I have 96 cummins 4x4 extended cab lwb. I just had the trans rebuilt about 3 weeks ago no upgrades. The truck is pretty much stock. The truck tops out at like 80 and I barely have any power going up hills. Today I hauled a 16ft trailer with a 94 grand Cherokee up a kinda steep hill I started out at around 55 before going up I had the pedal to the floor and by the time I was at the top I was barely going 40. Truck has no power starting off either. I feel like I should have more power. Any suggestions as to what's wrong with my truck?

 

If your pulling heavy loads, then some extra hp would help.
You can start off with the standard exhaust and air filter upgrade, that will help you out.
And since you pull, i would recomend a trans. cooler to help keep the trans. cool.
Oh, and has your killer dowel pin been dealt with??
welcome to db
And you can also do some pump tuning also.
Just be carefull, moddifying a cummins can get addicting.

 

I'm new to diesels I have no clue what that is? All I have done to truck is have trans rebuilt.

 

That's your #1 problem right there, the stock auto sucks in these trucks. Right now you're not getting jack of your power because the TC (torque convertor) just bleeds it all off through the first three gears right up until the convertor locks in 4th, which is right about the time the stock injector pump stops contributing the fuel you need to make any power so it falls on it's face.
A billet TC and good valvebody would be a good start; then pop your AFC housing open and slide the stock fuel plate all the way to the front. This is the first reasonable baseline of what your 12V can actually do. You can skip the transmission mods and go right to the free pump tuning, just know you won't be getting anywhere near the most out of it, and the trans will be on borrowed time because they can't even handle stock power levels if you tow a lot. Do a title search for "pump" and get ready to read. There's a good bit of power and economy to be gained without buying anything, and A LOT more with relatively small investments.

The KDP (Killer Dowel Pin) is the one Achilles Heal with these engines. It's a little dowel pressed into the front of the block behind the timing cover, and they have a tendency to wiggle their way out sometimes. If it does fall out, it may harmlessly drop to the bottom and do nothing at all, or it may drop into the gears and grenade your engine. Do a search for "killer dowel pin" and you should come up with all the info you need to come to terms with it.

 

Yeah a Good quality tripple billet converter will allow you to FEEL the power your making and get it to the tires .. then go from that point ..

 

I would recommend doing the killer dowel pin issue first, then you don't have to worry about it blowing up the motor. Then you can go crazy after that.

 

LOL.. Good point 97 ... good point !!!

 

Kdp fix, then torque converter, small pump mods and shell be a total different truck

 

oh, and don't forget a few gauges to keep an eye on your temps.
trans temp
egt gauge
and boost gauge.

 

Agreed. Not quite so important, but, if I didn't have a fuel pressure gauge I wouldn't have known my lift pump was about to die a couple weeks ago. Or that my filter gasket failed all the times they did, before leaving a spray of fuel on the road through three towns... but I digress. Honestly though, if I only had room for three, I've gotten more use out of the FP gauge than the boost gauge. Maybe because I've never had a turbo failure, but I don't think that happens very often with these trucks. Regardless, all I've gotten out of the boost gauge is chest thumping.