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hitekredneck
Dodge Dakota
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6/08/2004
17:50:58
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 Subject: 87 Dakota won't idle warm
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I have a 87 Dakota 3.9 w/ auto that refuses to idle once it gets warm. I've had the truck about nine months and it has been parked for almost six due to this problem. I have replaced the fuel filter and pump, plugs, wires, cap, rotor and coil. I have also blocked off the EGR valve and plugged its vacuum line. Cat was deleted for troubleshooting purposes.
Once you get it rolling it runs like a scared rabbit. Timing was checked as well.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated as I am thoroughly befuzzled!
Bill
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limpnalong
Dodge Dakota
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6/09/2004
10:43:51
| RE: 87 Dakota won't idle warm
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This'll probably be pretty basic but I had a similar problem with my '87 that sat for a year before I put it back on the road. It would start up fine but when it got warm (after driving 5 or ten miles)it would stall if I stopped at stop lights, rough idle, cough, cough, puke. If I shifted into neutral that would usually smooth out the idle until the light changed.
Basically I sprayed the crap out of the carburetor with gummout and wd40 and added fuel injector/carburetor cleaner with every tank of gas for a couple of weeks. That eventualy fixed it for me. I never changed out the wires, cap, etc... I did swap out the PCV valve and Crank Case ventilator, air filter. Stuff to make it breath a bit better. I had changed the plugs as well but they really werent in bad shape when I pulled them out. Also the fuel filter. Recently I've had the carb rebuilt (it started spewing gasoline from one of the gaskets) and at that time realized that the vacum hose from the pcv to the carb was packed with grime, totally closing off the passegway to the carb. After I reatached the carb and replaced that hose the engine has been really quite and smooth. I also removed, cleaned and reattached the EGR valve.
Simple stuff but it may help. Good luck.
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hitekredneck
Dodge Dakota
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6/11/2004
01:12:29
| RE: 87 Dakota won't idle warm
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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try a couple more cans of Berrymans carb cleaner.
Bill
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EverWiser
Dodge Dakota
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6/13/2004
19:12:03
|  RE: 87 Dakota won't idle warm
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Hello,
I recently had the same problem with my '87 with the carb. I rebuilt the carb but afterwards it still wouldn't idle once it was warm. I fixed any and all vacuum leaks but other than getting a little better MPG and throttle response it didn't fix my problem. What I finally found out was that my idle mixture was too lean.
When I rebuilt my carb I found that my idle mixture screws were hidden behind a couple of little "plugs" on the front of the carb. One of my plugs was already missing but the other one was still there. I removed the remaining plug and before removing the mixture screws from the carb I screwed them each all the way in counting the number of turns it took to seat them (not tightly, just bottomed them out). They were both approximately 2 complete turns off the seats. When I put them back in the rebuilt carb I set them the same number of turns "out". Anyway, I still had the same idle problem. After checking everything else I could check I tried adjusting one of the mixture screws. When I went in it got worse but when I went out the idle picked up A Lot! Now both are set at just over 3 turns out and the truck is running great! What I did was adjust them out until the idle didn't change and then screwed each back in just a hair from that position. I've adjusted the mixture on other cars I've had this same way but usually it only took 1-1/2 to 2 turns to get it right so I thought the 2 turns I found while rebuilding should have been right. Oh well, live and learn. Give it a try if you haven't already. I hope this helps and I'm sorry for such a long post.
Randy
everwiser@aol.com
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hitekredneck
Dodge Dakota
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6/16/2004
10:57:49
| RE: 87 Dakota won't idle warm
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Thanks a bunch. As soon as I find the screws I'll
run them out some. Where physically are they?
Thanks,
Bill
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EverWiser
Dodge Dakota
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6/20/2004
09:34:25
| RE: 87 Dakota won't idle warm
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If you're standing in front of your truck the there should be a left and right "projection" from the base of the carburator and they basically point towards the headlights (i.e. angled from the carb's centerline sligtly to the right and/or left). There should be a "plug" inside the bore of each projection. Remove the plug and then you will need an Allen wrench to adjust each screw. I don't remember what size wrench but I will tell you that a ball-drive ended Allen wrench works best. I hope this helps.
Randy
everwiser@aol.com
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EverWiser
Dodge Dakota
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6/20/2004
09:34:40
| RE: 87 Dakota won't idle warm
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Message:
If you're standing in front of your truck the there should be a left and right "projection" from the base of the carburator and they basically point towards the headlights (i.e. angled from the carb's centerline sligtly to the right and/or left). There should be a "plug" inside the bore of each projection. Remove the plug and then you will need an Allen wrench to adjust each screw. I don't remember what size wrench but I will tell you that a ball-drive ended Allen wrench works best. I hope this helps.
Randy
everwiser@aol.com
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hitekredneck
Dodge Dakota
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6/22/2004
14:05:56
| RE: 87 Dakota won't idle warm
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Thanks again for the help. I'll try that.
Bill
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hitekredneck
Dodge Dakota
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8/26/2004
02:07:18
|  RE: 87 Dakota won't idle warm
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Thanks for the advice. In case someone else runs into the same problem here's what I found wrong. Whoever had the truck before I did had the gaskets swapped. The solid gasket was between the carb and the spacer; the vented gasket was between the intake and the spacer. On my carb the idle air passages are just outside the throttle plate hole in the bottom. The gasket was completely blocking these holes! I put the thick vented gasket under the carb and the solid one under the spacer and she idles as good as new.
An old (74 yrs) mechanic pointed this out to me. Each time I took it apart before this, I put the gaskets on just like I found them and never would have suspected that they were wrong to begin with!
Just thought I'd pass this on in case someone else ran into the same thing.
Thanks again,
Bill
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