Are the 5.2 magnums all underpowered?

My daily driver is a 01 ram single cab short bed 2wd with the 5.2 and 46re. Dang it's a turd. It runs smooth but doesn't have much power especially under 3000 rpms. Honestly it feels like it really lacks timing and maybe the exhaust side is pretty restrictive. It does have 3 cat converters under it. I've heard that a tune can make it a little more punchy but I have my reservations about doing that kind of dime on a tune box. It's this just how they are/were or is something wrong with my truck?

They all received what's called the "death flash" as a dealer recall. It took all the timing out of them to mitigate the plenum gasket blowing out and sucking in oil, which causes pinging. Instead of fixing it properly they just did the recall and made them absolute dogs. Being an '01, yours probably came with the death flash from the factory.

Fix the plenum gasket and get a tune, it's supposed to make a big difference.

My 98 Dakota 4wd 5.2 5-speed rips. My son is a tech at the local Dodge dealership. We resynchronized the timing. I fixed the plenum leak and install back of cat Flowmaster exhaust. It only has one cat. Has great power and will climb most any hill in 5th gear. Also get around 20 mpg at 80 mph and around 25 mpg at 65 mph. Though the Dakota is about 800-1000 lbs less than a Ram.

I had a '98 QC 5 speed 4x4 with the 318 and it would give my '01 360 QC 4x4 auto a run for it's money. It ripped just like moparmarks '98 mentioned above.

Just started running my '01 Reg Cab 5 speed 4x4 318 and it is definitely slower than the '98 and has almost no torque under 3000 like you are mentioning. I hooked my Torque app to it and the timing is showing anywhere from 23 to 31 degrees out on the highway at steady cruise. Well, that definitely can't be right. On the plus side, I guess it comes Turbocharger-ready from the factory. I'm thinking about finding a '98 computer to get around this death flash nonsense.

My info on those "tuners" is that all they do is have a circuit in them interupting the coolant temperature that fools the factory computer into thinking the engine is cold and they run in closed-loop rich to make it feel like you have more power.

You have "Turd" and 46re transmission close together, and you would be 100% correct on that: I found out just how much of a power-sucking turd the 727-based platform is when I got my first 318 a833od. It was like a night and day difference to any 318 automatic I previously owned.

Ok. This confirms what I thought. There is a tuner that you can buy that will allow you to change the ignition tables and such. It's called the syked tuner or some such. Might be worth it especially with other mods. I don't think my plenum is leaking as there's no oil puddling on the plate when I look down the throttle body. Id like to improve the exhaust system and have a suspicion that one or more of the cats is clogged. The front left car does rattle already.

Diablo sport and hypertech are good tuners also they allow a number of tune changes including shift points, timing and more. They are pricy but worth it. Those Ebay chips are bogus as can be.

Yes, the convertors are a plug in the system. I take all of mine out and usually pick up 1 to 2mpg. They struggle a lot less when in top gear and maintain cruise much easier.

Electric fan while you are at it, the trucks make less noise, and pick up a slight amount in the mpg department.

I can certainly feel the difference between the Mopar Performance PCM on my 1995 Magnum 5.9 V8 and the stock PCM.
I guess that means that ignition timing was pretty retarded from Mean Best Torque.The MP PCM supposedly advanced the ignition timing up to 12 degrees at some points in the RPM/ throttle opening table.

I certainly remember HUGE complaints from both 5.2 and 5.9 V8 owners who took their trucks in to dealers and got the “Death Flash” in the 1997-2001 period.

95 you could go into the pcm and set the timing 0, -5, -10 from base to help eliminate pinging. It was definitely a power robber and the customer often returned and would live with a little pinging. Can’t remember what year they took that away from us with the irreversible flash.... was hell for corporate to keep that archaic design emission compliant. I looked into about every option avail to get more tow grunt for my 95 5.9.... but alas, nothing much for return in investment and it turned into a diesel payment.

Ok. It really does seem like its a timing issue due to the flash that chrysler put on the pcm. There is a sticker on the pcm that says its been reprogrammed as well. I do like the Syked tuner, as you can go and modify almost all of the parameters. I also do know that one or more of the cat converters is bad. I might just go ahead and get rid of 2 of them and put a new main cat on. I hope i can keep the MIL off.

Diablo sport and hyper tech do the same thing.

Is there anyway to go in without a tuner and revert to a previous configuration? I have capability to flash with a j2564 but it obviously needs to be with chrysler software

Ive had several, none seemed underpowered, Drive my 3.9 and then tell me your 318 is underpowered.

I'll have to get a video of it's acceleration. It's hideous.

Chrysler had a recall for plugged catalytic converters.
This happened to my 1995 with a severe loss of power.
The 1996-2003 passenger side 5.2/5.9 Magnum exhaust has a undrilled boss where 1992-1995 models had the EGR feed tube connected.
You could drill a hole there at that flat spot to measure backpressure, then drill tap and plug.

On my 1995 5.9 with stock exhaust the backpressure was 7 psi at full throttle and 4000 rpm with 60,000 miles on the odometer.

The cat converter plugged around 100,000 miles.

I recall some conversation years ago about modifying the crankshaft sensor (edit: for advancing the timing)............and just found it:

Dakota Forum

.......and an explanation of the origins of Death Flash:

UTawesome Performance

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Ah, the childish advantage of blocking another Member's posts.

No, leave it in, dummy.

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I don't think you'll gain anything. But, as old as it is, I doubt it's working at all anymore. We went through MANY in our 350,000 mile 318 Ramcharger. Always failing smog for NOx, every year or two, always the converter. Near the end we discovered those muffler shop cheapies were universal fit and crap. Finally got one from Walker, specific fit for the truck, lasted until we sold it in 2016.

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I put a timing light on it to see what the computer is commanding for timing. At idle it's roughly 12 btdc and at 3000 it's 22 btdc... Wow. No wonder it's such a pooch. Because I don't want to spend 300-400 on a programmer I pulled the crank sensor and slotted the mounting holes and moved the sensor over until it hit the bell housing opening. Now I have 15 at idle and 25 at 3000. When driving it feels like I picked up 20% more torque, the exhaust note is significantly louder as well. It doesn't seem to strain as much going up inclines as well. It really really really wants even more timing. From my experience with other small blocks, it probably would like 20 ish at idle and 36-38 total. I bet it would feel like a completely different truck if I can figure it how to do that.

You're welcome, glad that mod that I posted worked.

Thanks. Credit given where it's due

This post is spot on for me. I have two reg. cab short bed Ram 1500 trucks. A 96 Sport I got new, has the 5.9 . I have always been satisfied with the power it has. It now has 319,000. miles on it . I found a very clean 2001 with the 5.2 a couple years ago and bought it for it's excellent condition . I expected the 5.2 to have less bottom end power, but maybe better fuel mileage. Well, it is really poor in both respects. The 5.9 has a lot more power and gets the same or better fuel mileage with 200,000 additional miles. I did have to have the intake pulled and resealed many years ago on the 5.9. And recently replaced the original plug wires ! LOL
I am not willing to buy 93 octane fuel for it, but I may give this advance mod a try if I can get to it. The dist.cap rotor and plug wires was a real challenge for me to reach . The 96 has a one cat. system. I have to look at the 2001 and see. I was beginning to think The 2001 had a bad cat. that is causing the power loss. It seems I have to really put my foot in it, to get the truck to move out in the same manor the 96 does effortlessly.


Mark

Nice house.

Nice yard.

Nice driveway.

Nice '96.

But that '01 is a PEACH! Even has the smooth, no-slider back window if my eyes are right.

Thanks Grizzly !
Yes the 01 does have a no slider back window. It was a special order truck and has the towing package and a LSD rear end . It has the original owners name on the window sticker. It was garage kept and only used to pull the man's fishing boat. I really love the truck , just wish it had a little more power. The 96 has rust issues but runs great and I still drive it the most. It was a lease and I bought it at the end of the lease. I really like this body style and wanted another one to replace the 96. The frame is rusting on the 96 and I can no longer mount a rear bumper or the tow hitch due to rust in that area, so I put a rear " pan" on it.

Mark

You might look for a used Mopar Performance OBD-II PCM for years 1996+

The old magazine ads claimed 20+ torque gain.

I can remember reading posts back in the 1990s where Magnum 5.2 owners tried out MP PCM’s for 5.9 engines and reported that they ran without hiccups, but I do not remember anyone commenting on fuel economy changes.

These companies that repair Magnum PCMs ought to be able to flash the data tables for the MP CM onto an standard OEM unit.

I have a 1998 to 2003 Superchips Micro Max tuner for Ram pickups that I bought at a yard sale for $25
but it says “VIN Locked” when it powers up.
This Superchips unit seems to be able to read and erase DTC codes for any Chrysler OBD-II vehicle.

Thanks for the info 360view. I will look into this approach and see what I can find.
It's worth a try.


Mark

The main thing lacking in all these posts and replies is what is underpowered, what rips, what is slow. There needs to be a number. If you are coming from an 80's LA318 and 5.2 Magnum will be faster. Compared to a 5.7 Hemi, yes it will feel slow.

I can only contribute my numbers and you compare and make a decision. 1995 Ram Sport 5.2L, 5 spd, reg cab, short box 3.5 rear Low 16 second truck. The ET was a product of a launch with the manual trans. I actually ran a 15.9 holding the rpm at 4000 before engaging the clutch but the important number here is 84 mph. Is your faster or slower than that?

Some catalytic converter replies. Yes a they hold these back. I was door to door with a friends 1st gen Neon. When my converter was blown out. I was walking him. After replacing it under warranty I was back to door to door.

I do feel the automatics behind the 5.2's really dragged these trucks power down.

Depends on what it's in too. I yanked a 5.2 out of a 99 dakota, dropped it into my stripped 80's jeep wrangler and used a 94 wiring harness/ecu. With a stick shift in a 3000lb rig instead of a 5000lb pig, that 5.2 rips!

My 01 van has the 5.9, were all given the ‘death’ tune? It seams peppy but only 14-15 mpg. I installed the super chip on my 06 ram diesel 3500 4x4 when new and it flies but it’s too radical so it’s back on ‘tow’ mode, 19.5 mpg. Maybe a SC for the van is in the future or re programmed module.

I had a 94 1500 4x4 Regular Cab Long bed with 5.2 automatic and 3:55 gears. It wouldn't spin a tire, whether power braking or not and was not quick at all. I tried to wake it up, with a Gibson exhaust, MSD 6AL ignition box, K & N air cleaner, the Mopar Performance roller rockers, and a Hypertech module. While I could notice small differences with the mods, they really didn't amount to a hill of beans. It got 15 mpg no matter wha,t unless on I95 in the flat area of North Carolina it would eek out 17. It was OBD 1, so no death flash, but the plenum pan did blow out around 90000 miles and it pinged badly. I fixed that, but the combustion chambers stayed dirty and it pinged afterward, which was worse with the Hypertech module. I remember being at a cars show and autocross on an airfield after having done the mods and we were allowed to play on the airfield and I couldn't get a tire to spin, quite embarrassing.
It, however, was very reliable. I could tow what I needed (slowly) without running hot and the four wheel drive worked great. Only time I had to get towed was when the cat converter had broken itself up and clogged at around 260000 miles. It wouldn't make 45 on the interstate. Later in its life, I got a boat and wanted more towing grunt, so I swapped in a 5.9L Magnum with larger valves, ported heads, and a Hughes Cam. I put a Powertrax locker on it, and it would burn tires all you wanted. The power band was from 3000-5300rpm. I really think it needed the Hughes FI airgap to really pull up top. But then I ended up with a 2004 Quad Cab 5.7 Hemi. The 5.2 was good for a simple truck motor, the 5.9 better, but I love my Hemis.

Don't feel bad about your '94: I had a brand new 2006 Blunder Motors reg cab long box 4x4 with the MIGHTY 5.3 (285 hp, yeah, sure ) and that Turd wouldn't break traction on dry pavement either.

Best day of my life when I traded that Gutless Wonder for my '07 Hemi.

YES! they are underpowered

That red '07 Ram is a great looking rig, Grizzly.

I had a 2006 that was great aside from the brakes. I got hit at 33,000 miles and it was totaled.

Thanks, Frankenduster!

Geez, how did they dent the roof on your '06?

Glad your '07 is worked out well for you. If it ever dies, you can buy mine to replace it.