loss of power when towing

towing caravan home last w/end when had sudern loss of power on hills seemed alright on flat and ok when caravan not on any ideas cheers chris

soz forgot to add its a p38 2.5 dse

I think you'll need to give more details..

What car is it? engine? auto? manual? etc...

1999 2.5 bmw diesel auto

Strong head-wind? Dragging brakes on `van? Is fault on rangie or `van? Does `van roll ok?

defo car was black smoking abit but had foot flat down just seemed to die then picked up again.then came to large incline and died of again really struggeld to top then seemed ok all way home.used all week without van on been ok weired.

afm if fitted, turbo hose split, exahust blocked, good service ,low pressure fuel pump pipe split

Black smoke suggests fuel supply ok, but did you check mirror for smoke when getting power loss? (maybe casting eyes heavenward and praying). Slight chance could be some crap in tank obstructing pick-up pipe when drawing lots of fuel? Not easy to check tho. Maybe siphon out some fuel and check it? Or when giving service as vougese39 suggests tip fuel out of old filter & check that for crap?

black smoke = more fuel injected than air available to burn.

Sudden black smoke with loss of power, I'd bet on a split hose on the Turbo.

If it has an EGR valve that might be a possibility as well. Causes similat problems on Trannies.

What was the temp gauge like??, when the big viscous fan cuts in because it starts getting hot, it sucks the life out the engine. had the same problem. when you go along the flat the air starts to pass through the engine again and cools it down, viscous cuts out then you regain power!
the pipes in the rad go up and down over time the silt up and the rad becomes inefficent. worth replacing only £150ish sorts the problem.

I have the same problem trying to pull the Irish debt mountain...can't do more than 3mph downhill