barracuda

i towed a trailer yesterday...about 4500 lb..on the highway, if i hit any kind of hill FORGET IT! at some points the truck was revving 2600 in third gear with all she had to maintain 50mph and these were not big hills..my truck has 60k on it and is all stock ( just ordered the apb box though)..it has 3.54 gears and an auto. The trans. isn't slipping and the lift pump is new and it runs great overall. i keep thinking something is wrong, it blows no black smoke at all and gets great fuel M.P.G...is this just the way it is?? it will be upgraded by next week but i want to make sure their isnt a problem before hand..this truck is used for daily driving 98% of it's life...could the inj.pump cause this or if it works it works? or does the gearing just stink?? PLEASE REPLY..my wife's tahoe will run circles around this truck and i cant have that!!

Olratlr

If it was revving 2600rpm's in 3rd it should have changed<br>gears. Next time let up on throttle a second and see if it<br>will change. ???

Copenhagenjunkie

Mine is just the same although it's a 6 speed. Hit any hill I have to down shift to 5th and run 2-2,500 rpm's to maintain 55-60 with any weight over 7k. It's running much better now that the summer blend is out down here.<br><br>I would say that sounds pretty normal for an auto w/ 3.54 but I have never driven an auto.

drafalske

I can't believe you guys are getting such poor performace with your trucks... I usually pull a 5k boat, can't tell its there at all. I pulled my new Camaro home from W Va on a 30ft equipment drag, about 10k (car and trailer), 75mph, uphill, downhill, never had to drop a gear and got 19 mpg... maybe something is worng is with MY truck?!? <br>-Dave

barracuda

i think i need to change the gears to 4:10 's...kick myself 2 or 3 times for getting an auto...i'm getting the box any day now and changing the injectors soon after...this has got to make it a strong tower...my buddies psd can tow 70 uphills w/o downshifting or laboring w/ a 50hp chip, i know the ctd can achieve this also especially being an inline motor..(oh and i'm a mopar nut too...) what do ya think about the gear change????

BigBlue

I can pull a four wheeler trailer up some HUGE hills and never even downshift with the comp off. Hell, if I floor it I GAIN speed. Try tightening your intercooler clamps. Maybe your venting some boost. I have 33&quot; tires with my auto and 3.54 gears and the thing pulls no matter what. If you do injectors AND a box, I'd suggest that you start looking at some tranny upgrades as well for later on down the road. I slipped my tranny a couple of times oulling the fourwheeler with the Comp on 1x3.

kevinn

I pull a 25ft trailer loaded with gear, a fourwheeler in the back and pull some very long steep hills in 3rd at around 60-65. Like the others have said, I think you're having a problem with something.

Captain

when I pulled my chevy II on a galvanized full car trailer with my dads truck (stock 98 12v 5speed 33&quot; tires 3.54 rear) I couldnt tell it was back there. I flew up hills and down hills on the turnpike at 110mph. And when I use my truck I might top out at 90mph but I can spin the wheels in 5th gear if I get carried away merging into traffic.

RATTLINRAM

[quote author=barracuda link=board=4;threadid=13210;start=0#124457 date=1049564946]<br>i think i need to change the gears to 4:10 's...kick myself 2 or 3 times for getting an auto...i'm getting the box any day now and changing the injectors soon after...this has got to make it a strong tower...my buddies psd can tow 70 uphills w/o downshifting or laboring w/ a 50hp chip, i know the ctd can achieve this also especially being an inline motor..(oh and i'm a mopar nut too...) what do ya think about the gear change????<br>[/quote]<br>barracuda,,,<br> Just be carefull about the amount of HP you add to that stock tranny As Ol Ratlr suggested,,,, try to determine if the tranny is in 3rd unlock. When I tow our 30' 5er in the mountains, I can usually maintain 55-65mph in 3rd gear. However, when I push the button to lock out OD or it kicks out on its own due to loss of speed/rpms,,,,,, it will shift from OD to 3rd unlocked and then I ease up on the throttle just enough to feel/hear it shift into 3rd lock-up. Then I can start increasing my throttle speed. If I don't lift,,,,,, it will stay in 3rd unlocked until the grade levels off. Just my $.02

geer

This was before I had the comp hooked up. I could pull my 24' gooseneck (5200) with 4 sleds (2000) up hills in 5th at 3000rpm. I would be running 75 to 78 mph. I got 8mpg though.<br>I had a 99 with the auto and it would only pull the same hills at 60. The tranny was slipping though I did get better mpg. That is just my 2 cents. Not alot of info,but a comparison.<br>Scooter

Marine

I pulled a 26' enclosed cargo trailer from CA to WA with my 24v 3.54 auto last August. 18,060 # total weight and did 70-75 almost the whole way. avg'ed 11.7 the whole trip and the slowest speed up any pass on I-15 or I-90 was 49 mph. Something is wrong with your truck.<br><br>If you haven't pulled anything for along while, it will take a fair bit of heavy pulling to clean the engine up on the inside. This may be what is wrong.<br><br>Mike

Stamey

I wonder if there's actually a tranny problem here. If you are stock your torque is dropping off at 2600 RPM and this may be an issue. If you were in a higher gear you would be turning lower RPMs, hence putting you into a higher torque range for the Cummins.<br>I don't know how many others will agree, but I am thinking you should check out the tranny's shiftpoints, specifically at what point it automatically downshifts.<br><br>My 99 tows 7-8K and hardly ever downshifts on hills, unless it's a long hill.<br><br>Chris

barracuda

i'm now convinced something is wrong..i'll check the tube clamps to make sure no air leaks..my truck doesn't like holding speed on hills with no load or trailer at all, fully locked up in 4th gear..i'm guessing i should check the boost. i am pretty confident the trans. isn't slipping though ( the rpm's dont run up w/o the truck not going any faster, the rpm's just won't go up..even w/ a heavy foot, it seems to have a &quot;comfort zone&quot; )and i've tried to feather the gas to lock up the TQ to get into better rpm's and it slows down instead..i guess she was built on a friday..i do appreciate all your tips though but even a diesel tach said &quot;she's running fine..just real slow&quot;......sincerely, doomed

Big dawg

I pulled at 12,500 5th wheel from CA to IN with no problems at all. I would say something is wrong with your truck. If you took it to a dealer to have them check it out, watch out, they don't want to do any more work than they have to. I'd really check your tranny, your TC could be weak, not allowing the power to go to the back wheels. Just my .02 worth...
Big dawg

AlpineRAM

barracuda: I'd try recalibrating the APPS. (Found in the tech section) and look at the throttle valve cable. If either is misadjusted your truck will rev way out of its powerband.<br>Did you check fuel pressure and the fuel filter?<br>And you can try to clean the MAP and IAT sensor.<br><br>Just some things that don't take long and don't cost $$$<br><br>HTH<br><br>AlpineRAM