5.9 power loss

[tallyram]

i own a 2000 ram 1500 4x4 with a 99 production date. about 3 years ago i noticed tht my truck was missing alot of power. since then i have checked, replaced, and added all sorts of equipment. (changed plugs and wires,had straight pipe exhaust replaced with flowmaster exhaust,had a cat flow test done,had tranny adjusted,took out k/n filter,etc......). if someone could help me out a little i would be very fortunate. thanks

[fredjacksonsan]

Is it knocking and pinging a lot?

[tallyram]

it knocks and pings when i pull a trailer or put my foot into it. also rattles when i use 87 octane gas.

[tallyram]

i forgot to mention that the computer was flashed for "spark knock" 2-3 months after i purchased the new truck from dealer.

[fredjacksonsan]

There are numerous posts on this forum that you'll find in reference to that.

It sounds like your plenum gasket has developed a leak. I think if you check inside your intake and see oil, you should replace it. It's a common problem with that engine and year.

Do a search under "plenum" and you'll see numerous posts and should see the same problem there.

[tallyram]

Thanks for your input Mr. Jackson. Had a dealer install new software yesterday, made slight power improvement, major transmission shift improvement. Now tranny holds 3rd longer and hits 3/4 lockup at right time. Also found a website
(krcperformance.com) that sopposedly has a fix for the death flash i mentioned earlier. Anyone enterested needs to go to krcperformance.com and hit pcm link. It kind of sounds ify because you end up modifying the crankshaft position sensor assembly. Am thinking seriously on having mod done by my mechanic. Any input on this matter would be help. Thanks again.

[fredjacksonsan]

Cool, glad it's fixed.

[RAM-BO]

Is this also a common problem with the 5.2? As well I did some reading on it, and they have made some changes to them over the years, is it still a problem on '01's. No pinging on my truck yet though, but did notice a little oil in filter before I put in K&N.

[fredjacksonsan]

Not sure on the 5.2, haven't heard about the plenum gasket on other than the 5.9. Might want to start a new thread to get more exposure.

[tallyram]

does anyone know what engine problems caused the spark knock that required the "death flash" to "correct"?

[scoutinkeith]

generally, spark knock is caused when the combustion chamber gets to hot, and causes the fuel/air mixture to detonate before the spark plug is fired. with the dodge's, the also develop spark knock when the plenum gasket developes a leak. when this gasket starts to leak, it alows oil to be drawn directly out of the crank case, and into the intake manifold, and into the cylinders. for some reason, instead of fixing the gasket, dodge came up with a computer software "upgrade" (flash) that supposedly took care of the pinging. however, in most cases, in order to stop the pinging, this "deth flash" pulled several degrees of timing from the engine. it did stop the pinging in most cases, but because of the loss of timing, performance suffered, that's why it's refered to as a "deth flash".