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andrew
Dodge Dakota
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8/02/2001
00:07:56

Subject: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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I have a 93 4x4 Dakota with a 5.2, auto tranny, and 107,000 miles on it. Lately, it has been dying once in a while and it rugularly idles at 600rpm. Occasionally when I try and start it, it will turn over and then stumble, trying to stay alive and then die. I must turn off the key and try it again before it will start. Today, it did it died and kept on dying as I tried to start it. Pressing the gas pedal has no effect but only makes it die sooner. In april, I put on some MSD 8.5's, a BorgWarner cap and rotor plus AC Delco's version of the Autolites and gaped them at factory specs. Earlier this year I replaced the fuel filter, and the filter that sits on my valve covers. Less than two months ago, I put on a new air filter and its still clean and used Valvoline Synpower injector cleaner to a quarter tank of gas so it would be potent. When its warmed up, it runs good. What could be the problem?????



andrew
Dodge Dakota
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8/02/2001
10:37:35

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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anyone????



Hop
Dodge Dakota
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8/02/2001
10:47:52

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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Andrew, Have you tried cleaning the TB and the iac sensor??
Hop
97CC 318 4x4



andrew
Dodge Dakota
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8/02/2001
10:56:21

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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I plan on cleaning the Tb and cleaned the ias sensor a while back. When I cleaned it, I think I may have twisted the plunger and I also dropped it. Could that be the problem? What are other symptoms of a damaged iac?



Curtis
Dodge Dakota


8/02/2001
14:03:10

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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Andrew... by twisting the IAC you may have damaged it... id buy a new one......



Lesley
Dodge Dakota
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8/02/2001
16:22:35

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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My 97 3.9 used to start - then immediately stall if I took my foot off the gas. It did this without warning, about 4 times in one month last fall, I was completely perplexed and wondered if it was even the fuel... I did get the throttle body cleaned (is that what you mean by TB?) It has been fine for almost a year now. What is an IAC?
Thanks.



Lesley
Dodge Dakota
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8/02/2001
16:25:37

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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My 97 3.9 used to start - then immediately stall if I took my foot off the gas. It did this without warning, about 4 times in one month last fall, I was completely perplexed and wondered if it was even the fuel... I did get the throttle body cleaned (is that what you mean by TB?) It has been fine for almost a year now. What is an IAC?
Thanks.



Marshall
Dodge Dakota


8/02/2001
22:38:18

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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Have you had a loss of power when it is running? Could be a bad catalytic converter. It will get progressively worse until it won't run at all if that's the case.



Marshall
Dodge Dakota


8/02/2001
22:39:45

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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Have you had a loss of power when it is running? Could be a bad catalytic converter. It will get progressively worse until it won't run at all if that's the case.



Lesley
Dodge Dakota
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8/02/2001
22:51:22

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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Marshall: Wow, yeah, I'm on my third catalytic converter actually. I had one replaced last June, it started stalling in November however, and there was no check engine light or anything. I had the cat replaced again July 4 of this year, this time I did get the check engine light, and I knew it was the cat because of the familiar rattle.But no stalling. When it was stalling last fall, it would just die, even part way down the road, but it would start fine. As long as I kept my foot on the gas, it would run, as soon as I took it off, the whole thing would shut down, no p. steering or lights or anything. It stalled in the drive thru at the coffee shop, how I cursed that sucker as I tried to push it back out of the way. I called the dealership, they basically said "Gee, too bad" but after an hour or so it started and ran perfectly for another two days. I really despise the dodge dealership here, I don't trust them at all, so I only go there for warranty work. After that month of stalling it has never done it again. Don't know what that was all about, but I'm just about due for a tune-up, so I want to get it checked out thoroughly.



Donald
Dodge Dakota
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8/03/2001
17:12:27

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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What is the TB and the iac sensor? Where are they located on the engine? How much are they to replace? Should I clean them or just replace them?

Thanks,

Donald



Zaurusman
Dodge Dakota
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8/03/2001
20:00:42

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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The TB is the throttle body, and the IAC is the Idle Air Control on the back of the TB. A friend of mine (w/Dakota) has been having Check Engine light problems and trouble starting, and informed me that he was advised that you can test the sensors on your throttle body by starting the engine, popping the hood and unpluging and re-connecting each one at a time. If your idle doesn't change at all for one, chances are the sensor is bad. Andrew, his IAC didn't register a change, and my truck has been stuttering at idle occassionally now too; we both took off & disassembled our TB's and cleaned everything on them immediately before the problem occured. Oddly, the dealership pulled his codes and said the ECT voltage is too high. His temp guage is also way low, so I think he has more than one problem. I don't know what the ECT is, but I hope the above is helpful. I think I'm in the same boat. :-(
--
Zaurusman
'98 RC V6 5spd
http://www.tiborsrealm.com/Dakota/ModsList.htm



andrew
Dodge Dakota
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8/21/2001
23:44:16

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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Bad news, my idle has gone from 600 rpm to 400rpm. I havent changed the IAC yet or cleaned my TB. Would these help me out in my situation?



Joe
Dodge Dakota
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8/26/2001
16:50:21

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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I have a 97 3.9 v6 dakota, and I haven't had a problem with it until today. I cant start it unless I give it a little gas. I will stall unless I keep my foot on the gas. If I put it into reverse, and then into drive, then to park again it will idle. But as soon as I turn it off, I have the same problem. Any ideas?




Hot RT
Dodge Dakota


8/27/2001
18:53:09

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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Guys, you can easily see if your IAC is working. Look directly down into the TB and accelerate the engine slowly. You should be able to see the pintle rotate in and out to control the idle RPM. andrew, if you turned or dropped your IAC I agree that it is shot. Buy a new one. The Magnums have had a history of failed pick-up coils. With a 100K, I would change it as a maintenance part. I have changed several, and in each instance the owner reported easier starting, better fuel economy, and much smoother idle. If your problem is worse when the engine is hot, it is usually an electronic problem. Good luck!



andrew
Dodge Dakota
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8/27/2001
20:23:18

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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No, its never had any problems after being fully warmed. Forgive me for my stupidity, but what is a pick up coil?



Lesley
Dodge Dakota
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8/28/2001
13:31:50

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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I don't believe it... I think I jinxed my truck by reading this post. After a year of no trouble, it did the stalling out thing again, in fact, wouldn't even turn over without some gas. This was after I had already driven it to work with no trouble. After it finally got going, no problem starting up again. It only has 80,000 kilometres on it, and the cat is only 2 months old. Time to get the TB cleaned again?



Lesley
Dodge Dakota
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8/28/2001
19:26:06

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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Zaurusman, you mentioned that you disassemble and thoroughly clean your throttle body. Not being that brave (yet) I just bought an aerosol spray cleaner. It hated that, and kept stalling out. However, it will turn over and keep running now without me keeping my foot on the pedal. Is the aerosol a good way to keep the TB clean, or does it really need a more thorough cleaning once in a while? You'd think that the filter & hat would pretty much keep out any gunk.



Zaurusman
Dodge Dakota
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8/28/2001
23:05:27

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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Lesley, I'm sure the filter does a great job of keeping things fairly clean, but will it trap stuff the consistency of, say, cigarette smoke? This builds up over time, etc.

When I pulled the TBI and took out the sensors (@56K miles), everything was dirty. The intake holes, all the sensors, especially the IAC & IAT. Don't twist or drop the former; use throttle body spray to soak it and wipe it off gently, several times until it's gone. I just sprayed my IAT until the diode was blue again. You'll need some size "star" wrench or the such; I borrowed my buddy's so I don't know what size it was. The engine WILL run rough after squirting the cleaner down it; it has to burn it out before it returns to normal idle.

Either way, if I were you I'd definitely clean the heck outta everything (gently and carefully) before shelling out serious money for new sensors. I have no idea if this will fix your problem, but why not go for it? But before you do that:

Check your temp guage. My friend, it turned out, had a bad engine temp sensor (by the thermostat), and that was why it didn't want to start unless he gave it gas. His guage was reading way low, and it (the sensor) was damaged by simply rooting around it with a screwdriver in search of an errant screw. Delicate equipment for sure!

So in summary (sorry I'm so wordy to everyone else), once in a while this is a good thing, and I'm ultimately glad I did it though I wonder if it really accomplished anything in my instance. And I used the aerosol spray; STP has xylene in it that does a good job IME.

Hope this helps.
--
Zaurusman
'98 RC V6 5spd
http://www.tiborsrealm.com/Dakota/Index.htm



andrew
Dodge Dakota
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8/28/2001
23:28:28

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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When I reinstall my Tb, how tight should I crank on my intake manifold? I dont have a torque wrench.



surferpug
Dodge Dakota
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8/29/2001
18:04:44

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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I have a 2000 4.7 Dak auto. When i was driving, and then stopped at a light the engine stalled and now the check engine light is on. Anyone else with a similar problem



Lesley
Dodge Dakota
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8/29/2001
19:18:58

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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Thanks Zaurusman for your well-written advice. I'm thinking that a trip to the shop may be in order, it just clicks (alternator?) when I first try to start it, takes 2 or 3 times to catch, and only with gas. I found a mechanic who has 3 Dakotas of his own(one is a 86 or 87 convertible with a magnum V8 dropped in - cool!) I think I will take it to him in case I bügger it up!



Zaurusman
Dodge Dakota
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8/29/2001
21:02:51

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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Lesley, that convertible V8 sounds cool! If it clicks, I don't think it's any of the above. Good luck!

Andrew, for better or worse I just hand-tightened mine to where it took most of my average strength. Been fine for the month or so since. YMMV.
--
Zaurusman
'98 RC V6 5spd
http://www.tiborsrealm.com/Dakota/Index.htm



Karl
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
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5/11/2003
23:47:48

RE: Whats wrong with my Dakota?
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I have a 2000 Dakota sport 4.7 M/T that has developed a curious problem. When I drive down a bumpy road the engine will race to around 3000 rpms. I can't seem to find any information on this. Any ideas?



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