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Bryan
Dodge Dakota
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5/15/2011
22:53:49
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 Subject: '96 Intermittent Start?
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My '96, V6, has 225k. Last time it wouldn't start, Bill Clinton was president. In a few weeks I'm driving this on a long trip so have been praying that if anything was going to go wrong, it would happen now. I had noticed recently that it was starting to be a little tougher to start. (sometimes took 2 tries) I knew it was overdue for plugs so planned on doing that before the trip. We used the truck yesterday, no problems. This morning I jumped in and all it would do is crank. It rained overnight and was pretty humid so I figured I'd pull the dist cap. Looked pretty crummy in there, it was way overdue as was the rotor, burnt/corroded in there. I changed them, still nothing, no surprise. Well, I changed the plugs and then decided to hook up the timing light and see if I had spark. (I could smell some gas on the old plugs) Had my wife crank it-and it fired right up! I'd have felt better if it stayed dead, in a way. Now I wonder if this is something intermittent that could bite me on the trip. I can't see how changing the plugs could fix anything. I read about the ground wire in/under the fuse box, and I'll check that soon. Any other thoughts? Several folks online seem to have issues something like this but I haven't read many definitive solutions. Thanks!
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Bryan
Dodge Dakota
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5/16/2011
12:46:09
| RE: '96 Intermittent Start?
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Update: tried again this morning (pretty damp out again) and it tried to start but didn't. I'd really like it to stay dead right now, so we can find the culprit!
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daddio
Dodge Dakota
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5/16/2011
12:54:32
| RE: '96 Intermittent Start?
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My '00 did that a couple times on very humid mornings. Down here in the deep south low humidity is 65%. I knew it was due for a tuneup so I changed plugs, cap, rotor, wires and plugs. Cured that problem.
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Bryan
Dodge Dakota
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6/01/2011
12:42:51
| RE: '96 Intermittent Start?
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I wanted to give a final report: I took the truck to a good independent mechanic. It was a real head scratcher for him. He replaced the coil, the upstream O2 sensor, and subbed some other things. The focus of his attention was the fuel pump-pressure fluctuated a little on his guage when the key was turned. I couldn't dispute replacing it, as it had almost 170k on it. Initially that seemed to do the trick but he let it sit over the weekend and then it was up to its old tricks again. Eventually he decided to try yet another new pump before moving to the computer. Well, that did it! I just got back from a long weekend trip (approx. 1500 miles all together) and it didn't miss a beat! Long live the Dakota!
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csmith
Dodge Dakota
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6/07/2011
19:08:35
| RE: '96 Intermittent Start?
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Just curious, Did you go with factory OEM fuel pump or aftermarket?
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Bryan
Dodge Dakota
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6/08/2011
12:38:25
| RE: '96 Intermittent Start?
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OEM. He said he has had issues with the aftermarket. Just like when I replaced that pump 12 years ago, nobody local had it in stock. The last time I had to drive a good distance to a dealer with an old stock part on the shelf; this time we had to wait a couple days for it to come in. I didn't think the old one was all that loud, at least not compared to, say, a 90s GM truck. But the new one is very, very quiet.
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csmith
Dodge Dakota
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6/08/2011
19:12:25
| RE: '96 Intermittent Start?
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I was considering having mine done, 200,000+ miles. Before it gave me any problems. Mechanic I use recomended using OEM parts, same thing, had trouble with aftermarket. Quoted me a price of about 750.00 installed. I haven't done it yet...
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