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Greeting’s all I got a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500. It now has about 164k miles on her. Its the 5.9l gas v8, 4×4, auto trans. I acquired her this past summer. Love my truck despite her little issues. I do have one thats throwing me a bit tho. I’ve noticed on long drives that put me on the interstate (more than an hour drive time out) if Im climbing a steady hill (such as the ones on I-71 by Ashland or proceeding north of there) I’ll get what feels like a misfire. It only occurs on a hill with a steady but long duration grade if that makes sense. If Im holding normal speed and about 2k RPM I’ll get a vibration it almost feels like Im going over a rough road at first and then I feel a slight bucking sensation and hear a bit of a popping or a back fire. If I shut off cruise and completely come off the gas the misfire goes away. Sometimes if I shut off cruise and go to WOT it’ll go away too but not all the time. When all of this is going on I’ve seen the check engine light flash (misfire code) the last time it did this when I got it home there were no codes in the computer. I guess the condition wasn’t going on long enough for the computer to confirm the code.
This problem has only come up if I’m on longer than normal trips specificly going on the hills at interstate speeds. I dont do these trips too often. And the truck never does this on my daily or weekly trips although it should be noted my daily/weekly trips are much shorter and with no interstate travel.
I was wondering if y’all might have any suggestions.
In recent months I’ve done a tune up on the truck (wire’s, plugs), bleed the cooling system, oil change back at 160k and my owner’s manual says Im good till 167500, and a transmisssion fluid change at about 163k. The power steering pump had to be replaced recently and it was only after this that the issue first arose although I dont recall very long trips with the truck before the power steering pump change.
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First, the CEL code should still be there. The PCM records this until it is intentionally cleared. Initially, it sounds like an ignition misfire. The fact that it happens on long hills at interstate speed makes me suspect a possible failing coil. This usually will manifest as a “buck” or “shudder.” Check again if you can pull/ have the codes pulled. You may get a cylinder specific misfire code like a PO301 or PO303 code, etc.,
Good luck…Thanks for the reply tomato. I too suspected ignition. I just now went out to see if I did have any codes. My code scanner came up with nothing but when I tried the key on key off 3x trick I noted a 1282 code which related to the fuel pump relay. Last week I pulled that relay to try and shoot my own no start video. I’ll probably have to either pull the ECM fuses or the battery to clear the code.
I remember a few months back right after the power steering pump job; I had a friend take my truck to go get some new headlights while I was working. When he came back he told me when he was going up and down hills the truck was misfiring. As I recall I got the scanner and looked at the codes and it was showing a miss on cylinders 3 and 8. I could be wrong but I believe thats what it was. I cleared the codes and took the truck on a test drive to see how it was doing and it seemed to be doing ok. So I essentially forgot about it until my recent road trip up north when the issue came up again. Strange tho that there are no codes for it this time.
A bad distributor cap and/ or rotor could create it’s own misfire issues. However, a bad coil would not be fixed by replacing new cap and rotor. I’m not exactly sure how your ignition is set up on the 1500. Just curious as to the firing order… Would cylinders 3 and 8 be fed from the same or different coils?
The setup reminds me of.the older cap and rotor system. Similar to the older GM 350s. Each plug has its own wire leading back to the cap.
It is a distributor type. I would get an in line spark plug tester and hook it up to the coil first make sure it is sparking all the time and then hook it up to cylinders 3 and 8 first and see what you get. It could be as simple as needing new plugs and wires. make sure you test it at idle and at higher rpms. I would start here its pretty basic and easy to do. I would also check battery voltage and alternator voltages if you can.
Other possibilities are:
Distributor Timing
Carburetor Adjustment
Distributor Points
Fuel Filter
Fuel PumpMdk I didnt think of the spark tester but good idea. I’ll need to acquire one. I think I’ll start there and maybe even change out my fuel filter too.
Not sure ifn I noted it but I dod replace my plugs andbwires. The plugs were autolites; switched em to champions and the wires are now duralast gold.
Champions are not exactly the best. I have had issues with them along with many forum members but, I do know they are normally what Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth, Ram recommends. When you put them in did you regap the plugs? Did you put in what the factory called for aka copper, iridium, etc? Or did you upgrade.
I did not regap the plugs as I was told it woasnt neccesary and Im not too sure exactly what type of plugs I got. I shudder at the thought of pulling them again as the exhaust heat sheilds made the plugs a challenge to say the least. If I do decide to change the plugs what do y’all reccomend?
Anytime you do plugs you need to regap them.
Explanation of why:
They are done from the factor then put in huge boxes shrink/saran rapped to a pallet which then is picked up by a forklift bounced to the big rig. Which then is normally a spring suspension so it bounces down the road, and bounces into the depot that then takes it out of the truck via forklift and bounces it to the sorting area where workers sort stuff for individual stores by throwing yes throwing them into a plastic tote. Then that is bounced once again by forklift onto a deliver truck which goes bouncing down the road to the store given to a worker who then drops them and picks it back up and puts it on a hand truck and bounces it through doorways over to the stocking shelf.It was just in a card board box right? Always regap them. I have had them be over .2″ off new.
it is possible that is part of the issue though if it was doing it before that the possibility is lower but, still a possibility.
[quote=”ChrisR1987″ post=124732]The spark tester would tell me if my plugs are bad?[/quote]
A spark tester will tell you if your plugs are providing the spark needed ignite the fuel mixture in the combustion chamber.
Also, if you are planning to buy a spark tester, an HEI spark tester seems to be the recommended type ($10-14) but of course, do your research before you buy.
I used an in-line tester for my spark test last year because it was the only type available in my immediate area at the time.
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