i just bought my first diesel, a 2005 dodge 3500 dually to use for a work truck, its been a few days and now it has lost a lot of power, i cant pass vehicles on the highway, and i think i smell burnt transmission fluid, any help would be greatly appreciated, i think i made a mistake buying this truck, its an automatic transmission with no mods, and it does not smoke

 

Auto? Manual? Any mods? Smoke? If you go to the top left of the page and click on User CP you can edit a signature and let everybody know what you're driving. It makes it much easier to troubleshoot. Welcome to the forum, you will no doubt find the answers you're looking for here.

 

How many miles on the truck?

Pull the transmission dipstick and check the color. It should be a reddish pinkish color if new but slightly darker if if has some miles on it. (This is GOOD) If it looks real dark, smell it to check for a burnt smell (This is BAAAD) Does it rev up when you try to pass someone? Like downshifting but not going anywhere.

If the trans "Seems" OK then you can look for other obvious things like plugged air filter or loose boots that connect the intercooler, but these would cause a good amount of smoke when trying to pass.

Change the fuel filter. To get one quick go to your local dealer for the Mopar filter. After that you can order better ones like Fleetgaurd from Genos garage ( or others like Baldwin )

 

ok so the tranny fluid is red and does not smell burnt, but ive only had the truck for 3 days, and yes when i go to pass it does rev up and cant go any faster but it does not smoke very much, it sucks because i cant get it in to a mechanic until after christmas and i dont really have a regular mechanic that i trust.i live in stony plain ab near edmonton alberta if anyone knows any body thanks

 

oh yeah it has 160 000 kilometers

 

With nearly 100k miles it makes me wonder if it just had it's first trans fluid change.

Best bet would be to take it to a well known trany shop. They would be able to tell right away if it's a trans issue. At least it would get you going in the right direction.