No low end power

805

Asked by George Feb 08, 2010 at 01:51 PM about the 1997 Chevrolet C/K 1500

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a '97 k1500 with a 350 and 4l60e automatic.  Assuming all things are OK with the truck, would a bad fuel pressure regulator cause it to have no power at low rpm's?  It always bogs under acceleration, wont peel out even when its wet, and must downshift to gain speed on the highway  (but it still runs at the normal rpm range when on the highway).

46 Answers

195

do you have larger than stock tires and mighgt check the exhaust for leaks

16 people found this helpful.
625

check the ignition timing. you have to find the spout connector to force the computer to stop advancing the timing and set at base then make sure the engine is at operating temp and idling properly. then find your timing marks with the light and adjust it if needed.

34 people found this helpful.
805

alright, the exhaust is cutoff under the extended cab just past the cats, so its got low backpressure and that does rob some power but this power loss is recent. There is an exhaust leak near the manifold, but Im not sure if its enough to mess things up like that either. Now what in the world is a spout connector? And wouldn't the engine run horribly across all rpm's if the timing was off? Thanks Yal

21 people found this helpful.
625

poor timing has the most effect at idle whereas at higher rpm more advance is needed anyways. a spout connector is basically a small plastic plug that acts as a jumper. its in teh wiring for the distributor. some are by the dist, some by the ignition control module, and some by the pcm under the dash. check a service manual.

23 people found this helpful.
215

check the fuel pressure regulator and the fuel pump it could possibly be a clogged fuel filter but thats unlikley but a good idea to change it anyway

18 people found this helpful.
805

the fuel filter i replace last summer, so I doubt its clogged, when I have time Im going try to check the timing and look for this spout thing. Ill probably go ahead and replace the fuel pressure regulator anyway though, someone told me that I should replace it anyway (ive got 185000 miles). If the timing's bad though, dont I have to take a bunch of crap apart to change it then put it all back together and recheck? It seems like this could take a few millenia to do. Or is it simpler than I think? And you said something about idle, I think my idle is ok because it idles normal (smooth, 600rpm), but at times it has been going in to high idle more often, maybe because its been cold down here. The power issue is more notable at accelearation, especially hard acceleration, and I've notice my gas mileage has gone to hell lately too, on a recent road trip and a little bit of in town driving I got 15 mpg, where Ive gotten over 17 on road trips before. Thanks for the help yal!

26 people found this helpful.
69,045

if your timing chain is worn bad enough to make it run bad under acceleration then the truck would backfire. i changed the timing chain on my pickup in 6 hrs on a saturday not a big job

16 people found this helpful.
620

i have the same problem with my truck. its way bogged down during acceleration and one above the speed of 35 it has power again. and wont peel out, at all. did u ever figure out what was wrong? please let me know, thanks. my email is levi98168@yahoo.com, let me know if u figured out the problem please

62 people found this helpful.
385

i had a 94 350 that would act like it stalled when accelerating from a stop and ended up having to replace the egr valve, as for the burning out, re adjust ur timing but find haynes repair manual for ur truck some chevy's have an electronic timing advance which requires u to un hook a wire under the dash. mine wouldnt burnout till i got the timing dead on!!!!

18 people found this helpful.
590

Did anyone figure it out cause I have a 92 Chevy k1500 that won't peel out... I can floor it going up a hill and it will go about 35 mph don't like that and want it fix asap thanks I'd anyone see's this and replys....

52 people found this helpful.
805

Wow I found this post on accident, forgot about it after two years. Power has come and gone and I've since swapped engines and done other things. The MAF sensor and fuel pressure regulator were replaced and I have a feeling those were the culprits. MAF is expensive though, find one off another car, because I don't recommend anything other than factory equipment. Also not a bad idea to do a serious cleanup on the entire intake system and and run SeaFoam every once in a while. About the 94 and 92 trucks, it may be different problems; the 96-99 4th gen trucks have a different fuel injection system (Vortec SFI vs TBI) so they have different things that can go wrong with them.

20 people found this helpful.
385

I have a 95 gmc the wire ur talk about unhooking. ive unhooked and set timing and then hooked it back up after i do tht the timing advacnes 28 degrees and in neutral in bogs down in acceleration. i have replaced everything on the top end is new except push rods rocker arms value springs. please help im lost now.

30 people found this helpful.
69,045

Have you checked fuel pressure? Knock sensor will advance timing to prevent knock and if you're fuel pressure is low then it will run lean and knock causing the ignition to advance until it can't.

19 people found this helpful.
510

I have a similar problem only thing is my truck runs great until it warms up after warms up and I sit at a light and I take off when it shifts it wants to bog down can somebody help me please

51 people found this helpful.
280

Havin same problem, I have no fault codes yet one day my truck has lots of bottom end power and the next day it does not. I noticed the warmer weather seems to rob the power from it. 1998 5.0 vortec

28 people found this helpful.
370

I have a 1989 gmc sierra with a 350 TBI. I have also experienced lack of low end power lately when I take off from a stop. The timing, fuel delivery, even compression all checked out. The engine runs smooth at idle, no backfiring, no missing. It bogs until I hit about 35 mph and then it takes off and it takes off quick!! So..Could it be the torque converter??

37 people found this helpful.
460

IF THE ENGINE TEMP GUAGE OR TEMP SENSER IS NOT WORKING IT WILL RUN BAD BECAUSE THE COMPUTOR HAS NO WAY TO KNOW ENGINE TEMP To Adjust The Timming RESULT BAD LOW END POWER AND BAD GAS MILEAGE

24 people found this helpful.
460

I changed dist cap/ rotor/ plugs /adjust timming manually/changed to the new and improved spider on my 1998 3500 to no avail. changed out the temp senser and all power plus was restored... MY 1998-C3500 1 ton Get 25mpg on HWY 29 city with my other Mods

22 people found this helpful.
510

I have a 88 k2500 I have good idle and rev up in park it's very responsive but put in gear and gradually try to bring Rpms up with foot on brake and it bogs out almost stalling I release throttle and goes back to idle just fine any ideas or help please?

51 people found this helpful.
110

I had the same problem. No low end power untill I hit about 35mph then my engine seemed to wake up and scoot. 1998 C1500 5.0 A friend had the same problem and recommended changing the fuel injectors or spider as they call in on Chevy engines. I did, and the change was amazing. Try that, it's not cheap but def worth it. Make sure you upgrade to an MFI unit. This is the one I used. http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/BWD0/63886/02521.oap? year=1998&make=Chevrolet&model=C1500%2BPickup%2BRWD&vi= 5013350&ck=Search_02521_5013350_-1&pt=02521&ppt=C0024

11 people found this helpful.
210

98 z71 ran fine yesterday, got up this morning and at about 50 to 55 mph it has a skip or something. So anyone got anything

21 people found this helpful.
80

I have a 1992 Chevy Silverado 1500 4wd the 4wd trying to work but it ain't I just want to know what that problem can be!!! Thanks

8 people found this helpful.
160

I had the same problem. In my 1997 5.0L V8 K1500. Was caused by a number of things. First was a clogged catalitic converter, I replaced that to just a piece of pipe. Then you have the issue of throwing codes. Saying catalytic failure circuit bank two. Just put a spark pug de fowler to stop from throwing codes. The over issue was the cap and rotor was old, plus with new plugs and wires and distributed, made a large improvement to power. A lot more throttle response, and a lot better sound as I later changed muffles to a thrush turbo.

16 people found this helpful.
410

My truck Boggs down and losses power and if I try to get on it.It won't go like it should at all could it be Cadillac converter stop up or fuel fitter stopping up or spark plugs and wire I really don't know at all

28 people found this helpful.
410

Also my gas gauge don't work at all I check the fuse and it's good so I don't know anybody know what my problems are or could be

13 people found this helpful.
355

about a year ago i was driving my 97 5.7 vortex chev trk and it began to surge and bogg down , let some shaddy mech mess me around because i was broke down on the road they replace all the things that have been mention filters sensor checked timing ect. still wouldn't run right later they did a cylliner check and the left side had extremely low pressure around 30 lbs so had to replace the motor so before you let someone replace all these expences parts check the compression i learned the hard way spend $800 trying to fix a bad motor

9 people found this helpful.
260

Hello, I'm having a really bad problem with my 1996 Tahoe 350 vortec. It runs really rough at idle and under rpm's 1-5000. The performance is horrible. White smoke comes from the exhaust all the time, it has hardly any power at all. It misses and backfires all the time. It stalls out alot when under a load, it was running great one day and then went to start it on a colder day. And it's been running 100℅ different ever since...it also constantly smells like raw fuel all the time! Rather it's at idle or moving down the road. The EGR valve is new, cap, rotor, plus, wires, fuel injector spider, new injectors, new computer, fuel filter, and several other new parts that I cannot remember off hand. But the engine has 280,000 miles on it. If anyone out there can PLEASEEEEE tell me whats wrong with this thing, that would be great, if anyone has any questions or helpful information, email me at greenbrian351@gmail.com. thanks.

26 people found this helpful.
240

All, I have a 98 GMC z-71, 350eng 295K miles, New tranny, Transfercase, Fuel pump & filter, all new exhaust from Manifolds back by Magnaflow, New o2 sensors. new waterpump, timing chain and distributor all within past 12 months. most recently I have lost all low end power, the truck idles fine and runs highway speeds fine but misses and sputters at takeoff upto 35-45mph. occassionally it feels like the truck is coughing when driving long distances where it will just do it every 20 minutes or so. Engine code says its running lean. Any ideas?

19 people found this helpful.
240

Truck has been tuned up since this started happening, plugs, wires, fuel pump, air and fuel filter, truck smells really rich. Runs ok at highway speeds but no low end power timing I'm at 36 degrees of timing. Starts easy . But again running really rich... any ideas...

5 people found this helpful.
80

I have a 2005 1500 same problem real sluggish at take off I changed air filter,fuel pump,tps sensor,cleaned throttle body,cut out cats,plugs,wires,checked timing, and o2 sensors come to find out it was a $40 map sensor easy to change out wasent throwing any codes I changed it a and it was like tha truck was new again hope this helps

8 people found this helpful.
110

https://youtu.be/YSayAkKSNVM i have a 92 c1500 4.3 v6 that randomly looses power i did a tune uo rebuilt the tbi with new injectors replaced fuel system i really need some help it also has new temp sensor,tps,map,egr valve, and no check engine light

11 people found this helpful.
20

This happen to me while driving my 1989 chevy pick up. I changed my fuel filter. Problem fixed!

2 people found this helpful.
90

If you've replaced your main sensors map egr egr valve tps esc icm iac ignition coil both temp sensors knock and o2. Make sure no exhaust leaks b4 the 02 sensor High flow acdeleco fuel filter high flow air filter I like a high flow trans filter make sure your TV cable is adjusted that'll also stretch your throttle cable back out and set timing to 0.. If ur motor is worn it may need to go as high as 3 but start at 0 and start out in regular drive and she should scream.. high flow fuel pump is always nice to. If your still not happy then you can always get a stage 1 prom chip for your ecm but go threw the above list first

6 people found this helpful.

There is a bug in the transmission ECU, it is a known issue and there is a TSB for it. You need to replace the ECU. I used an TCI EZ-TCU and the problem was resolved. You cannot get a new EPROM anymore and you are taking your chances if you just get an ECU from the junkyard.

60

Had this problem in my '89 K2500. No power to speak of on the low end. It didn't miss or backfire, I could tell that it was firing fine. It just seemed like it was all it could give at slow speeds. Just got it back after having a brand new engine put in it. Still runs exactly the same on low end. Was parked on a fairly steep incline (pointing up) yesterday and when I went to start it, it was a no go. At first it would start, then die. Finally it would just turn over. The other side of the parking lot was level, so I let it roll into a more even surface. Sure enough, after a few turn overs and starting up and dying quickly it hit and ran rough. After a few seconds it smoothed out and ran as normal as ever. Would my fuel pump be too weak to pump the fuel up the way it had to do causing my truck not to start? Thanks for any info, I love the truck, but I've thrown quite a bit of money into it lately and could sure use any help.

6 people found this helpful.
30

I to have a 90 C1500, with 150K, and remember having to wait 10 minutes before she would idle down in winter but in spring and summer, I be having to put over sized wide tires and some metal in the back along with driving by rolling the side of my large toe to keep from peeling out. 0-60 no slips in 4 to 5 seconds. Loved it. after 5 years, had a wreak and it drove the same. Got to its normal sluggishness in the winter, but when spring came around it never piped back up. years came and went. was then sitting at 0-60 at 18 seconds..... long story short. I had the block machined, had the heads rebuilt, new ECM, Temperature sensors, oxygen sensor thrice times, Catalytic converter after the mech broke my larger one when he doped it while hot from a 6 foot elevation, added a high performance fuel pump for engines up to 700HP, cleaned and rebuilt the TBI, new Knocking sensor twice, Timing advance modular ( which got me to 0-60 in 8 seconds, tried the larger injectors ( only got bad gas mileage) replaced injectors found in a GMC suburban, new rear end housing. had 2 different stall torque converters put on. went back to the smallest factory tires that are made, cleaned out the weights in the truck ( to stock). ne EGR valve, replaced the brake modular, distributor, pickup coil, that starter teamp control modular, alternator twice, ECM again, added a stage 2 Jeggs prom kit, along with a TBI spacer. All signs show normal, except I am able to drive with a flat foot and not even hurt the grassy fields:( AKA not able to peel out anymore. Idle is normal at 320 RPM and can place a coin on the edge of the air filter with no movement, It meets still the 19 MPG on highway but I cant get any worse than 15 in the city with little engine breaking. I used to be able to get 19 and 11 with a huge engine breaking capability out of my THM700R4. I even bought all the Dealers books on the 90's. ( The electrical book says that when you activate the breaks the ECM is to run a different program for both engine and transmission, than normal driving, and a diffrent program runs when you turn your A/C on.) maybe this is something worth looking into.

3 people found this helpful.
20

I just drove my 1998 Tahoe home n it didn't want to pick up speed it took a while to do so. It was hard on gas pedal but it eventually pick up on every speed but with a slight jerk as if it was working on the speed. I made it home ok but as I put it on park it sounded as if it wanted to die. Please help... I was thinking spark plug but not too sure.

2 people found this helpful.
10

I have a 1994 k1500 that once it starts to warm uo the acceleration i terrible until roughly 35 mph. If i punch the throttle it almost dies. I have replaced distributor cap and rotor, plugs and wires, fuel pressure regulator, fuel filter, and the coil and none of that helped. Anyone have any ideas?

1 people found this helpful.
20

Go to auto part store get a can or 2 of throttle body cleaner. Not carb and choke get the one that says throttle body. While your there get a new tb gasket and a small box of wire crimps and a can of starter fluid. You'll know why you got the crimps when your taking it apart. Then take your tb off the block. All the way because the bottom side is what you need to get too. Spray the whole thing down with cleaner. The cleaner will make all that dirt and curd just melt off. Make sure you get it in all the holes for vacuums than get a bunch of q tips and clean the inside of all the holes and every corner and crevices until there is no more build up. Than take off your idle sensor and your tps and wipe the insides of those out as well. Then wipe off any remainder of cleaner or what not till its dry and looking clean. Make sure none of the cotton from the q tips got stuck in the holes. If your dont have access to an air compressor just put your mouth on the stems and blow in them to make sure there is good air flow. Than put it all back together. Check check double check check again to make sure everything's put together right. Spray some starter fluid in and step on the peddle while you start it. THAN if that doesnt help get new map sensor, tips, and fuel pressure regulator.

2 people found this helpful.
10

Just found this thread. I was looking somewhere to post my update. I had put a new motor in and every sensor under the sun was changed. Truck still felt a little slumpy. TBI was the last thing to do. Saved some money since they’re so expensive and just rebuilt my fuel pressure regulator. HUGE performance boost. My diaphragm didn’t look bad but the rubber was obviously not tight anymore. The truck had sit for 4 years before I got to it so ethanol gas likely the culprit but it cleared up a couple of my issues. Power and fuel pump prime taking way too long. Still have a slight stumble at idle. Timing is at zero and idle is at 600. I hear the stumble is the signature of these setups though. Cheers boys.

1 people found this helpful.

I have 1996 Chevy C1500 4.3 vortec and was bogging out when accelerate on the gas while driving and also lost of power. I had replace a ton of sensors on it and finally I stumbled upon a sensor called fuel pressure regulator right inside attached to the fuel injector spider once I replaced it my truck was finally not bogging out and full power restored.

30

This response comes way late, but I have a 99 5.7, it had poor acceleration and even worse when punching it or passing. To make a long story short it was the MAF ! The previous owner put a duralast Auto Zone one on— junk ! It’s imperative to replace it with a delco or Delphi one. Once I did this thing woke up like never before and gas mileage went way up too. OE parts ( especially electronic ) are the only way ! Also, FYI I had already checked all the basics; fuel filter, fuel pressure, tune-up, timing etc.

3 people found this helpful.
50

i have a 1997 chevy k1500 5.0 one day it was driving fine i hit a couple bumps and it started running like crap misfiring jerking losing power i changed the ecm to start out with that fixed a issue got truck back ran fine for a couple weeks started doing same problem again so i changed pcv, egr checked the coil still running like crap changed throttle postion sensor changed the whole distributor still the same running like crap checked fuel pressure and it was 60 so we knew it wasnt that changed the fuel filter checked the map flow sensor still running like crap we changed almost all sensors and still running crappy when we were putting up tools fixing to give up because i got tired of sinking money into truck we seen a wire in the very back of motor the wire was on top of exhaust we were like that could be our problem so we zip tied wire off of exhaust and bam truck ran like a brand knew truck i just wanted to share this because someone somewhere could have same problem and i have taken to many shops and noone could figure it out the wire was at back of motor i think it was a transmission wire it was grounding wire out melting wire causeing it to run horrible by the grace of god we found that wire thank you jesus

5 people found this helpful.

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