I have pulled a little with my truck usally a bumper hitch cattle trailer 16FT with 4 to 5 head of cows on. Each time i struggle with it. should be around that 7 to 8000 pound number. I work for a dairy farmer and he had 5 heifers that ready to calve at another farm. My friend that also works for him just bought a 98 chev k2500 with 350 vortec. I asked him how it handled the trailer. He said it pulled like a lead sled even empty but truck handled it fine. So a couple sat ago i said i would pull the trailer to get the cattle about 30 mile round trip. empty took for ever to get up to 65. I shift at around 3100 rpm. 4 gear with the gearvendors on finally made to 65. Not much wind and no real big hills. got the critters in there To hold 65 i was flat on the floor prettty much the whole time in 4th again with the gearvendors on. ( i don't use the gear vendors until i'm up the the speed i want to be at i always shift it out before upshifting or downshifting the standard tranny). So idi gods what's wrong with this motor. Is it injectors,ip,my turbo, i can't believe that i cant keep up with a 350 vortech. Not to mention all the s**t i had to listen to on the way over and on the way back. It also gets real warm when pulling which is probably the radiator which ain't a big deal.

 

The very first thing to check is the air cleaner. Diesels need to breathe!

Good luck.

 

lots of air and clean fuel filter will defiinitely help. Are you getting any smoke at the exhaust pipe? Has there been any work to the injection system recently or has it been lazy from the get go ? Be sure to use fuel additive for lubricating the internals of the fuel system too.

 

the chevy has 100 hp more than you do. i have a 2001 chevy with a 5.3 liter (327) and it has 285 hp according to the manual. my 91 ford 7.3 liter has 170 hp.

 

d_stange, is this truck the one in your sig? as in turbocharged? A good, healthy well tuned IDI diesel with a turbo is capable of around 250Hp at the crank (even a 6.9 IDI).

Has it always run like this? Is there any smoke when you push it?

 

I always run diesel cleen in almost everytank, sometimes a double dose. not much smoke a little bit if you lug it but it's not a cloud by anymeans. Had new o-rings put in the injectors last fall all eight injectors. I do have a small fuel leak somewhere around the lift pump. could that have anything to do with it? Put a new air filter in yesterday. Yes it is the truck in the sig.

 

if you have a fuel around the lift pump, it would be coming from the weep hole to avoid oil dilution (hopefully thats how it works). If you are getting enough air in the fuel, you will see white smoke from the exhaust and possibly a miss or rough running. You stated that you changed the air filter, how bout the fuel filter?
Is the low power a new problem or has it always been lazy?

 

I would also like to know that.

If its a new development, than I would start to wonder if the injectors or IP are getting old and not working properly anymore. Is the injection system original?

A restricted fuel filter or worn lift pump cpuld also rob the engine of enough fuel to get the job done. There is a test that can be done while cranking, to see if the lift pump can deliver enough fuel to the injector pump. I don't remember the whole test, but you are supposed to te 5-6 psi at the fuel filter valve while idling. If Dave Sponaugle chimes in, he will be able to tell you the rest of the test.

 

The getting warm in my book along with the other symptoms sounds like fuel starvation - fuel filter? Worse case - because you do have a fuel leak at the IP is that pump might be heading for the last roundup.

 

Haven't owned the truck a year yet. Will be a year in august. Always been a little low in the power end in towing. Seems fine just driving it. Don't know anything about the fuel system if it's original or not. with 158000 miles on it i'm sure it's original. At least they told me it had 147000 on it when i bought it. Could be 247 or 347 who really knows. Will try a fuel filter and see what happens.

 

Just normal driving doesn't draw the flow of fuel required for towing or high power output. So sounds like we're on the right track. Good luck and let us know.

 

Also, truck doesn't seem to stumble or miss seems to run even.

 

I'm begining to wonder if the fuel was turned down. Is it a little hard to start when its cold out?

 

my truck used to do the same thing, i tried to pull a mini trackhoe one day and could barley hold 55mph. and believe me where i live theres so such thing as hills, just a bridge every now and then. anyway i pull the same machine and trailer at work with a 2500 chevy flat bed and the whole bed loaded down with tools, and it has no problems whats so ever. but my problem was that the timing was so far retarded that it wouldnt even smoke with it to the floor, it had no power, and was kind of difficult to start. i advanced the timing and you couldnt believe the difference it made.

 

with a manual tranny you should be able to pull decent even if it was none turboed either your fuel was turned down or its sucking a little air that 350 shouldnt be able to woop it my 6.9 with a 4spd no turbo even will woop dads 350 i could see it pullin like that if it was automatic but not manual