I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.
Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)

The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid, but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the
in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

It about a 2001 Dodge RAM 1500 V8 Magnum Laramie SLT with, oops, 250,000
miles.

I was stopped at the 7-11 for 10 or 15 minutes and when I got going
again, the truck seemed to run fine. No opportunity to go more than
40mph, but it did accelerate from 10 to 35 while going uphill. That
seems pretty good.


So

I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada, but I can
do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about 20 mph, another
cicada hit me right in the eye!

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:14:21 -0400, micky
wrote:


I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

Amazing, there was a video on just opening the hood. I had found the
handle but it didn't seem to move at all. I'll push harder.

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada, but I can
do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about 20 mph, another
cicada hit me right in the eye!

I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Not so easy to find these for a 2001 in google.

[snip]

sounds like the transmission went into what's
called "limp home mode". That happens when
a whole bunch of possible things go wrong,
so it locks itself into second gear so that
you can get off the highway and, well, limp
to a repair shop.

Sometimes these things are a momentary hiccup,
which, once they reset, are a-ok for the duration.

Other times, though....

There are lots of diagnostics to check out
what happened. They might, or might not,
give you the answer...



--
__________________________________________________ ___
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key

[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

micky wrote
micky wrote

I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

Amazing, there was a video on just opening the hood. I had found
the handle but it didn't seem to move at all. I'll push harder.

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada,
but I can do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about
20 mph, another cicada hit me right in the eye!

I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Not so easy to find these for a 2001 in google.

Cant you get the full owners manual ?

Never had any problem with that here, but havent tried it with yank tanks.

On 6/10/2021 9:14 AM, micky wrote:
I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.
Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)

The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid, but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the
in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Remind me to never load you my car.
Did you buy the right fluid for that vahicle? Using the wrong tranny
fluid can cause these problems.

I had one Dodge Caravan that had such a tranny problem, and learned a
lot about it before it finally quit working altogether.


It about a 2001 Dodge RAM 1500 V8 Magnum Laramie SLT with, oops, 250,000
miles.

I was stopped at the 7-11 for 10 or 15 minutes and when I got going
again, the truck seemed to run fine. No opportunity to go more than
40mph, but it did accelerate from 10 to 35 while going uphill. That
seems pretty good.


So

I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada, but I can
do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about 20 mph, another
cicada hit me right in the eye!

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 11:32:29 -0700, Bob F
wrote:

On 6/10/2021 9:14 AM, micky wrote:
I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.
Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)

The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid, but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the
in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Remind me to never load you my car.

I thought we were such good friends.

Did you buy the right fluid for that vahicle? Using the wrong tranny
fluid can cause these problems.

It said on it, roughly, not for use in GM cars later than 2005 or Fords
later than 2006, or for cars that need F-type xmisssion flued or 2 or 3
other types I wasn't sure of. But I don't think Chrysler products from
2001 or earlier were in there.

If I were not low on fluid , I would not have bought it at all, but
since I coudldh't open the hoood, the fluid was really meant for when I
got home, or stuck on the street before I got home. I was 2 miles from
home.

Now I'm not in a rush, I'll check some more.

Since I posted, I've been napping. Woke up at 5am again today.


I had one Dodge Caravan that had such a tranny problem, and learned a
lot about it before it finally quit working altogether.


It about a 2001 Dodge RAM 1500 V8 Magnum Laramie SLT with, oops, 250,000
miles.

I was stopped at the 7-11 for 10 or 15 minutes and when I got going
again, the truck seemed to run fine. No opportunity to go more than
40mph, but it did accelerate from 10 to 35 while going uphill. That
seems pretty good.


So

I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada, but I can
do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about 20 mph, another
cicada hit me right in the eye!

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 02:50:45 +1000, "Rod Speed"
wrote:

micky wrote
micky wrote

I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

Amazing, there was a video on just opening the hood. I had found
the handle but it didn't seem to move at all. I'll push harder.

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada,
but I can do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about
20 mph, another cicada hit me right in the eye!

I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Not so easy to find these for a 2001 in google.

Cant you get the full owners manual ?

Good idea. I thought about when driving home, but then forgot about it.

I did see a video on a 2016 version, where the button was a red
triangle, right in the middle of the dash. Why someone would need a
video to find that, I dont' know.

Never had any problem with that here, but havent tried it with yank tanks.

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 16:46:25 +0000 (UTC), danny
burstein wrote:

[snip]

sounds like the transmission went into what's
called "limp home mode". That happens when
a whole bunch of possible things go wrong,
so it locks itself into second gear so that
you can get off the highway and, well, limp
to a repair shop.

Sometimes these things are a momentary hiccup,
which, once they reset, are a-ok for the duration.

Other times, though....

There are lots of diagnostics to check out
what happened. They might, or might not,
give you the answer...

I have a medium-prices (at the DIY level) code reader. I don't remember
it saying anything about transmission codes. But they're read using the
same connector, iiuc.

Yes, here we are, for example.
https://repairpal.com/automatic-tran...code-p1740-573

Well, it supposed to rain for the next 34 hours, but I guess I can do
this in the rain. At least it won't be hot.

I'm glad I didn't leave my code reader in my car, which I left at my
friend's house when I took his truck.

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 16:46:25 +0000 (UTC), danny
burstein wrote:

[snip]

sounds like the transmission went into what's
called "limp home mode". That happens when

I knew the term limp mode, but I had forgtten it when I needed it most.

Very useful for googling:

Limp mode is actually a safety measure that prevents the Dodge Ram 1500
from being driven if its computer detects a fault in the transmission.
.... To get the Dodge Ram 1500 out of limp mode you need to stop and
shift to park. Turn the car off and wait 30 seconds, now turn it back on
and it will be out of limp mode.

I thought about turning the car off even when on the Xway and I guess
I mistakenly decided not to. Once I got to the exit a quarter mile
away, I could have done it there too, but by this time I'm thinking,
Hey, 30 mph. Not bad.


How do I get my truck out of limp mode?
Restart Engine

If your vehicle goes in limp mode while driving, find a safe place to
stop and restart the engine. Allow the car to stay completly off for at
least one minute before you restart it. In many cases, this will reset
the limp mode and allow the vehicle to operate normally.Mar 10, 2020


So it's no surprise it did better after the 7-11. I made sure to get a
receipt for the xmission oil. So even if I don't need fluid, I"m not
going to expect a small business like that to give me my money back (so
I won't be disappointed) but I think the'll exchange it for food or
something.



a whole bunch of possible things go wrong,
so it locks itself into second gear so that
you can get off the highway and, well, limp
to a repair shop.

Sometimes these things are a momentary hiccup,
which, once they reset, are a-ok for the duration.

Other times, though....

There are lots of diagnostics to check out
what happened. They might, or might not,
give you the answer...

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 02:50:45 +1000, "Rod Speed"
wrote:

micky wrote
micky wrote

I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

Amazing, there was a video on just opening the hood. I had found
the handle but it didn't seem to move at all. I'll push harder.

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada,
but I can do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about
20 mph, another cicada hit me right in the eye!

I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Not so easy to find these for a 2001 in google.

Cant you get the full owners manual ?

I got it.
https://www.manualslib.com/download/...-Ram-1500.html

What does manualslib get out of this? I asked about this several
months ago and people who replied said there was advertising, even if I
didn't remember it. So this itme I paid attention and there is no
advertising. At the same time another url is selling the paper manual
for $29 to 34. So why does manualslib do this? I get a lot of manuals
from them.

The 4-way flasher is a button atop the steering column. Okay.

The windshield wipers are on the same stalk as the turn signals. I
looked there but I was driving at the time. I don't think the markings
were clear.

Never had any problem with that here, but havent tried it with yank tanks.

"micky" wrote in message
...
In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 02:50:45 +1000, "Rod Speed"
wrote:

micky wrote
micky wrote

I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

Amazing, there was a video on just opening the hood. I had found
the handle but it didn't seem to move at all. I'll push harder.

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada,
but I can do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about
20 mph, another cicada hit me right in the eye!

I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Not so easy to find these for a 2001 in google.

Cant you get the full owners manual ?

I got it.
https://www.manualslib.com/download/...-Ram-1500.html

What does manualslib get out of this?

Dunno, its certainly a very useful service.

I asked about this several months ago and people
who replied said there was advertising, even if I
didn't remember it. So this itme I paid attention
and there is no advertising.

Yeah, I used it a couple of days ago myself and can confirm that.

At the same time another url is selling the paper
manual for $29 to 34. So why does manualslib
do this? I get a lot of manuals from them.

Me too, its amazing what they have.

Remind me to never loan you my car.
Did you buy the right fluid for that vahicle? Using the wrong tranny
fluid can cause these problems.

I had one Dodge Caravan that had such a tranny problem, and learned a
lot about it before it finally quit working altogether.


I've known more-than-one person who actually bought a second
Dodge Caravan after having numerous transmission problems
with the first one .. and
even if the warranty or extended warranty covered the repair -
there's still the un-reliability factor ; plus the long lay-up
for repairs and multiple service / diagnosis visits ..
All for an automatic transmission - that ~ all other car makers
have managed to make - reliable if not robust.
I once considered an entry-level Dodge Journey ~ 7 years ago -
when they were on sale - decent option package ; very good price ;
nice to drive ; but I came to my senses and took a pass -
- it oozed cheapness and had 2 or 3 really annoying features
that I couldn't bring myself to overlook ..
plus a dismal resale value.
John T.

On Fri, 11 Jun 2021 06:52:24 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:



Dunno, its certainly a very useful service.

Well, it can't be as useless as you abnormal trolling senile pest!

--
Norman Wells addressing trolling senile Rodent:
"Ah, the voice of scum speaks."
MID:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2021 17:13:29 -0400, wrote:



Remind me to never loan you my car.
Did you buy the right fluid for that vahicle? Using the wrong tranny
fluid can cause these problems.

I had one Dodge Caravan that had such a tranny problem, and learned a
lot about it before it finally quit working altogether.


I've known more-than-one person who actually bought a second
Dodge Caravan after having numerous transmission problems
with the first one .. and
even if the warranty or extended warranty covered the repair -
there's still the un-reliability factor ; plus the long lay-up
for repairs and multiple service / diagnosis visits ..
All for an automatic transmission - that ~ all other car makers
have managed to make - reliable if not robust.
I once considered an entry-level Dodge Journey ~ 7 years ago -
when they were on sale - decent option package ; very good price ;
nice to drive ; but I came to my senses and took a pass -
- it oozed cheapness and had 2 or 3 really annoying features
that I couldn't bring myself to overlook ..
plus a dismal resale value.
John T.
Dismal resale value works for me - means I don't have to pay much
when I buy them "experienced" with most of the bugs ironed out of them

On Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:14:21 -0400, micky wrote:

I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.

My first thought, reading this so far, is that it's a fuel issue. Clogged
fuel filter, contaminated fuel, plugged fuel line, water in the fuel,
something like that. The fuel pump isn't ruled out yet, either.

An engine that starts and idles without any issues, but runs out of power
at higher RPM, screams fuel to me.

Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)

I don't fully understand that. If the Xway is the freeway, I assume you'd
have noticed that the engine was running at a higher RPM than normal. Even
so, I wouldn't expect 2nd gear (with an auto trans) would cause any lasting
issues. If the engine was starved for fuel, the higher RPM caused by
running in 2nd gear might have made things more noticeable.

The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid,

Transmission fluid for THIS vehicle? Why? Is this related to the cryptic
statement above about it being tricky to get it into gear? I assumed that
was because you had the cab area full of crap to be recycled.

but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the
in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

It about a 2001 Dodge RAM 1500 V8 Magnum Laramie SLT with, oops, 250,000
miles.

I was stopped at the 7-11 for 10 or 15 minutes and when I got going
again, the truck seemed to run fine. No opportunity to go more than
40mph, but it did accelerate from 10 to 35 while going uphill. That
seems pretty good.

Others are far more qualified than me, but it still sounds like a fuel
issue to me.

So

I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada, but I can
do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about 20 mph, another
cicada hit me right in the eye!

Hmm, it also has no windshield. What a truck.

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 23:46:17 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:14:21 -0400, micky wrote:

I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.

My first thought, reading this so far, is that it's a fuel issue. Clogged
fuel filter, contaminated fuel, plugged fuel line, water in the fuel,
something like that. The fuel pump isn't ruled out yet, either.

Maybe.

An engine that starts and idles without any issues, but runs out of power
at higher RPM, screams fuel to me.

Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)

I don't fully understand that. If the Xway is the freeway,

Yes. They don't call them freeways here. They're all free except there
is one toll on I-95 in Cecil County.

I assume you'd
have noticed that the engine was running at a higher RPM than normal. Even

The truck makes a lot of noise. It might have been making more than
usual, but I didn't notice.


so, I wouldn't expect 2nd gear (with an auto trans) would cause any lasting
issues. If the engine was starved for fuel, the higher RPM caused by
running in 2nd gear might have made things more noticeable.

The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid,

Transmission fluid for THIS vehicle? Why?

Because that's the only thing I'm competent to do to fix a transmission

Is this related to the cryptic
statement above about it being tricky to get it into gear? I assumed that
was because you had the cab area full of crap to be recycled.

I only had 5 lightbulbs, old batteries, and a cell phone in the cab. ;-)


but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the
in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Found them!

It about a 2001 Dodge RAM 1500 V8 Magnum Laramie SLT with, oops, 250,000
miles.

I was stopped at the 7-11 for 10 or 15 minutes and when I got going
again, the truck seemed to run fine. No opportunity to go more than
40mph, but it did accelerate from 10 to 35 while going uphill. That
seems pretty good.

Others are far more qualified than me, but it still sounds like a fuel
issue to me.

So

I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada, but I can
do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about 20 mph, another
cicada hit me right in the eye!

Hmm, it also has no windshield. What a truck.

LOL. It came in the window. I doubt that eyelids can work quickly
enough so I think it bounced off my eyeball. I don't like things
touching my eyeball, but it didn't seem to do any harm.

I appreciate your detailed answer. I have to go to a covid screening
test on Sunday, 20 miles total, so I'll know by then if it is running
well or not. Returning the truck Sunday or Monday.

On Thursday, June 10, 2021 at 12:46:30 PM UTC-4, danny burstein wrote:
[snip]

sounds like the transmission went into what's
called "limp home mode". That happens when
a whole bunch of possible things go wrong,
so it locks itself into second gear so that
you can get off the highway and, well, limp
to a repair shop.

Interesting theory, but on the vehicles I've seen where that happened,
it doesn't happen without warning indicators on the dash that are almost
impossible to ignore. Eg flashing indicator lights, messages, etc.
And Micky did say that he couldn't see the gear shift indicator and it
was difficult to get it into any gear...... IDK what happens if you have a
modern vehicle in 2nd and drive it for miles at highway speed. But I
would think you'd have to be going fast enough that it would become very
noticeable that the engine was revving abnormally high long before anything
bad could happen.

Whatever it was, sounds like he got very lucky and hopefully it's OK.
Or at least OK long enough for him to return it to his buddy. Reminds me
of the time years ago a college buddy borrowed my Fiat Spyder and drove
to the Poconos with it. He came back late at night, much later than expected.
Said the car was running terrible. Turned out to be a blown head gasket.
I then remembered a couple years earlier when we were driving my car
back from CA and crossing the Rockies. He was driving, I woke up to complaints
that the car was slowing down, struggling. He had it in 4th gear going up
a massive hill. I figure he likely did another round of that in the Poconos.
I had taught him how to drive a stick when we were in college and I remember
when he finally could at least drive around town he told me how I had
explained how it all works wrong. Today he's a plastic surgeon.





Sometimes these things are a momentary hiccup,
which, once they reset, are a-ok for the duration.

Other times, though....

There are lots of diagnostics to check out
what happened. They might, or might not,
give you the answer...


Does Micky really want to know? What you do in this situation?
To start with, there are two scenarios. One is that he had it in drive
or the correct gear position and something just happened. The other
is he had it in second on the highway for miles and that caused whatever
it was. Probably no further investigation beyond checking the fluid
is needed, unless there are more issues. Then there is whether to tell
his buddy or not. My buddy told me, I still wound up paying for the head
gasket job.....







--
__________________________________________________ ___
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key

[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

On Thursday, June 10, 2021 at 4:08:04 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 16:46:25 +0000 (UTC), danny
burstein wrote:
[snip]

sounds like the transmission went into what's
called "limp home mode". That happens when
I knew the term limp mode, but I had forgtten it when I needed it most.

Very useful for googling:

Limp mode is actually a safety measure that prevents the Dodge Ram 1500
from being driven if its computer detects a fault in the transmission.
... To get the Dodge Ram 1500 out of limp mode you need to stop and
shift to park. Turn the car off and wait 30 seconds, now turn it back on
and it will be out of limp mode.

I thought about turning the car off even when on the Xway and I guess
I mistakenly decided not to. Once I got to the exit a quarter mile
away, I could have done it there too, but by this time I'm thinking,
Hey, 30 mph. Not bad.


How do I get my truck out of limp mode?
Restart Engine

If your vehicle goes in limp mode while driving, find a safe place to
stop and restart the engine. Allow the car to stay completly off for at
least one minute before you restart it. In many cases, this will reset
the limp mode and allow the vehicle to operate normally.Mar 10, 2020


So it's no surprise it did better after the 7-11. I made sure to get a
receipt for the xmission oil. So even if I don't need fluid, I"m not
going to expect a small business like that to give me my money back (so
I won't be disappointed) but I think the'll exchange it for food or
something.
a whole bunch of possible things go wrong,
so it locks itself into second gear so that
you can get off the highway and, well, limp
to a repair shop.

Sometimes these things are a momentary hiccup,
which, once they reset, are a-ok for the duration.

Other times, though....

There are lots of diagnostics to check out
what happened. They might, or might not,
give you the answer...

Were there warning lights turned on, warning messages on the dash?
The modern vehicles I'm familiar with, they don't go into limp mode
without setting obvious warnings on the dash. For that matter, modern
vehicles would likely put up some kind of warning if you had it in second
and were driving too fast on the highway.

On Friday, June 11, 2021 at 12:46:21 AM UTC-4, Jim Joyce wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:14:21 -0400, micky wrote:
I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.
My first thought, reading this so far, is that it's a fuel issue. Clogged
fuel filter, contaminated fuel, plugged fuel line, water in the fuel,
something like that. The fuel pump isn't ruled out yet, either.

It's certainly possible that it's something unrelated. But if he did have it
in 2nd, driving at highway speeds and now it's back to normal, my first
suspicion is it's related. Also, while I agree that fuel starvation due to a
clogged filter could definitely cause a loss of power at highway speeds,
sometimes it works the opposite way. My MB diesel had a problem where
it would run fine at highway speed but was running rough on the verge of
stalling when idling. Had me perplexed, but I started with the simple
stuff. I replaced the fuel filters and that's what it was. It had a mechanical
fuel pump and apparently at low RPM it could not move enough fuel
through the filter, but at higher RPM even though more fuel was required,
the pump could deliver it. Most cars now have electric pumps though,
so that kind of thing may not be able to happen anymore.




An engine that starts and idles without any issues, but runs out of power
at higher RPM, screams fuel to me.
Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)
I don't fully understand that. If the Xway is the freeway, I assume you'd
have noticed that the engine was running at a higher RPM than normal. Even
so, I wouldn't expect 2nd gear (with an auto trans) would cause any lasting
issues. If the engine was starved for fuel, the higher RPM caused by
running in 2nd gear might have made things more noticeable.
The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid,
Transmission fluid for THIS vehicle? Why? Is this related to the cryptic
statement above about it being tricky to get it into gear? I assumed that
was because you had the cab area full of crap to be recycled.
but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the
in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

It about a 2001 Dodge RAM 1500 V8 Magnum Laramie SLT with, oops, 250,000
miles.

I was stopped at the 7-11 for 10 or 15 minutes and when I got going
again, the truck seemed to run fine. No opportunity to go more than
40mph, but it did accelerate from 10 to 35 while going uphill. That
seems pretty good.
Others are far more qualified than me, but it still sounds like a fuel
issue to me.
So

I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada, but I can
do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about 20 mph, another
cicada hit me right in the eye!
Hmm, it also has no windshield. What a truck.

Maybe he was hanging out the window, steering with his feet?

On Fri, 11 Jun 2021 06:42:45 -0700 (PDT), trader_4 posted for all of us to
digest...


On Friday, June 11, 2021 at 12:46:21 AM UTC-4, Jim Joyce wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:14:21 -0400, micky wrote:
I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.
My first thought, reading this so far, is that it's a fuel issue. Clogged
fuel filter, contaminated fuel, plugged fuel line, water in the fuel,
something like that. The fuel pump isn't ruled out yet, either.

It's certainly possible that it's something unrelated. But if he did have it
in 2nd, driving at highway speeds and now it's back to normal, my first
suspicion is it's related. Also, while I agree that fuel starvation due to a
clogged filter could definitely cause a loss of power at highway speeds,
sometimes it works the opposite way. My MB diesel had a problem where
it would run fine at highway speed but was running rough on the verge of
stalling when idling. Had me perplexed, but I started with the simple
stuff. I replaced the fuel filters and that's what it was. It had a mechanical
fuel pump and apparently at low RPM it could not move enough fuel
through the filter, but at higher RPM even though more fuel was required,
the pump could deliver it. Most cars now have electric pumps though,
so that kind of thing may not be able to happen anymore.




An engine that starts and idles without any issues, but runs out of power
at higher RPM, screams fuel to me.
Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)
I don't fully understand that. If the Xway is the freeway, I assume you'd
have noticed that the engine was running at a higher RPM than normal. Even
so, I wouldn't expect 2nd gear (with an auto trans) would cause any lasting
issues. If the engine was starved for fuel, the higher RPM caused by
running in 2nd gear might have made things more noticeable.
The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid,
Transmission fluid for THIS vehicle? Why? Is this related to the cryptic
statement above about it being tricky to get it into gear? I assumed that
was because you had the cab area full of crap to be recycled.
but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the
in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

It about a 2001 Dodge RAM 1500 V8 Magnum Laramie SLT with, oops, 250,000
miles.

I was stopped at the 7-11 for 10 or 15 minutes and when I got going
again, the truck seemed to run fine. No opportunity to go more than
40mph, but it did accelerate from 10 to 35 while going uphill. That
seems pretty good.
Others are far more qualified than me, but it still sounds like a fuel
issue to me.
So

I haven't googled yet, but how do you open the hood on this truck?

I needed the wiper to get rid of the big blob from the cicada, but I can
do that manually. Before the car trouble, at about 20 mph, another
cicada hit me right in the eye!
Hmm, it also has no windshield. What a truck.

Maybe he was hanging out the window, steering with his feet?

It's Micky nuff said.

--
Tekkie

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 04:44:25 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 23:46:17 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:14:21 -0400, micky wrote:

I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.

My first thought, reading this so far, is that it's a fuel issue. Clogged
fuel filter, contaminated fuel, plugged fuel line, water in the fuel,
something like that. The fuel pump isn't ruled out yet, either.

Maybe.

An engine that starts and idles without any issues, but runs out of power
at higher RPM, screams fuel to me.

Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)

I don't fully understand that. If the Xway is the freeway,

Yes. They don't call them freeways here. They're all free except there
is one toll on I-95 in Cecil County.

I assume you'd
have noticed that the engine was running at a higher RPM than normal. Even

The truck makes a lot of noise. It might have been making more than
usual, but I didn't notice.


so, I wouldn't expect 2nd gear (with an auto trans) would cause any lasting
issues. If the engine was starved for fuel, the higher RPM caused by
running in 2nd gear might have made things more noticeable.

The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid,

Transmission fluid for THIS vehicle? Why?

Because that's the only thing I'm competent to do to fix a transmission

Is this related to the cryptic
statement above about it being tricky to get it into gear? I assumed that

Tricky to get into gear just relates to the shift lever. I had to put
it in exactly the right spot. Sometimes it seemed right according to my
arm, but I'd have to push it just a little higher** to go into Drive.
Reverse too was like that. **Shift is on the steering column. I had to
lean forward to see the indicator.


was because you had the cab area full of crap to be recycled.

I only had 5 lightbulbs, old batteries, and a cell phone in the cab. ;-)


but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the

I had found the right under-hood release. Just had to push the hood
down a bit to be able to push it. Hood stays up on its own, but was
hard to push shut. The corners near the windshield are bent before
I got the truck. I don't know how that could happen.

My friend uses it to haul things including loads of dirt, plus I think
he has or borrows a horse trailer that he pulls sometimes. I think he
transports rescue horses occasionally.

in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Found them!

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 06:26:09 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Thursday, June 10, 2021 at 4:08:04 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 16:46:25 +0000 (UTC), danny
burstein wrote:
[snip]

sounds like the transmission went into what's
called "limp home mode". That happens when
I knew the term limp mode, but I had forgtten it when I needed it most.

Very useful for googling:

Limp mode is actually a safety measure that prevents the Dodge Ram 1500
from being driven if its computer detects a fault in the transmission.
... To get the Dodge Ram 1500 out of limp mode you need to stop and
shift to park. Turn the car off and wait 30 seconds, now turn it back on
and it will be out of limp mode.

I thought about turning the car off even when on the Xway and I guess
I mistakenly decided not to. Once I got to the exit a quarter mile
away, I could have done it there too, but by this time I'm thinking,
Hey, 30 mph. Not bad.


How do I get my truck out of limp mode?
Restart Engine

If your vehicle goes in limp mode while driving, find a safe place to
stop and restart the engine. Allow the car to stay completly off for at
least one minute before you restart it. In many cases, this will reset
the limp mode and allow the vehicle to operate normally.Mar 10, 2020


So it's no surprise it did better after the 7-11. I made sure to get a
receipt for the xmission oil. So even if I don't need fluid, I"m not
going to expect a small business like that to give me my money back (so
I won't be disappointed) but I think the'll exchange it for food or
something.
a whole bunch of possible things go wrong,
so it locks itself into second gear so that
you can get off the highway and, well, limp
to a repair shop.

Sometimes these things are a momentary hiccup,
which, once they reset, are a-ok for the duration.

Other times, though....

There are lots of diagnostics to check out
what happened. They might, or might not,
give you the answer...

Were there warning lights turned on, warning messages on the dash?

I don't think so. I dont think there is a provision for messages at
all.

The modern vehicles I'm familiar with, they don't go into limp mode

Is 2001 modern?

without setting obvious warnings on the dash. For that matter, modern
vehicles would likely put up some kind of warning if you had it in second
and were driving too fast on the highway.

My friend uses it to haul things including loads of dirt, plus I think
he has or borrows a horse trailer that he pulls sometimes. I think he
transports rescue horses occasionally.


I watched High Plains Drifter this aft.
... it had horses.
John T.

On 6/11/2021 5:08 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 06:26:09 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Thursday, June 10, 2021 at 4:08:04 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 16:46:25 +0000 (UTC), danny
burstein wrote:
[snip]

sounds like the transmission went into what's
called "limp home mode". That happens when
I knew the term limp mode, but I had forgtten it when I needed it most.

Very useful for googling:

Limp mode is actually a safety measure that prevents the Dodge Ram 1500
from being driven if its computer detects a fault in the transmission.
... To get the Dodge Ram 1500 out of limp mode you need to stop and
shift to park. Turn the car off and wait 30 seconds, now turn it back on
and it will be out of limp mode.

I thought about turning the car off even when on the Xway and I guess
I mistakenly decided not to. Once I got to the exit a quarter mile
away, I could have done it there too, but by this time I'm thinking,
Hey, 30 mph. Not bad.


How do I get my truck out of limp mode?
Restart Engine

If your vehicle goes in limp mode while driving, find a safe place to
stop and restart the engine. Allow the car to stay completly off for at
least one minute before you restart it. In many cases, this will reset
the limp mode and allow the vehicle to operate normally.Mar 10, 2020


So it's no surprise it did better after the 7-11. I made sure to get a
receipt for the xmission oil. So even if I don't need fluid, I"m not
going to expect a small business like that to give me my money back (so
I won't be disappointed) but I think the'll exchange it for food or
something.
a whole bunch of possible things go wrong,
so it locks itself into second gear so that
you can get off the highway and, well, limp
to a repair shop.

Sometimes these things are a momentary hiccup,
which, once they reset, are a-ok for the duration.

Other times, though....

There are lots of diagnostics to check out
what happened. They might, or might not,
give you the answer...

Were there warning lights turned on, warning messages on the dash?

I don't think so. I dont think there is a provision for messages at
all.

The modern vehicles I'm familiar with, they don't go into limp mode

Is 2001 modern?

without setting obvious warnings on the dash. For that matter, modern
vehicles would likely put up some kind of warning if you had it in second
and were driving too fast on the highway.



The one I had that did it was a '94, so apparently Dodge did it for
quite awhile.

On Fri, 11 Jun 2021 20:07:44 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 04:44:25 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 23:46:17 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:14:21 -0400, micky wrote:

I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.

My first thought, reading this so far, is that it's a fuel issue. Clogged
fuel filter, contaminated fuel, plugged fuel line, water in the fuel,
something like that. The fuel pump isn't ruled out yet, either.

Maybe.

An engine that starts and idles without any issues, but runs out of power
at higher RPM, screams fuel to me.

Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)

I don't fully understand that. If the Xway is the freeway,

Yes. They don't call them freeways here. They're all free except there
is one toll on I-95 in Cecil County.

I assume you'd
have noticed that the engine was running at a higher RPM than normal. Even

The truck makes a lot of noise. It might have been making more than
usual, but I didn't notice.


so, I wouldn't expect 2nd gear (with an auto trans) would cause any lasting
issues. If the engine was starved for fuel, the higher RPM caused by
running in 2nd gear might have made things more noticeable.

The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid,

Transmission fluid for THIS vehicle? Why?

Because that's the only thing I'm competent to do to fix a transmission

Is this related to the cryptic
statement above about it being tricky to get it into gear? I assumed that

Tricky to get into gear just relates to the shift lever. I had to put
it in exactly the right spot. Sometimes it seemed right according to my
arm, but I'd have to push it just a little higher** to go into Drive.
Reverse too was like that. **Shift is on the steering column. I had to
lean forward to see the indicator.


was because you had the cab area full of crap to be recycled.

I only had 5 lightbulbs, old batteries, and a cell phone in the cab. ;-)


but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the

I had found the right under-hood release. Just had to push the hood
down a bit to be able to push it. Hood stays up on its own, but was
hard to push shut. The corners near the windshield are bent before
I got the truck. I don't know how that could happen.

My friend uses it to haul things including loads of dirt, plus I think
he has or borrows a horse trailer that he pulls sometimes. I think he
transports rescue horses occasionally.

in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Found them!

Sounds like a "no inspection" state - and a Junker truck. Must have
looked right "at home" at the scrapyard - - -

On Fri, 11 Jun 2021 23:12:07 -0400, Clare Snyder posted for all of us to
digest...


On Fri, 11 Jun 2021 20:07:44 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 04:44:25 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 23:46:17 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:14:21 -0400, micky wrote:

I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.

My first thought, reading this so far, is that it's a fuel issue. Clogged
fuel filter, contaminated fuel, plugged fuel line, water in the fuel,
something like that. The fuel pump isn't ruled out yet, either.

Maybe.

An engine that starts and idles without any issues, but runs out of power
at higher RPM, screams fuel to me.

Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)

I don't fully understand that. If the Xway is the freeway,

Yes. They don't call them freeways here. They're all free except there
is one toll on I-95 in Cecil County.

I assume you'd
have noticed that the engine was running at a higher RPM than normal. Even

The truck makes a lot of noise. It might have been making more than
usual, but I didn't notice.


so, I wouldn't expect 2nd gear (with an auto trans) would cause any lasting
issues. If the engine was starved for fuel, the higher RPM caused by
running in 2nd gear might have made things more noticeable.

The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid,

Transmission fluid for THIS vehicle? Why?

Because that's the only thing I'm competent to do to fix a transmission

Is this related to the cryptic
statement above about it being tricky to get it into gear? I assumed that

Tricky to get into gear just relates to the shift lever. I had to put
it in exactly the right spot. Sometimes it seemed right according to my
arm, but I'd have to push it just a little higher** to go into Drive.
Reverse too was like that. **Shift is on the steering column. I had to
lean forward to see the indicator.


was because you had the cab area full of crap to be recycled.

I only had 5 lightbulbs, old batteries, and a cell phone in the cab. ;-)


but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the

I had found the right under-hood release. Just had to push the hood
down a bit to be able to push it. Hood stays up on its own, but was
hard to push shut. The corners near the windshield are bent before
I got the truck. I don't know how that could happen.

My friend uses it to haul things including loads of dirt, plus I think
he has or borrows a horse trailer that he pulls sometimes. I think he
transports rescue horses occasionally.

in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Found them!

Sounds like a "no inspection" state - and a Junker truck. Must have
looked right "at home" at the scrapyard - - -

If you visit U Tube and like automobiles go to the "Just Rolled In" channel. It
shows you what a no inspection state is like.

Clare you should send the pix of your truck in! He's running a June competition
for pix submitted. I don't know what you would win but your truck certainly
qualifies.

There are other channels that show the carnage of poorly maintained vehicles.

--
Tekkie

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 23:12:07 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Fri, 11 Jun 2021 20:07:44 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 04:44:25 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 23:46:17 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:14:21 -0400, micky wrote:

I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.

My first thought, reading this so far, is that it's a fuel issue. Clogged
fuel filter, contaminated fuel, plugged fuel line, water in the fuel,
something like that. The fuel pump isn't ruled out yet, either.

Maybe.

An engine that starts and idles without any issues, but runs out of power
at higher RPM, screams fuel to me.

Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)

I don't fully understand that. If the Xway is the freeway,

Yes. They don't call them freeways here. They're all free except there
is one toll on I-95 in Cecil County.

I assume you'd
have noticed that the engine was running at a higher RPM than normal. Even

The truck makes a lot of noise. It might have been making more than
usual, but I didn't notice.


so, I wouldn't expect 2nd gear (with an auto trans) would cause any lasting
issues. If the engine was starved for fuel, the higher RPM caused by
running in 2nd gear might have made things more noticeable.

The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid,

Transmission fluid for THIS vehicle? Why?

Because that's the only thing I'm competent to do to fix a transmission

Is this related to the cryptic
statement above about it being tricky to get it into gear? I assumed that

Tricky to get into gear just relates to the shift lever. I had to put
it in exactly the right spot. Sometimes it seemed right according to my
arm, but I'd have to push it just a little higher** to go into Drive.
Reverse too was like that. **Shift is on the steering column. I had to
lean forward to see the indicator.


was because you had the cab area full of crap to be recycled.

I only had 5 lightbulbs, old batteries, and a cell phone in the cab. ;-)


but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the

I had found the right under-hood release. Just had to push the hood
down a bit to be able to push it. Hood stays up on its own, but was
hard to push shut. The corners near the windshield are bent before
I got the truck. I don't know how that could happen.

My friend uses it to haul things including loads of dirt, plus I think
he has or borrows a horse trailer that he pulls sometimes. I think he
transports rescue horses occasionally.

in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Found them!

Sounds like a "no inspection" state - and a Junker truck. Must have
looked right "at home" at the scrapyard - - -

In Maryland cars only have to be inspected when sold. Although if a cop
notices a violation of the inspection rules, he can order it to get
repaired. You get maybe 2 weeks to appear at a police station and show
that indeed you've repaired it.

I'm not sure getting the shift lever right is even in the list when
there is an inspection.

Plus I opened the hood (not easy) and coudln't shut it on one side.
Turns out of of the hinge links was broken off and had moved into the
way of the other. I put it where it shoudl be and used WD-40 and the
hood worked fine after that. (another thing that woudln't get noticed
by a cop, or listed in the inspection checklist)

The rear corners of the hood were bent. I can't imagine how that
happened, and it may have been that way when he bought the car.

But he tells me he uses regular gasoline, and only uses ethyl when he
pulls the horse trailer, especially when he goes uphill to the Catoctin
Mountains.

He has another newer pickup too, but I woudln't want to borrow that. And
a Lincoln Continental. And I think he still has the 65 Buick
convertible. His wife, who can from an upper-middle-income family and
who is an M.D. herself, said she knew when she married him that she'd
never own another new car. And she doesn't.

He has and uses a John Deere tractor with a hydraulic bucket from the
1950's.

Truck ran fine after limp-in mode was reset.

On Sun, 13 Jun 2021 22:07:47 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 23:12:07 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Fri, 11 Jun 2021 20:07:44 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Jun 2021 04:44:25 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 23:46:17 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:14:21 -0400, micky wrote:

I borrowed a pickup to take junk to the dump, and it's been working fine
for 2 days. Today, on my second trip to recycling, on the Xway, it lost
power, and I was slowing down. I pulled to the shoulder and let it idle.

My first thought, reading this so far, is that it's a fuel issue. Clogged
fuel filter, contaminated fuel, plugged fuel line, water in the fuel,
something like that. The fuel pump isn't ruled out yet, either.

Maybe.

An engine that starts and idles without any issues, but runs out of power
at higher RPM, screams fuel to me.

Automatic transmission, I noticed that I'd probably been in 2nd for 5
miles. Is that likely to cause this problem? (FWIW I couldn't see the
gear indicator from where I was sitting, and it was tricky to get it to
engage in any gear.)

I don't fully understand that. If the Xway is the freeway,

Yes. They don't call them freeways here. They're all free except there
is one toll on I-95 in Cecil County.

I assume you'd
have noticed that the engine was running at a higher RPM than normal. Even

The truck makes a lot of noise. It might have been making more than
usual, but I didn't notice.


so, I wouldn't expect 2nd gear (with an auto trans) would cause any lasting
issues. If the engine was starved for fuel, the higher RPM caused by
running in 2nd gear might have made things more noticeable.

The engine temp, oil pressure were normal. I followed the shoulder to
the exit, about 4 miles before I would have gotten off, and I was able
to go 30mph but probably no more. Stopped at a 7-11 and bought
transmission fluid,

Transmission fluid for THIS vehicle? Why?

Because that's the only thing I'm competent to do to fix a transmission

Is this related to the cryptic
statement above about it being tricky to get it into gear? I assumed that

Tricky to get into gear just relates to the shift lever. I had to put
it in exactly the right spot. Sometimes it seemed right according to my
arm, but I'd have to push it just a little higher** to go into Drive.
Reverse too was like that. **Shift is on the steering column. I had to
lean forward to see the indicator.


was because you had the cab area full of crap to be recycled.

I only had 5 lightbulbs, old batteries, and a cell phone in the cab. ;-)


but I coudln't find the under-hood release (only the

I had found the right under-hood release. Just had to push the hood
down a bit to be able to push it. Hood stays up on its own, but was
hard to push shut. The corners near the windshield are bent before
I got the truck. I don't know how that could happen.

My friend uses it to haul things including loads of dirt, plus I think
he has or borrows a horse trailer that he pulls sometimes. I think he
transports rescue horses occasionally.

in-car release.) I also couldn't find the 4-way flasher or the
windshield washer!!

Found them!

Sounds like a "no inspection" state - and a Junker truck. Must have
looked right "at home" at the scrapyard - - -

In Maryland cars only have to be inspected when sold. Although if a cop
notices a violation of the inspection rules, he can order it to get
repaired. You get maybe 2 weeks to appear at a police station and show
that indeed you've repaired it.

If it's a minor issue here you get a week or so - Major they pull the
plates and call a tow truck - AND write you up.

I'm not sure getting the shift lever right is even in the list when
there is an inspection.
Yes it is - at least here in Ontario

Plus I opened the hood (not easy) and coudln't shut it on one side.
Turns out of of the hinge links was broken off and had moved into the
way of the other. I put it where it shoudl be and used WD-40 and the
hood worked fine after that. (another thing that woudln't get noticed
by a cop, or listed in the inspection checklist)

Hood latches and hinges ARE part of inspection, generally. Definitely
are in Ontario.. Trucks are targetted by "blitzes" every year looking
for unsafe trucks - commercial or not

The rear corners of the hood were bent. I can't imagine how that
happened, and it may have been that way when he bought the car.

The latch let go at speed anf the hood went up.

But he tells me he uses regular gasoline, and only uses ethyl when he
pulls the horse trailer, especially when he goes uphill to the Catoctin
Mountains.

Trucks towing 2 axle trailers ALL require inspection twice a year here
and the inspections are THOROUGH

He has another newer pickup too, but I woudln't want to borrow that. And
a Lincoln Continental. And I think he still has the 65 Buick
convertible. His wife, who can from an upper-middle-income family and
who is an M.D. herself, said she knew when she married him that she'd
never own another new car. And she doesn't.

He has and uses a John Deere tractor with a hydraulic bucket from the
1950's.

Truck ran fine after limp-in mode was reset.