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92North
Dodge Dakota
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1/30/2010
03:01:17

Subject: 1992 3.9 V6 stuttering & missing
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Hey guys
I have a 1992 V6 3.9 4x4, used to drive it every day, but no longer.... here's the history.

this June- runs perfect.

July- feel a slight engine stutter after 30 min. of driving. Then nothing more.

Oct- after 30 min. of smooth riding, the engine stutters every few seconds, and I can't maintain speed, pull the truck over for a few minutes and then it is OK for about as long as it sat, then back to stuttering.

Dec- stuttering starts after only a few minutes, (but still idles perfect), stutters when accelerating soft or hard, entire range. If I really open it up there's a backfire from the throttle body. Needs to sit for hours before it improves even slightly.

Current - now hearing a slight stutter in the idle, and accelerating immediately causes noticeabley jerky engine revs (sounds like it fires about 5-6 times per second). Barely have power to move forward on a 1% incline, on flat ground it'll pull forward. Problem is continuous.

Also, since July, when I slow down after having the engine under load for a while, the engine will sometimes stall (pretty random). When it is idling it won't stall.

Can someone help get me started, I'll post my progress as I work on it.

Thanks for any help



92RustDakota
Dodge Dakota
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1/30/2010
04:57:55

RE: 1992 3.9 V6 stuttering & missing
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ALWAYS check for codes FIRST with your ignition key.
Assuming your cap, wires and plugs are in good order, check AIC
by removing it. (2 torx screws rear of the throttle body, careful not
loose the gasket and dont whack the plunger on the AIC, clean and
reinstall.) Also check your fuel pressure.
If all is well, I would considering looking into that INFAMOUS
SPLICE.




dakdudems
Dodge Dakota
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1/30/2010
11:03:02

RE: 1992 3.9 V6 stuttering & missing
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May want to check your distributor for slack. I recently had my 93 v6 3.9l do something very similar and it was a worn (very) distributor drive gear. Quick check is to remove distributor cap and see if rotor can be moved CW or CCW more than a few degrees. If so you will need to replace the drive gear and bushing (special tools required). This same gear drives the oil pump. If you remove the distributor you'll see the gear down below. Gear is about $40 at autozone and bushing is about $5.



hugo92
Dodge Dakota
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2/02/2010
09:14:27

RE: 1992 3.9 V6 stuttering & missing
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I agree with dakdudems. I just changed the drive gear in my '92 3.9L two days ago. It was worn so bad that it had worn some of the teeth completely off. It took me about 45min to change the gear. I am going to be booking my truck in at a shop to get the bushing replaced as I do not have access to the special tool needed to replace the bushing.



hugo92
Dodge Dakota
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2/02/2010
09:19:07

RE: 1992 3.9 V6 stuttering & missing
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Oh, and make sure before you take anything apart that you put your engine to No.1 TDC so when you put everything back together it will all be in time. There is timing marks on the crank damper and timing cover.



fotodak
Dodge Dakota
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2/03/2010
00:07:37

RE: 1992 3.9 V6 stuttering & missing
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Not really needed as all you have to do is mark the position of the distributor housing and then the position of the rotor.
Put it back together in the same position and all is fine.



92North
Dodge Dakota
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3/28/2010
22:46:07

RE: 1992 3.9 V6 stuttering & missing
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Hey guys
Thanks for all the suggestions, I tried them all slowly over the past
while... but still had the same trouble....

BUT! Today I was at the truck again and I disconnected the engine
ground and it was pretty corroded inside! After a minute with the
wire brush the truck runs AS NEW, not a hiccup. Such a relief.
Thanks again



Cody Toland
Dodge Dakota
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4/07/2010
07:53:33

RE: 1992 3.9 V6 stuttering & missing
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I have this same problem... what special tool is needed to get this bushing? and how hard is it to change this at home?



TEX
Dodge Dakota
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4/23/2010
09:42:42

RE: 1992 3.9 V6 stuttering & missing
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I just had a prob with my 88 Dakota.i drove it to work on monday no problem,went out to break and it started sputtering and bucking like it was out of gas.i did all the diagnostics and all.i was getting plenty of fuel pressure but none out of the TBI.but i wasnt getting any spark from the coil either.i checked the cap and rotor and they had corrosion build up all over the contacts.so since i wasnt getting spark from the coil i replaced it and the cap and rotor.and still didnt get spark after that.the only other 2 things there could be gone would be the pick-up or the computer so i took out the distributor to replace the pick-up.when i got the pick-up unscrewed from the distributor theres a little pick-up sprocket to tell the truck when to shoot the spark.this wheel is suppose to be rivitted to the distributor shaft.well the whole problem was the rivites on mine gave and broke lose.i put a new distributor in there with a new pick-up and it fired up with no problem and all of my rough idle problems that i had and have been trying to diagnose out for a very long time were gone.ive never seen that before but figured someone else could be having the same issue.now my truck runs great and all power that i didnt have is restored.GOOD LUCK.



scott
Dodge Dakota
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3/25/2022
17:47:28

RE: 1992 3.9 V6 stuttering & missing
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unplug your o2 sensor and see what happens
unplugged mine years ago and still running great
will show check engine light because of unplugging
it.



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