2.9 power loss

[Nate.Mountain]

howdy folks,

here is what im dealing with. Ive got an 88 with a 2.9. running 31s with 3.45 rear end. the engine has got 330,000 miles so its been around the block but its been well taken care of. about a week ago two problems arose about the same time. they may be related, they started happening at the same time or maybe not.

Problem #1
this has me baffled. my truck has a 14.5 gallon tank. however when there is about 3 to 2 gallons left in the tank it starts to spit and sputter randomly as if its running out of gas. it will continue to do this until the tank is actually empty. its strange. runs just fine until 3 gallons or so left. like clock work. any ideas? could it be in the fuel delivery?

Problem #2
i am also dealing with power loss at highway speeds. around town it feels and drives fine. normal amount of torque. however at highway speeds not so much. im used to being about to cruise at 70 mph in 5th no problem. however now if im in 5th i cant keep at 70 mph with any incline at all the engine cant keep up. it doesnt spit and sputter at all. it runs smooth. it just feels as if the gas petal is only 3/4 the way pressed. missing some umph.

these problems started the same time about a week ago. any ideas would be great. its not super urgent however i will be driving the truck from georgia to idaho in a months time so i gotta figure this out before then.

thanks
nate

 

[adsm08]

My first instinct on the first issue is the in-tank fuel pump. I've seen weird things happen to them, where they somehow get damaged in-tank and then suck air when the fuel gets too low.

That wouldn't be likely to account for the other concern though.

 

[dudly87]

I have the same loss of power issue with my 2.9l 88 ranger. It sucks when I'm driving through the hills and have to keep it reved high in 3rd to have a reasonable speed on inclines, and it burns up gas too.