Anyone in Denver? - Loss of power

My van (2108 4x4 144") just turned 10,000mi and I think it has lost all power. I took it to MB - Littleton and they cleared some codes (low DEF and a NOx) and it was a little better, but not as good as new.

I would like to compare it to someone who has the same van - if you would test drive my van and see what you think? A quick drive up the I-70 hill should be enough.

I am sure when I would drive up to the mountains (pre 10k mi) - it had plenty of power - coming up Floyd hill I would be at about half throttle easily maintaining 65 mph and had power left to pass if needed. Now I have it floored and barely maintain 65 mph.

Go and see Dennis at LinDen Engineering in Golden, he is an active poster on here.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/member.php?u=9491

Keith.

Second LinDen

143paul said:

My van (2108 4x4 144") just turned 10,000mi and I think it has lost all power. I took it to MB - Littleton and they cleared some codes (low DEF and a NOx) and it was a little better, but not as good as new.

I would like to compare it to someone who has the same van - if you would test drive my van and see what you think? A quick drive up the I-70 hill should be enough.

I am sure when I would drive up to the mountains (pre 10k mi) - it had plenty of power - coming up Floyd hill I would be at about half throttle easily maintaining 65 mph and had power left to pass if needed. Now I have it floored and barely maintain 65 mph.

Click to expand...

If you’ve been modifying/customizing your van and traveling with passengers and a full tank of gas, it may just be the extra weight slowing you down.

3500XD 4x4 said:

If you’ve been modifying/customizing your van and traveling with passengers and a full tank of gas, it may just be the extra weight slowing you down.

Click to expand...

Given that the van has a cargo capacity of 4,000 lbs and a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs and extra person and a full tank of gas should not impact much.

my build is very simple - a bed and some bike racks.

Update - I have had it into the dealer 3 times. Still no solution.

I did get to drive a friend's van with a similar build - and there is no doubt that mine is not operating correctly.

Well bring it by and we will scan it and drive it up'th hill to Geneese and test the power.
Dennis
7203441877

143paul said:

My van (2108 4x4 144") just turned 10,000mi and I think it has lost all power. I took it to MB - Littleton and they cleared some codes (low DEF and a NOx) and it was a little better, but not as good as new.

I would like to compare it to someone who has the same van - if you would test drive my van and see what you think? A quick drive up the I-70 hill should be enough.

I am sure when I would drive up to the mountains (pre 10k mi) - it had plenty of power - coming up Floyd hill I would be at about half throttle easily maintaining 65 mph and had power left to pass if needed. Now I have it floored and barely maintain 65 mph.

Click to expand...

I drive from VA to Colorado up Floyd, Genesee and through the Eisenhower tunnel to Dillon where we have vacation home (once there we go down and back to Denver frequently, also up to Vail). All I can say is my van requires pedal to the metal, never have I been able to go up Floyd with half throttle. (my build is fairly minimum but it is a 3500 144 so that gives it a bit more weight to start. Other than the 3500 it has a Moab Bed, interior paneling kit, no cabinets, no toilet, no water tanks...).

If you find the solution, please post but these 3.0 engines have torque but not enough hp to get you going much faster (I'm assuming if you previously could do same at half throttle you'd be able to top out the van at 80 mph going up steep grades which is wonderful at this altitude.

Please take Dennis's at Linden and see if they can find the culprit and then I can hopefully find same with mine.

BTW - I do find that PowerService Diesel additive with Centane Boost does help a bit - I usually get it at Walmart in Frisco once we get there and keep it in the system until heading back to VA. If you live on dirt roads or travel frequently on such then also check you air filter.

If you're having to floor the pedal, it would be interesting to use something like a ScanGauge to monitor your engine load (LOD).

Us T1N people have learned to manually down-shift, 'cuz the Sprinter is more than happy to stay in too high a gear for the conditions. If we see the LOD exceed 70% by any significant margin, we knock it down a gear (the T1N cruise control is happy with that... it doesn't cancel) ... and our instantaneous MPG can kick up by 20% or more by doing so. A couple of days ago i had to knock it down two gears, and the MPG went from below 10 to 20.5. In 3rd gear (of five).

--dick

autostaretx said:

If you're having to floor the pedal, it would be interesting to use something like a ScanGauge to monitor your engine load (LOD).

Us T1N people have learned to manually down-shift, 'cuz the Sprinter is more than happy to stay in too high a gear for the conditions. If we see the LOD exceed 70% by any significant margin, we knock it down a gear (the T1N cruise control is happy with that... it doesn't cancel) ... and our instantaneous MPG can kick up by 20% or more by doing so. A couple of days ago i had to knock it down two gears, and the MPG went from below 10 to 20.5. In 3rd gear (of five).

--dick

Click to expand...

Absolutely - that is knocked down a gear, just altitude and steep grades going up to the Eisenhower tunnel is tough for most vehicles. 65 mph is pretty darn
good for such a beast.

Maybe your floor matt has slid under your gas pedal (happened to me before and the result was loss of power, just subtle enough to not think about the gas pedal at first)

DukeAV said:

Maybe your floor matt has slid under your gas pedal (happened to me before and the result was loss of power, just subtle enough to not think about the gas pedal at first)

Click to expand...

I do have the weatherguard mats - I will try driving without them - at this point I will try anything...

Similar mpg as before?
Scangauge installed? I wonder of the % load reading or other numbers would tell you something
Time spent at LinDen would be valuable, I'd think.
Or.... check your engine bay - swapped with a 4 cylinder while at MB littleton? Joking. Those of us with the 4 cylinder are used to driving pedal-to-the-metal!
But, even with the 4 cylinder, I can do 75 mph up Floyd hill.

ENMeyer said:

Similar mpg as before?
Scangauge installed? I wonder of the % load reading or other numbers would tell you something
Time spent at LinDen would be valuable, I'd think.
Or.... check your engine bay - swapped with a 4 cylinder while at MB littleton? Joking. Those of us with the 4 cylinder are used to driving pedal-to-the-metal!
But, even with the 4 cylinder, I can do 75 mph up Floyd hill.

Click to expand...

Thanks - I did 2 hours over at Linden - it got a little better, but not good.

I do not have a scangauge yet.

Not saying what your problem might be but with Dennis nearby, you're in one of only half-a-dozen places in the US to find it for sure.
Best of luck//Ed

My Transit 3500 Ecoboost eats I-70 at 65+ MPH like its out on the flats...Monarch Pass and Hosier Pass too. I can't wait to try these in my 2019 Sprinter 4x4. I hope I am not disappointed, we'll see...