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3.5 V8 Power Loss on Hills

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v8
2K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  MisterSHO 
#1 ·
My 3.5 V8 has been running great around the neighborhood, but is dramatically losing power on decent-sized hills, especially at cruising speed. It doesn’t sputter or feel like it’s going to stall, just pedal to the floor and no pull … downshifting helps for a second but still runs out of juice. Going to mess with it a bit today … fuel filter? Fuel pump? Carbs gross? Plugs? Cap? Vacuum advance? Anything else I should be looking for? Exhaust system is new. Thanks, guys.
 
#2 ·
Did it ever perform well on hills? My experience with a 3.5 is it's just a 3.5 and rather anemic. Hell, even my '99 DI 4.0 is lackluster in the mountain passes of VA.
 
#8 ·
It would help to know what kind of CARB you are running.

If it is the dual carb - make sure that the connecting rod between both is in good condition. Early on, mine broke and I did not know it. The result was when I pushed the gas pedal - I was only opening one carb. The truck ran OK but really lacked any power.

If you are running an Edlebrock - make sure your float levels and and needle valve adjustments are OK.
 
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