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RedOctober
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2004
02:02:00
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 Subject: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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Hey all -
If any of you can help me, I'll be greatly appreciative.
Truck:
1999 Dodge Dakota Ext cab, 76,000 miles
4x4, 5.2L engine, AT
ALL STOCK PARTS
Scenario:
Driving from Salem, OR to Medford, OR (about 4 hours), my truck recently lost a good quantity of it's power while going up a hill. All of a sudden, the engine started pinging badly and it felt like I was running on 5 or 6 cylinders. The empty truck was barely able to make it up the hill by itself! As soon as the truck shifted down into the lower gear for more power, the "Check Engine" light flashed, then stayed on. I limped 18 miles to Eugene, where a friend of mine goes to school at UofO. I can drive the truck as long as I have a steady, straight area to get up some momentum. At lower speeds (in the city), the truck drives a bit better. At highyway speeds, the truck will not make it up most hills.
The engine error code was P0300 (Multiple engine misfires) and since it has posted multiple different cyliner numbers (errors P030X, where X is the cyinder number). I DO NOT, however, think that the misfires are part of the problem - read on.
Two big problems currently exist:
1. SEVERE LOSS OF POWER - The truck labors very bad in normal operations, almost like I'm towing a boat or something. I also appear to be buring a crapload of gas (maybe - this one is not for sure).
2. TRUCK IS UNABLE TO SHIFT GEARS DOWN AT SPEED TO GAIN MORE POWER - Normally, when more power is needed (passing, hills, towing, etc...) the truck will just shift down a gear and power through the RPMs until it can shift back up to maintain speeds. This power band is approx 3500 to 4500 RPM. Redline is 5000. My truck, for some reason, is shifting down a gear like normal, but then as the RPMs increase, the power to the wheels falls off - almost like the tranny is slipping or something. At this point, it never shifts back up, and it actually loses speed. This is when the "Check Engine" light comes on. I belive that the "misfire" warnings, however, are happening as an effect of the problem, not the problem happening becasue of misfires. I can re-trigger this "Check Engine" light as much as I want by just trying to drive up a hill.
Here's what I know:
New spark plugs (Bosch 0.40) have been installed, no abnormalities were found in old plugs
New cap & rotor have been installed (old one was a bit corroded, but functional)
New coil has been installed
New air filter
New PCV valve
Pulg wires are good
Added octane booster (cuz I had just filled up on regular gas)
My suspicions:
O2 sensor (not tested)
Catalytic Converter (not tested)
Torque Converter (not tested)
I just picked up a Haynes manual, and it appears as if there are a number of engine control electronics that can be tested with a multimeter - I'm going to try that tomorrow. Any ideas other than that?
BTW - for all reading this:
THE KEY SWITCH ON/OFF PROCESS FOR READING "CHECK ENGINE" CODES MOST DEFINITLEY DOES NOT WORK ON 1998/1999 DODGE DAKOTAS AND DURANGOS. Haynes manual has confirmed this.
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AL
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2004
08:34:01
|  RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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Could it be that you might have a crankshaft sensor problem? This is similiar to the problem I am having with my 2000 dak. and the code was PO320
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Eli
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2004
09:08:57
| RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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A plugged cat would explain the lack of power and the pinging. Just a thought, have you checked your truck's belly-pan (plenum) gasket? If it's been leaking, it could have introduced enough oil into the combustion chambers to speed up the demise of your catalyst. If you replace your cat without rectifying that problem, it will probably fail again with a matter of months.
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MoparMan
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2004
09:47:23
| RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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I agree - sounds like a clogged up cat. At only 76,000 miles, something amiss in the engine prolly caused it to clog - like a bad O2 sensor or like Eli suggested. A cat should normally last at least 100k before replacement.
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MY H3RO
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2004
09:54:22
| RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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I believe it's the cat. Had it happen to my Ford Bronco. It happens almost right away. No Power at ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!
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RedOctober
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2004
11:31:52
| RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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Hey all - thanks for the fedback...
Is there a good way to "test" the cat? I'll probably be heading down to Meineke or Midas to have them look at it for me, but I don't wanna get ripped off.
Any other ideas? Is it possible it could be the fuel pump/filter/sending unit? Thanks in advance...
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EBL
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2004
12:16:43
| RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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Any oil consumption?
You may want to check that belly pan gasket. It's as simple as looking down the TB for oil.
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RedOctober
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2004
12:35:16
| RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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RE: Oil Consumption
No, there is no oil consumption happening.
I don't think that would be it because when I changed the spark plugs yesterday, all plugs looked pretty good - no fouling or oily deposits.
Thanks for the ideas, though. Anyone else got anything to try?
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Eli
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2004
12:54:53
| RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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Red October, the cat is warrantied for 80,000 miles by federal law.
A Magnum motor with a blown belly pan gasket could use as little as 1 qt of oil per 1000 miles, and still contaminate the catalyst over a period of years.
Perform the "Vacuum" test. Pull out the PCV valve on the passenger side valve cover, and the breather hose (elbow) on the driver's side. Plug one of them with a bolt, a helper's hand, etc. then place your hand over the "open" one. You should feel a slight pressure. If you feel vacuum, then the belly pan gasket is blown.
I had belly pan gaskets fail on both my 96 and 2000 Daks, the 2000's wennt bad with just 3,000 miles on the odometer!
A Dodge dealership mechanic admitted to me that something on the order of 90% of Magnum pinging complaints can be attributed to blown plenum (belly-pan) gaskets.
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RedOctober
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2004
15:05:24
|  RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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Eli -
Thanks for the feedback. RE: the cat, you are absolutely correct. I went to Midas with the intention of having to buy a new cat (easily over $300 for parts alone), and the guy said I should go see the dealership about it being under warranty. Sure enough, the "Federal Extended Emissions" law says that the cat on my vehicle must be under warranty for 60 months or 80,000 miles. My current mileage? 79,385 :-0
Anyway - I don't know for sure if that's the problem, but the cat is rattling - not just a hanger mount rattle, either.
We'll see - I'll let y'all know.
J
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J-Rod
Dodge Dakota
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3/10/2004
15:00:12
| RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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It's your cat.
I had the exact same thing happen to me on a 3.5 hr trip pulling a small trailer with an ATV and dirt bike. I was crusin along on the e-way and all of a sudden I my RPM's dropped a bit and I lost power. I hit the gas and the trucked bogged down even more and the CEL light came on. I thought my tranny blew because of how the power range was acting.
Pulled over to start checking things out... smelled a slight burning smell but everything else looked okay. Hopped back in after about 20 minutes and started it up. Ran fine for another 1.5 hrs. In the city I didn't have a problem either. Coming home same thing happened and I ended up leaving my truck @ the dealership where the proceeded to find nothing and charged me 50 bucks. I managed to limp the truck to my Uncles. It took him 5 minutes to figure out the prob. He jumped in the truck and slammed the gas. It forced the loose cat back which plugged my pipes.
Called my dealership and told them the problem and it was fixed under a 80k emmisions warrenty.
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motruckguy
Dodge Dakota
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3/10/2004
15:26:05
| RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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O2 sensor (not tested)
Catalytic Converter (not tested)
Sounds exactly like what my Ranger did to me with the losing power......it might be a little of both...it was for me. I replaces the Converter so I could drive but I still need a new o2 Sensor.....I would test those things.
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EXCEPT
Dodge Dakota
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3/10/2004
16:22:45
| RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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severe pinging IS NOT a symtom of a plugged cat, these cats are singing you the wrong tune.
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RedOctober
Dodge Dakota
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3/11/2004
03:02:51
|  RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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****** FINAL DIAGNOSIS ON MY PROBLEM ******
All of those that said that it was the catayltic converter?
Guess what?
...
...
...
...
Well, it WAS the catalytic converter! The entire problem was because of a bad cat. Without a doubt.
That's the bad news, folks. Those things can be expensive.
The good news is - it's expensive... for Chrysler to have to replace it under warranty! WOOHOO!
Remember the year (1999) and the mileage (79,500)?
Well the FEDERALLY MANDATED extended warranty on emmissions components is:
96 months/80,000 miles
Yep - you got it. I made it in by 500 miles.
Anyway - I have no shifting problems, no pinging and I have more power than I did when I bought it with only 37,000 miles on the road. The cat has been hindering the performance since day one.
While I was at it, I decided to add a Super 40 series FlowMaster behind the cat, too. :-)
Anyway - thaks for all the suggestions. Hopefully, someone else who is having the same problem will see this thread and it will save them some frustration like I had.
CHEERS!
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RedOctober
Dodge Dakota
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3/11/2004
03:08:57
| RE: Serious problem(s) - ALMOST STRANDED!
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By the way -
In case I forgot to mention it, I had to have this work done at the stealership...oops the dealsership. That's why I really wanted to troubleshoot as much as I could before giving in.
I did have to pay the $59 for diagnostics work (for some reason). But the part and labor were all covered.
YAY for the FEDERAL EMMISSIONS WARRANTY law!
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