my power it would cost $2000-2500....thats when I found the TST site...thought about it for awhile...while I was thinking I got a set of gauges and boost and EGT seemed ok...then I took the step and ordered a # 6 fuel plate...after the first road test I was one big smile (made big time smoke) refined the plate settin to cut some of the smoke...then the big test hooked to the trailer and headed for the biggest hill in Savannah (the high bridge over the Savannah river) hit the top and never lost 1 MPH that made me a very happy man ;D<br><br>My next bombing to help with power will be a set of 3GSK springs and some exhaust work<br><br>These CTD are some great little motors but the 94-96 models where a little low on power and bombing really wakes them up it would be a gun battle if you tryed to take my 3500 away from me<br><br>As the others have said be sure your motor doesnt have a mechanical problem like timing or T/C slip and fuel and air filters are ok<br><br>

Re:power & pick up issue
 

<br>I purchased my 96 in July but found when towing a large boat, the pedal was to the medal &amp; sometimes only going 35MPH up grade. So I started to BOM &amp; just install the BullyDog stage two plate. WOW what a difference. All prior items, K&amp;N plus 4&quot; Jardine helped some but the BullyDog plate is the ticket for MOOORE POWER !!! Took the truck from 180HP to Purported 223HP. Very Nice &amp; fun to drive.

Re:power & pick up issue
 

dieseldude:<br><br>Thanks for the nice comments on our (Keith &amp; mine)<br>trucks!! ;)<br><br>-------<br>John_P

Re:power & pick up issue
 

Red Ram 95':<br> I live over in Petaluma...if you wanna come out here or something..i'll help you out on making more power safely without hurting your tranny....we can do a minor stock plate slide and an AFC housing adjustment.Call me 415-713-2908 cell and lemme know...i do come to the sacramento area alot as well...take care, Happy Holidays! ---Greg ;)