No Low End Power On 04 4.7

[04RAM_3]

I recently bought an 04 Standard Cab 4.7 five speed manual 4x4 RAM 1500. I love the truck but it is GUTLESS!!! I know it's a small motor, but this is bad. It didn't have enough power to back out of my friend's driveway last night. I had to use low range to back out. It's got a cold air intake on it, Flowmaster exhaust, and an electric fan conversion. On level ground it's alright I guess. I live in the hills though. I've got used to downshifting early, and sticking my foot in it early to get the RPM's up enough to pull the hills. I really have to stomp on it though to keep up with traffic. It's responsive in first gear, the rest not so much. Is there anything I can do to get some more low end power out of this thing without rebuilding and throwing a ton of money at it?

Before suggesting regearing it, I commute 600+ miles a week in this thing and am already getting a lousy 14.5 mpg

 

[Docwagon1776]

It shouldn't be *that* gutless. 300ft/lb @ 3200 rpm was the original factory rating, better than the earlier 318 and it moved the truck alright.

What RPM range are you keeping it at? My first thought is you're expecting too much at too low an RPM from it, unless the motor is just clapped out.

Are your tires larger and/or heavier than OE? Rotating weight is going to make it accelerate slower and have worse fuel economy.

 

[04RAM_3]

If it's under 2500 rpm it's a pig. After that it's alright. My tires are a 265/70/17

The motor looks like it was replaced. It's too clean for the 146,000 showing on the odometer. It looks brand new from the bottom. It doesn't leak a drop, and burns no oil

If it had a distributor I'd say the timing was off. It starts right up though, cold or hot

 

[jws123]

Is the cold air intake clogged? can be hard to tell looking at it maybe run it without it for a short drive have you scanned it for codes or anything? for ***** and giggles you can run a compression test aswell its a standard cab 4.7 it should be peppy for a small truck I have one in my full sized 06 with a 8ft bed and its slow but it does the job.

Also your MPG is normal for a 4.7 you will never get any more then that hell my hemi only gets 15-18.

 

[04RAM_3]

The CAI isn't clogged. I just recently put it on there. That's sad to hear about the mileage. No codes last time I checked. It really runs good, it just has no power. It was rather embarrassing to have to put it in low range to back up my buddy's driveway yesterday. It wasn't even that steep

 

[jws123]

The CAI isn't clogged. I just recently put it on there. That's sad to hear about the mileage. No codes last time I checked. It really runs good, it just has no power. It was rather embarrassing to have to put it in low range to back up my buddy's driveway yesterday. It wasn't even that steep

i mean you could also have a exhaust restriction? It should have plenty of power in reverse did this issue come up before or after cold air intake

 

[04RAM_3]

It's been like this since I drove it home. Exhaust is good. Has new Flowmaster on it. I took the CAI back off today and went back to stock that's been on it since new. The CAI didn't really make any difference anyway.

If it was an older truck I'd just advance the timing and be done with it. That's how it runs, like the timing isn't advanced enough. Is there a way to advance the timing through computer control?

 

[04RAM_3]

I guess I'm on my own here

 

[jws123]

I guess I'm on my own here

Not much we can help with you have no codes ect ect its something you need to take somewhere and have someone look at live data while driving it to see what its doing avoid all chain shops.

 

[Partpirate]

hello, new here also, I’m also having the same exact problem with my 2004 dodge ram 4.7 manual 4x4. The only thing i cannot figure out is the throttle position sensor voltage. I checked the voltage of it and at wot its 3.8. According to the Chilton Manual its supposed to be at 4.8. I ordered a new one today so hopefully it helps out. However ive also seen where people replace the sensor and they get the same voltage and then they are supposedly supposed to reset the pcm and calibrate it “which the procedures i found are all a bit different” but some work for some and some dont so we will see if the tps makes a difference. Also another clue is even though there is no codes i wanted to make sure it wasnt the catalytic converters so i disconnected the exhaust at the exhaust manifolds and at idle it was misfiring from the passenger side (i could see intermittent flames coming out) so i decided to spray a bit of water on the exhaust manifold to see which cylinder was misfiring and it was cylinder number 2, i pulled the plug out and it was full of black soot, so i have a set of fuel injectors coming also and coil packs have been swapped. Ill come back with any updates

 

[04RAM_3]

Please do, and good luck

 

[04RAM_3]

After adding a Flowmaster, swapping to a flex A Lite electric fan, and a thoural throttle body cleaning my truck runs pretty good. I'm happy with it. I was also able to get my mpg up from 14.5 to 17

 

[Partpirate]

ok so one of my main concerns about it lacking power was my idle was at 400 rpm all the time, its supposed to be around 650. After looking at everyone still getting the same voltage from new throttle position sensors i didn’t even bother changing mine. Also injectors didnt get rid of my misfire. After doing some more research i decided to swap out my Coolant temperature sensor and im guessing that fix it. My idle rpm is at 600 and i can feel the truck acceleration great with no misfire however i wasnt still satisfied so i went ahead and replaced all 02 sensors. Also went through two spray seamfoams and blew clouds of white smoke (im guessing it worked) and truck runs even bettter than i imagined. It peels out and i can actually hear the truck louder also. Upon inspection of my work i found out my bank 1 sensor 1 02 sensor was left disconnected so i connected it back and truck still had good idle but i felt it was performing better with the sonsor disconnected. so even though its running great im still tempted to swap out the pcm but thatll be a future project for now im happy it wasnt a headgasket.

 

[Sherman Bird]

If it's under 2500 rpm it's a pig. After that it's alright. My tires are a 265/70/17

The motor looks like it was replaced. It's too clean for the 146,000 showing on the odometer. It looks brand new from the bottom. It doesn't leak a drop, and burns no oil

If it had a distributor I'd say the timing was off. It starts right up though, cold or hot

3 things to check:: Air
Fuel
Correction.
That takes a good high end scanner to begin. What is overall fuel correction? 10%? 3%? How about mode6 data?
Is there a problem with air volume? Late valve timing? Poor cam lift? Restricted exhaust/ catalytic converter(s)?
Is the fuel pump delivering enough VOLUME to meet the needs of the truck? You can have normal pressure all day long and have low/ poor volume (capacitance). A good oscilloscope can record the fuel pump wave form and instantly inform you of the pump's performance.

A good fuel volume tester can determine if there is a restriction in the fuel filter (part of the pump in the tank).