weak pulling power '97 F250 dsl 4X4

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albertaangler

albertaangler

Active member
Joined
Jan 16, 2010
Posts
31
Location
Banff Alberta
A suspected power issue has recently shown in spades. Picked up new travel trailer and getting it home caused me to think ....... what??
Up a decent but not very long hill started by clicking off the o/d and made it to the top- at 65 kph - lugging most of the way. Wouldn't kick down to 2nd and stay there.
So may I have?

  1. issues
  2. injector issues
  3. compression issues
  4. turbo issues
  5. tranny issue
  6. other?


I'm no mechanic so tho'ts appreciated.
 
I had an under powered TV for a while that behaved similarly for different reasons though.  I would manually kick it down in 2nd in those cases and only up shift when the speed and grade could permit.

While there may be people here that can help you, you will find more experts along with people calling themselves experts on a Ford truck forum like: http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/index.php.

Not trying to steer you away from here, it is a great place, but when you have a manufacturer specific problem, sometimes it's best to go on these forums too.
 
The 97 Fords had a couple of known issues, one being the cam position sensor (which can fail at any given moment -- there is a Ford recall on those -- get a new one for free) and the other being the under-the-valve-cover wiring harness, which shorts out.  Cracked or mis-matched injectors are also common.  If none of these are a problem, there are some simple power adders that free up horsepower such as a 3" exhaust downpipe off the turbo (gives back 40+ hp!) and a BHAF (big honkin' air filter).  A selectable chip is the next stage to boosting power, and is easily and relatively inexpensively installed.  Doing the above mods will definitely give you back some horsepower.  I have a son and a friend who both haul heavy with their 96 and 97 PSD (one pulls 3 cars on a ball hitch trailer!) and they run down the freeway at 80 mph with no problems...  It is possible.

Transmission wise, have you serviced it at 20K miles per factory recommendations?  Many people do not, and end up with a crudded up/over-heated unit that ends up slipping.

For heavy towing, I HIGHLY recommend a billet torque converter, a valve body reprogram, and an external filter to get the crud out of the system (your factory screen inside the pan does not catch the fines that come from bands and clutches).  I also recommend Amsoil synthetic oil and an additional transmission cooler.

www.dieselbombers.com have a ton of good advice for your model year Ford as does the site already suggested above.
 
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