Emission tuning took my power!

From : tanner melton

Q: sincerely hope to get my power back. does anyone know of a good dodge mechanic in the seattle area i can time it but my mechanical knowledge and equipment is limited. any help would be appreciated. .

Replies:

From : david

20 washingtons says you have a plugged catalytic converter. if it failed hcs and cos odds are it has been running way rich for a while clogging up the cat. see if you can find a good exhaust shop that is equipped to check for excessive back pressure in the exhaust. i recently bought a 1990 d150 with about 20000 miles on it. yes very low mileage for a 1990 it has a 5.2 liter engine and 3 speed automatic. it drove alright and seemed to have enough power though not quite as much as i had expected. it failed the state emissions test for co & hydrocarbons at idle. i took it to a 5 star dodge dealership and had it serviced now my power is gone. i can barely get up a hill at 30 mph in second with the gas pedal floored. i used to get up this hill at 50 with power to spare. the mechanic told me he replaced a leaky main vacuum hose going into the air pump. also he changed the timing from 15 - 18 degrees before tdc to 10 degrees before tdc which is the setting on the emissions sticker under the hood. when i told the dealership that my truck is now gutless they said that they had done the best they could and could not tune it back to restore my power because they could lose their emissions certification. i can get up to freeway speed but it takes a while now and hills slow me down. also i now have very weak acceleration and really have to step on the gas to get any results. i find it hard to believe this truck has a v8 yet so little power. im assuming this truck should have enough power if everything is ok. i am going to retune it myself this weekend. does timing make that drastic a difference i plan on going back to 15 or 18 degrees before tdc and i sincerely hope to get my power back. does anyone know of a good dodge mechanic in the seattle area i can time it but my mechanical knowledge and equipment is limited. any help would be appreciated. .

From : jeremy cusicktomkat

sounds like bs to me. the smaller clutch will not hold the torque of that cummins as well as the 13 afaik theres only 1 size of clutch for that model year... the 13. hi guys i understand there are two sizes of clutches available for this truck 13 and 12-1/4. i have been advised that the smaller clutch has more torque and will eliminate the bucking i experience in reverse when i am hauling my fifth wheel. can any of you good folks comment on this. i need info quickly. btw the dodge dealer here in bc quoted me 1600 for the kit many thanks in advance diesel dan the fifth wheel man .

From : tomkat

i guarantee its the cat... had the same problem two months ago. drove my truck from florida to cali with no problem. then all of a sudden was loosing power going uphill and dropping to 30mph. put my hand to the exhaust and could feel a little bit coming out but not a good flow like it should. also heard a rattling sound underneat and shook the cat and that was the cause. took it to a muffler shop and had the cat replace for about $280 bucks and she runs like new! 96 1500 ram quad-cab 5sp 4x4/104000 miles and still running like new. 20 washingtons says you have a plugged catalytic converter. if it failed hcs and cos odds are it has been running way rich for a while clogging up the cat. see if you can find a good exhaust shop that is equipped to check for excessive back pressure in the exhaust. i recently bought a 1990 d150 with about 20000 miles on it. yes very low mileage for a 1990 it has a 5.2 liter engine and 3 speed automatic. it drove alright and seemed to have enough power though not quite as much as i had expected. it failed the state emissions test for co & hydrocarbons at idle. i took it to a 5 star dodge dealership and had it serviced now my power is gone. i can barely get up a hill at 30 mph in second with the gas pedal floored. i used to get up this hill at 50 with power to spare. the mechanic told me he replaced a leaky main vacuum hose going into the air pump. also he changed the timing from 15 - 18 degrees before tdc to 10 degrees before tdc which is the setting on the emissions sticker under the hood. when i told the dealership that my truck is now gutless they said that they had done the best they could and could not tune it back to restore my power because they could lose their emissions certification. i can get up to freeway speed but it takes a while now and hills slow me down. also i now have very weak acceleration and really have to step on the gas to get any results. i find it hard to believe this truck has a v8 yet so little power. im assuming this truck should have enough power if everything is ok. i am going to retune it myself this weekend. does timing make that drastic a difference i plan on going back to 15 or 18 degrees before tdc and i sincerely hope to get my power back. does anyone know of a good dodge mechanic in the seattle area i can time it but my mechanical knowledge and equipment is limited. any help would be appreciated. .

From : tomkat

i guarantee its the cat... had the same problem two months ago. drove my truck from florida to cali with no problem. then all of a sudden was loosing power going uphill and dropping to 30mph. put my hand to the exhaust and could feel a little bit coming out but not a good flow like it should. also heard a rattling sound underneat and shook the cat and that was the cause. took it to a muffler shop and had the cat replace for about $280 bucks and she runs like new! 96 1500 ram quad-cab 5sp 4x4/104000 miles and still running like new. 20 washingtons says you have a plugged catalytic converter. if it failed hcs and cos odds are it has been running way rich for a while clogging up the cat. see if you can find a good exhaust shop that is equipped to check for excessive back pressure in the exhaust. i recently bought a 1990 d150 with about 20000 miles on it. yes very low mileage for a 1990 it has a 5.2 liter engine and 3 speed automatic. it drove alright and seemed to have enough power though not quite as much as i had expected. it failed the state emissions test for co & hydrocarbons at idle. i took it to a 5 star dodge dealership and had it serviced now my power is gone. i can barely get up a hill at 30 mph in second with the gas pedal floored. i used to get up this hill at 50 with power to spare. the mechanic told me he replaced a leaky main vacuum hose going into the air pump. also he changed the timing from 15 - 18 degrees before tdc to 10 degrees before tdc which is the setting on the emissions sticker under the hood. when i told the dealership that my truck is now gutless they said that they had done the best they could and could not tune it back to restore my power because they could lose their emissions certification. i can get up to freeway speed but it takes a while now and hills slow me down. also i now have very weak acceleration and really have to step on the gas to get any results. i find it hard to believe this truck has a v8 yet so little power. im assuming this truck should have enough power if everything is ok. i am going to retune it myself this weekend. does timing make that drastic a difference i plan on going back to 15 or 18 degrees before tdc and i sincerely hope to get my power back. does anyone know of a good dodge mechanic in the seattle area i can time it but my mechanical knowledge and equipment is limited. any help would be appreciated. .

From : rick blaine

i find it hard to believe that your cat is gone if the truck has only 20k miles on it but its worth checking. take your truck to a decent shopnot a dealer and have them set the timing to 35 degrees total. this should give you maximum power. i recently bought a 1990 d150 with about 20000 miles on it. yes very low mileage for a 1990 it has a 5.2 liter engine and 3 speed automatic. it drove alright and seemed to have enough power though not quite as much as i had expected. it failed the state emissions test for co & hydrocarbons at idle. i took it to a 5 star dodge dealership and had it serviced now my power is gone. i can barely get up a hill at 30 mph in second with the gas pedal floored. i used to get up this hill at 50 with power to spare. the mechanic told me he replaced a leaky main vacuum hose going into the air pump. also he changed the timing from 15 - 18 degrees before tdc to 10 degrees before tdc which is the setting on the emissions sticker under the hood. when i told the dealership that my truck is now gutless they said that they had done the best they could and could not tune it back to restore my power because they could lose their emissions certification. i can get up to freeway speed but it takes a while now and hills slow me down. also i now have very weak acceleration and really have to step on the gas to get any results. i find it hard to believe this truck has a v8 yet so little power. im assuming this truck should have enough power if everything is ok. i am going to retune it myself this weekend. does timing make that drastic a difference i plan on going back to 15 or 18 degrees before tdc and i sincerely hope to get my power back. does anyone know of a good dodge mechanic in the seattle area i can time it but my mechanical knowledge and equipment is limited. any help would be appreciated. .