Well I am starting to think something is going south on my Ram.

I had a pretty nasty wreck not long ago which was hard enough for some frame damage. The Dodge dealer that did the work took almost 3 weeks to complete it. Their excuse is they could not find a tranny cooler. They repaired mine, but are still waiting for a new one. The rest of the work is fantastic! They repaired my wifes Charger a couple of times after folks ran into her, so I knew they did good work.

Now for the problem. I have noticed that since the wreck it is turning over quite a bit more before it starts. My truck always seemed to start almost instantly. Like the engine never made a complete revolution before it lit up. Now sometimes it crankes over for 15 or so seconds before it starts. It has NEVER done that before. I set it back to stock on the Smarty and it is a little better but still not like it was before the wreck. Something is not right.

My mileage is also down. I am used to seeing 16 in town running it pretty hard, with 22 on long trips (hand calculated.) My last highway trip this past weekend yielded 18mpg driving the same speeds as usual back home to my folks place (5 hours one way.) In town seems to be down as well.

It is smoking more than usual, and boost is down. I normally can get 30 to 32 psi with the HY35 and turn buckle. Before when I was on cruze at 70 or so I was running about 10lbs of boost most of the time, now it is between 0 and 5 psi. Since the wreck it will peak at 28 then drop to 25 at WOT. I pressurized it to 20lbs before it blows my homemade caps off. But I found no evidence of a leak.

I did notice that the inner fender is now touching the lower drivers side boot, and perhaps starting to cut into it, but no detectable leak. Body shop will probably only test to stock pressures so I am at a dead end with them. I have complained it isn't running right to them though.

I have 196k on it and no IP codes show up. Just a generator field not switching code.

The Air Dog is holding a rattling 16psi and 12 at WOT. The rattling fuel pressure gauge started before the wreck but not until the Ram had about 180k on the clock. It never did it before.

Power does seem to be down as well.

Where should I start looking. APPS, Intake Air Sensor??? I am at a loss here. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

-Dave

 

I would start with the basics. change your fuel filter and check your air filter. sounds like your fuel filter may be dirty.

 

I had my truck in for alot of body work once and didnt even dawn on me about my AFE filter. with all of the dust and sanding particles etc. etc. my filter was completely choked. look at all of the air tubes boots etc. follow your air path. I take it your fan belt and all parts are moving freely without sounds. are you over heating at all.

 

The fuel filter and water seperator have been changed within the last 5k miles. I am running an Air Dog system with draw straw. The Air filter is new (still running the stock one.) No over heating, and it has been in the upper 90's for weeks now.

It needs the valves set for sure, will do that this weekend. I also heard a rattle in the exhaust this morning while it was warming up. Kinda sounded like my Dakota did when the catalytic converter broke up inside. My exhaust is a MBRP 4" with the little bitty muffler they come with. I doubt it is breaking up though. Nothing in it to break.

-Dave

 

boost leak......

 

I was thinking boost leak. Everything points to it, but when I test it, I can only get up to 20 or so lbs before my end cap blows off the hose. I could not find a leak anywhere when I tested it.

Of course I was listening for it, and not doing the soap bubbles trick. I did see one of the intercooler brackets is bent slightly, but did not see any cracks.

-Dave

 

Unless you have a boost leak, cheaper fix. Sure sounds like the VP44 going south. My truck was down on mileage, power, boost. Replaced the vp44 just past the 200K mile mark. Had no codes, back to normal again. Good Luck!

 

I believe you mentioned long crank times and apparentlly extensive repairs in front of vehicle. It might be worthwhile to look at fuel returns. A air leak into return system will cause long crank times and other issues. The system will siphon air into return line and may never see a fuel leak because of very low return line pressure. Generally you can feel the intercooler connections and determine if leak is likely to be a issue.

 

I'll check it out this weekend Dozer. Will be setting the valves and while I am there will look over all the fuel lines and intercooler connections.

-Dave

 

I Replaced My Ip And Went Back With New Sealing Washers And Even Dipped Them In Vasoline, But Somehow I Was Still Tearing The Rubber And It Was Causing Air To Leak In And Causing Hard Starts. I Spent $20 On Washers Before I Finally Got Them To Work. Sometimes I Think My Truck Is Related To The Devil. Lol