bcravens

Hi there, I have a stock 1999 Dodge diesel. My problem is I pull a 21 foot fifth wheel and a 17 foot ski boat behind that when going to the lake. All low end power and torque is fine it's when I'm going 65 and 70 in overdrive, there is no top end power. Mainly it's when going up hills or when the AC is on or both. If I really mash down on the pedal it will shift (automatic) down but it doesn't make much gains to speed up but just holds steady until I get to the top of the hill. My question being can anyone suggets an aftermarket add on to help out with this probelm, maybe one of those power pucks or something like that. It just seems like there is nothing left in overdrive and I feel like there should be.

bulabula

The list goes something like this to fill that void:
guages, then (not in any particular order): exhaust, intake, chip, injectors, laughing gas/propane, tranny upgrades, twins?, etc ......

The question is how "fast" can you afford?

Bring cash or plastic.

blackjack

bcravens fill out your sig and we can help you out better. There are plenty of aftermarket help items. after gauges put in an edge ez and 275 injectors throw out the muffler and let her breath throw out the silencer ring to hear her sing. put on a BHAF to get more air to the turbo btw you need the gauges to watch the exaust gas temps, boost pressure and tranny temps (auto) good news is that you have the best pulling truck for what you are doing you just need to squeeze her a little. the suggestions above wont set you back to far and I think they are practical for what you say you need,but you spend it as you see fit. gotta go fishing now later.

Blackjack sport fishing

bluebull

Gauges, gauges, gauges, first, did I mention gauges.

On the automatic equiped trucks do not exceed 60 extra Hp over stock without upgrading the transmission or you will be rebuilding the tranmission in short order if you do not use the extra power very wise.

Even after I upgraded to stage one injectors (which gave me a solid 61 Hp gain on the dyno) the truck was still a dog in OD. It will pull anything now with the upgrades I have done but unless someone is willing to keep their truck for a very long time I don't think the investment (money) of all these upgrades are worth it. If I had to do it all over again I would either trade for a manual truck with more stock power or upgrade to the new truck with 325 Hp engines. This is for towing, as a daily driver an automatic is just fine. Again, this is just my personal experience.

RustyJC

See my signature. We pull a 13,500 lb 36' triple slide 5th wheel that puts us on the road at 21,180 lbs GCW (21,500 lbs GCWR). This (IMHO) is an excellent towing setup with plenty of power, but your automatic transmission wouldn't like it at all!

Rusty

Rattletrap1

I'd try manually downshifting BEFORE the power starts dropping off on hills. Keep that motor up above 2500 when you're asking it to work.

If that ain't enough, let it breath (exhaust/intake) and add an EZ. That's about the limit for the automagic trans.

Gauges are nice to monitor events under the hood, but really all of these mods tend to reduce EGT's.

rangerst

Edge comp on level 3 and I'm happy towin 33ft camper, let the thing breath good and keep good tire pressure all around, bigger tires require bigger horses if on the truck! My tranny rarely goes over 160 degrees and exhaust temp pre turbo runs around 900 then up to 1100 on long hills with 3/4 throttle, 1900 rpm at 65 mph. Thats fast enough for me to get to the top when towing and safe. Now the truck with the new short block really is happier with 1000 lb in the bed and runnin 92 mph at about 2450 rpm, comp level 2 and cruzzin with pedal to spare
But john law doesn't! sty

RAMTECH

Dont want to steel the thread but today I towed my boat about an hour from home. I felt the same thing. When going up some hills it seemed like I couldnt get the truck to down shift because I didnt have any pedal left. The boat is only a 20 footer and weighs about 3000 lbs. I know these trucks pull much better than that. I have already taken care of the exhaust and air filter issues. I am doing the gauges next. I guess I just want to hear from the experts that this is where my truck should be with the mods I have. I thought that even plain stock I should be able to drag a 20 ' boat with ease. If this is not normal then what can I check??

RT

DavidTD

I believe the 24v with a timing box(EZ/VA) and a set of RV275 injectors makes a great tow rig that is basically very safe and fool proof.

The timing box will enhance low end HP and TQ greatly and upper end HP some, the injectors round it out by increasing upper end HP greatly and lower end some. These combo's usually generate somewhere between 260 - 285hp and low 600's TQ at the wheels. With a stock turbo you will see below 1250 degrees on the pyro and around 32 lbs of boost under a hard pull. I have been running this combo for over 150k miles and the truck just never complains, has maintained reliability, and good economy.

Your stock auto will not handle this level of power as mentioned above, but if you replace your valve body with an aftermarket version that will increase line pressure, your stock TC will last longer than expected in most cases. Obviously, the best thing is to replace it with a good converter.

This combo on my truck with 4:10's and a 5 speed will pull a 5% grade at a few ticks under 23k pounds gross at 75 mph at full throttle. This at 32-33 lbs boost and ususally around 1100-1150 degrees on the pyro (pre-turbo). If your truck is equipped with a HY35, you will see higher EGT's.

Kimrey

Dido on what davidTD said. I have the same combo and is perfect for towing and still fun to drive empty. Too much power and it's hard to tow with because of the EGT's and strain on the drive train.

Kimrey

RAMTECH

Thanks for the replies. That sounds like a good setup. I am trying to figure out if what I am experiencing is normal for my setup. At about 70 MPH going up a hill I basically couldnt down shift and get anymore power out of it. I also think my tranny is struggling because IMO it shifts like crap but I cant afford to replace it until it goes so Ill just keep abusing it till that happens. Just wondering if it should be that way when only pulling about 3000 lbs. I just thought with only 3000 lbs I should be able to muscle that amount weight up any hills no problem.

RT

pappyman

The CTD has the power.....its been proven over and over.....it's the auto tranny that proves to be a problem you can upgrade the engines horsepower but the tranny needs to be upgraded too to deliver that power to the wheels

The 47RE and 47RH trannys are sloppy shifting and slip too much, that's why I upgraded my tranny with a Low Stall HD converter and installed a Transgo shift kit

DavidTD

These auto's will not downshift at or above 70mph. If you have 3.54 gears, then you will be near 2k rpm at this speed which is typically 700 - 900rpm below peak hp. You are however in a nice torque band at 2k, and that is why you maintain your speed.

Like Pappyman said, the factory trannys are sloppy. Low Line pressure, high stall, and not enough lock up clutch surface to handle the steep drop in RPM upon engagement, all combined eventually end up killing these units.

IMO, it's due to Dodge needing the loose converter for quicker turbo spool-up thus eliminating most of the "starting off" smoke of the 12v's to meet EPA rules. But for whatever their reasons were, lower stall converters will increase turbo lag and the severity is based on just how tight (efficient) it is. It would make sense to me that with a more efficient fluid coupling, less stress is placed on the lock-up clutch during engagement because it has less rpm to drop between fluid and lock. Higher stall units would need at minimum a billet cover and better lock-up clutche(s) to handle the drop.

A good valve body can improve the life of a stock converter. I know of one that has a boat load of miles on a stock TC and this truck runs low 13's and is near 450hp/1040tq. His only tranny mod is a valvebody. The TC is gonna fail eventually, but I have been impressed with how long it has hung in there.

But if/when you can afford it, I'd seriously look into the major tranny vendors and pick what will fit your needs. A good tranny REALLY brings this truck to life.

bluebull

Above 65 MPH the auto transmission will not shift down unless it has been alter. It might come out of lockup but should not down shift when traveling over 65 MPH.

RAMTECH

So then my question is if I am above 65 in OD there isnt much point in pushing the pedal to the floor because I am basically just wasting power because the OD gear is not gonna push the power to the ground. Is this correct??

RT