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'01 3500 giving me fits!

"check sync state found it was off by 14 degrees reset to 0 test drove engine performance normal lot of truck for the engine to pull"

ok, im crying foul here! the truck is nowhere near its GVWR. it did run better, but it wouldnt run 65 MPH in overdrive. to get it to run even now it requires taking the truck out of overdrive. the truck does run better than i did after calibrating the computer to the engine, but theres NO excuse for it to not run 65 in overdrive on the highway. while i know the 3.54 suck and regearing to 4.10 will fix most of this, i still dont believe im getting the power i should.

fast forward, in addition to running weak i had also taken it in for the unit bucking on acceleration almost like it was cutting out. they couldnt find a problem initially. when it did it again on the way home i turned around and took it back. at that point they replaced:

transducer and solenoid, 96618 CDR

56028196ad transdue-pressure sensor 4617210 solenoid-transmission governor 52118789 filter-valve body 5 patf a.t.f 2464324ac gasket-oil pan

that was another $622 and the bucking did go away, but the truck still wouldnt run 65 mph in overdrive. dealership claims its just too heavy. i put the truck on a trailer and pulled it with another truck with the same engine, tranny, and gear ratio and had no problem running 65 in overdrive. dealership has no explanation.

it was feb 21 when i took it in to the dealership to fix the bucking in the tranny, and on the 28th i get a "tranny temp" warning light. i took it to the dealer today and they say nothing is wrong with the tranny. they recommend i put the tranny cooler in front of the condenser. i asked them why it never over heated in all this time and now it needs an additional cooler and they have no explanation. they insist nothign is wrong, but the truck didnt get a tranny temp warning when pulling a heavy trailer in the middle of summer so why would it be overheating now in sub-freezing temperatures while not pulling a heavy trailer? they suggested it was just a freak thing that happened. i leave the dealership and get 10 miles up the road and i get another "tranny temp" warning. they want me to bring it back in the morning.

at this point im about to blow a head gasket on my brain. any suggestions appreciated. i keep sinking money hand over fist into this truck with all of 75,000 miles on the odometer and still nothing is getting fixed. thanks,

Nathan In Montana

Reply to
MTpolyfam
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sorry, i failed to mention that this is the V8 360 gasoline engine,

Reply to
MTpolyfam

Or maybe it's a 318.

Reply to
RainBird

no, its a 5.9 360.

Reply to
MTpolyfam

Can you tell by looking at it? You didn't mention, last time, that the original engine was replaced. Someone in this group swapped a 318 out and a 360 in to his 1500, and the computer was happy with it. I think that bigger injectors were the only tweak he had to do.

Reply to
RainBird

I solved all my dodge truck woes by buying a Toyota. The new truck is basically free as the amount of gas I save each month almost equals the truck payment. I have to admit the old van does make a great storage trailer.

beekeep

Reply to
beekeep

Check the exhaust system, specifically the catalytic converter.

JAM

Reply to
Frank Galikanokus

the exhaust system is less than a week old. everything from the manifold back, including two catalytic converters, was replaced. that was over $1400.00 worth of work.

i just heard from the dealer. they FINALLY did a compression test. ALL cylinders were below 120, and three of them were below 90.

i just bought this truck less than 3000 miles ago from my local ford dealer. i bought it "as is", but the title said it had 73,000 miles on it. the dodge dealer determined it wasn't the original engine, and estimates this engine has over 200,000 miles. im wondering if any of you feel i have a legitimate claim against this ford dealer. i knew it was as is, but that was based on the advertised 73,000 miles. what say you?

thanks, Nathan In Montana

Reply to
MTpolyfam

I would certainly doubt if you have any legitimate claim against the seller as you don't have any definite proof the it does in fact have over 73K miles on it.

Don

Reply to
IGot2P

I agree with Don, in that you would need proof of the mileage on the engine to get any settlement. But if you get proof, you can claim perhaps it was misrepresented by the dealer--I'm not sure how that would fly.

I'd guess you bought a truck that had a blown motor and the owner (or whoever) was tired of it so they stuck in any engine that would fit.

You may have a leg to stand on taking this approach: it is against federal law to install and engine that is older than the vehicle. The engine can be newer, but never older. If you can prove the engine is older than the truck itself, you may well be able to make a case.

Reply to
PeterD

On 03/01/2012 10:03 AM, beekeep wrote: ...

"Another 495,000 Tacoma vehicles need repairs to faulty steering wheels that may deactivate the driver's air bag."

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Reply to
Capable Capybara

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