1997 dodge ram stalls after going 10-15 miles

[dogma42]

I have a 97 dodge ram with 109900 miles on it. About 6 weeks ago I started having rough running and stalling problems with it. I have changed bank 1 o2 sensor, the coil, ecu, map sensor, plugs, cap, rotor, wires, fuel pump, and have done a complete fuel line and fuel injector cleaning. The truck will run terrific for about 10- 15 miles then all of a sudden the truck will start to shutter and shake, then the rpm gauge will start to drop and the truck will stall. I have to sit on the side of the road for an hour before it will start back up. After that I can go the same distance and have to wait all over again. Does any one have a clue as to what I can do to fix my truck. Also, I don't have a check engine light on any longer. At first I had an engine run lean issue, then a bank 1 o2 sensor, then cyl's 1,3 and 5 misfiring. Since I have done all of the above repairs, the check engine light no longer comes on.

Thanks for any help given, Dogma42

[UncleBob]

wow! you've replaced a lot of stuff!

Have you put a fuel pressure gauge on it when it dies?

Have you checked for spark when it dies?

Injector pulsing?

Assuming its a 5.2L V8, these are very natorious for a internal vacuum leak on the intake manifold. When you pull the manifold, there's a large steel plate on the bottom of the intake that the gasket will deform and start sucking crank case fumes.

Eventually it can get so bad that it'll start sucking large quanities of oil and will cause severe misfires under a heavy load

Chrysler has an updated spring steel gasket for it.....definitely use that and not an aftermkaret fiber gasket, otherwise it'll happen again

[dogma42]

Thanks for the reply. I should have mentioned that I have a 5.9 liter engine. The second thought, is that their is no place to hook into the fuel rail to test the fuel pressure. Is there a possiblilty that the 5.9 has the same problem as the 5.2 engine? To answer the other questions, it will turn over and start, but there is no power to put it in gear and go. It will instantly stall when put into gear. Last thing, what is injector pulse? Thanks again for any help any one can give.

DOGMA42

[UncleBob]

5.2 and 5.9 use the same intake manifold. Same issue

If there's no test port (I forgot chrysler doesn't usually have one) then you'd need special adapter to test pressure. Unfortunately, they are not cheap, although you could make one for little money, it would be time consuming

injector pulse is the electrical pulse of power that energizes the injectors. Sometimes, for example, you can have a bad contact in the injector relay that can cause simular issues, and you'll lose the power to all the injectors (power is constant)

The other side of the equation is the ground circuit for injectors. That is what is timed by the computer. If you put a noid light on an injector, the light would blink rapidly if everything is working properly. The blinking represents the computer telling the injector to open

If there was a computer input problem, for example, a failing crank sensor (another good possibility) you would lose the computer signal to the injectors

This is why its very important to isolate exactly what section of the engine management is failing when it stalls. Even if we're forced to guess on what part is bad, it greatly narrows down what parts are suspect

[dogma42]

Ok, I think that I could build a test port to test the fuel pressure. I did forget, that I have already replaced the engine crank sensor,( Pain in the ...) to do that, since it wasn't easy to get to. What do you think about the camshaft position sensor. I can get my hands on a set of noids as well. Once the rain stops I am going to give all of these suggestions a try. Hope one of them works. Thanks again, Dogma42

[INF3RN0666]

To me, it sounds like your fuel pump is overheating after a while, and you end up having to wait for it to cool down. Obviously, you can't just replace it based on a guess, but if you happen to have a spare one (which is unlikely) then pop it in and test it. Also, make sure you're not running your tank to less than 1/4 of fuel, as this would help the pump to keep cool. You need to do a pressure test, like uncle bob pointed out.

The second possibility is that you have a vacuum leak that gets worse when the engine becomes hot. Generally, injectors don't suddenly malfunction only when the car is warm, but I've seen crazier things.

[dogma42]

While I do appreciate your effort in my struggle, in my first post I noted that I had replaced the fuel pump. I have checked for vacum leaks and have identified at least one, which I will replace today. Thank you for your help. When and if I resolve this problem, I will post it so that anyone in the future won't have to spend as much money and time as I have. I would like to add, yesterday I had to replace the front left wheel hub, bad bearing. When I got done I let the truck idle for over an hour. Test drove for 5 miles and had no adverse driving problems. What do you think about the speed sensor being bad? Would that cause a driveability problem?
Dogma42

[vgames33]

If you have a traction control system, then its possible.

[INF3RN0666]

I really don't see how a speed sensor comes into play for your specific problem. Mind you, daimler-benz is a 'crafty' company to say the least. They'll design a transmission that will run itself into the ground because of all its "features" and they will call it "innovative thinking". The thing is, each car uses its electronic parts in a slightly different way. now if daimler decided to take the speed sensor reading into the air/fuel mixture calculation, then YES IT DOES PLAY A PART, but that is not what the speed sensor is used for.

I know you said your replaced your fuel pump, but it's happened too often that new parts are defective. I'm the same position as you for a Cylinder 2 misfire. I have mechanics telling me different things and each will cost me over $1000. So where do I start? The point is, it's cheaper to diagnose problems than it is to replace parts.

[dogma42]

Well, on a whim, I replaced the IAC (Idle Air control) and I now have put on over 35 miles on my truck and it has not stalled yet. Had the inspection done Sunday, and the tech said no codes and the engine was running good. I'm still a little leary about performance until I can put a few hundred miles on with out stalling. Thanks for the help everyone.
Just an update, 2500 plus miles since I did the above repair and still running strong.
Dogma42