97 Ram Dies

My 97 Ram 5.9l automatic started acting up on the way home tonight. It sounded like it ran out of gas. I pulled off, waited about 10 minutes and it started! Took off, made it about 1/4 mile and it died again.When it starts, no CE light, nothing looks abnormal, runs strong for a few seconds(10-15) then dies. Does this sound like possibly, a fuel filter? The original is still in and the truck has 100,981 miles on it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

John M.

My 97 Ram 5.9l automatic started acting up on the way home tonight. It sounded like it ran out of gas. I pulled off, waited about 10 minutes and it started! Took off, made it about 1/4 mile and it died again.When it starts, no CE light, nothing looks abnormal, runs strong for a few seconds(10-15) then dies. Does this sound like possibly, a fuel filter? The original is still in and the truck has 100,981 miles on it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

John M. It is your fuel pump no question. You have only one fuel filter and that is part of the pump. All you have to do is drop the tank to change it, not a hard job at all. Some people will tell you to turn the key on and listen to see if the pump is running to tell if it is good. The problem with that is most times they do just what yours is doing, it is working but the pump has to maintane a certain pressure, yours is not holding enough pressure. That is why you can run a little then dies, then will run more. Good luck, the pumps run around $90-$125.

It might not be the fuel pump. My '97 acted like that when the coil became weak.

The cat converter might be bad also. If it's broken inside and can move it will certainly make the truck act like that.

I'd really check a few other things before going ahead and putting a new fuel pump in when you don't really have to.

I still stand by the fuel pump. 99.9% chance its the pump. Sure there could be other problems, but they are slim. When a coil goes bad and quits when it gets hot, it usually will quit outright, it won't usually act as though it were running out of gas. If the cat conv. is bad, it only causes you to die generally by restricting exhaust, which is also gradual. There are always other possibilities with any problem and it is always good to get alot of different points of view, but I would almost bet my left n*t that is is the pump. It is very common at that mileage for these trucks. The reason they start to go after 100k is they are designed to last longer than other electric pumps, they do not overheat like others can when you run the tank low. The pump has a canister built to the bottom that retains fuel so that if the tank runs low, the pump doesn't overheat sucking air and trying to maintain pressure. So they last until between 100k-125k on an average. I have been known to be wrong before, but I have done alot of these and I would say if you want to save yourself alot of frustration, put a new pump in. I will apologize in advance if I am wrong, nothing is 100%, but That is your best bet. Good luck

It might even be the battery doing it.

Hi Tony, Thanks for the info. My neighbor is a 'Wrench turner' and brought some test equipment home. After testing, he said the fuel pump was putting out less than 20 lbs of pressure when the truck was dieing out. We went and got a Fuel Pump Assy and installed it. Problem gone. Thanks for the info!!! John M.(the whole assy cost $194)

Hi Tony, Thanks for the info. My neighbor is a 'Wrench turner' and brought some test equipment home. After testing, he said the fuel pump was putting out less than 20 lbs of pressure when the truck was dieing out. We went and got a Fuel Pump Assy and installed it. Problem gone. Thanks for the info!!! John M.(the whole assy cost $194)You are very welcome. I am glad it worked out for you. I miss quoted you on the price, sorry, I just changed one in a different vehicle and had that number in my head.

You are very welcome. I am glad it worked out for you. I miss quoted you on the price, sorry, I just changed one in a different vehicle and had that number in my head.

No problem on the price. Thanks again. John M.