After 3.5 hrs at 60 MPH/3000 RPM then loses power

[1961tbird]

Hi,

My wife is currently on a trip to Cumberland Island, GA. from Atlanta in our 95 5-speed camper and after 200 miles or 3.5 hours on I-16 at 60 MPH/3000 RPM, she notices a lack of power forcing her to downshift from 5th to 4th gear just to keep up and then the temperature gauge starts to rise.

She pulls off for 30 minutes. Oil okay. Coolant okay. Starts right up. Runs fine so far but she has decided to take the back roads (not the intestate) the rest of the way tonight.

I am at a loss of the possibilities.

Idea(s)?

[1961tbird]

Update----

My wife drove the rest of the way on the side roads with no problem.

I spoke to her over the phone and she said it was like the van was going up a hill in terms of losing power. She kept downshifting to no avail but got off the road when she saw the temp gauge rising. After waiting 20 minutes, she got back on the road and took the side roads with no problems thereafter.

Now today, she has 340 miles ahead of her. We'll see how it goes!!!

[vwoldbug]

Have the filters been changed lately . Also is there ethanol in the fuel there .

[1961tbird]

Thanks for your response.

Yes, all filters have been recently changed.

I'll have to check about the ethanol. I didn't consider that.

It's weird. Driving around town, country roads is fine. It's just after being on the highway for 3+ hours does this problem kick in.

[1961tbird]

I recently changed my wheels from 15" to 16" but I can't imagine that it impacting it.

Another possibility is perhaps the catalytic converter being clogged/bad which may impact the engine as it gets hotter (?).

[wildenbeast]

I would think it has something to do with the cooling fans, coolant temp sensor, or the radiator fan switch. Obviously, something is not keeping up with the rest of the van after prolonged driving.
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- Bill, '93 Eurovan Syncro Weekender (2.5 manual ACU)