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ejo
Dodge Dakota
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7/04/2007
07:15:57
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 Subject: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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Hi everyone, I have 2 dodge dakota's 4x4. One is a 94' the other is a 95'. They both have v-8 and both are manual trans. They both run super and strong. They are just about identical even to the mileage. My question, I run regular unleaded fuel in each one. The 95' dakota likes to ping a lot, the 94 never does. The both truck are exact even with sensors, and both only have 1 oxygen sensor. 1996 they added the down stream to make it have 2. Anyway, does anyone have any tips or a real good dakota mech. that can give me a tip to stop the 95 from pinging? Just to add I tried stepping up the fuel octane to better grades, I went up slowly 2 grades. It makes it better, but does not go away totaly. Anyway, I want to run the regular unleaded. My 94 runs super on it without a ping. It must be something???????????
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daddio
Dodge Dakota
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7/04/2007
10:02:40
|  RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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i'm not a mechanic but, it sounds like it could be the plenum gskt. does the '95 burn any oil?
look down the throttle body with the engine not running into the manifold. if there is amlittle oil there it's the plenum gskt.
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ejo
Dodge Dakota
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7/04/2007
11:45:35
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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Yes, I thought that at first also. So, Tore down top of motor put brand new gaskets thru out. Took my time and did a real nice/good job. Truck ran even a little better, but still pinging. There is something, anyone else have any tips??
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OBIO3
Dodge Dakota
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7/04/2007
14:36:46
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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If your sure you no longer have a leak in the plenum gasket, start going through the vacuum hoses looking for one disconnected or cracked. sea foam passed through the TB is great for removing carbon in combustion chambers. You could possibly have one or more shallow plug holes allowing plug threads to protrude into the chamber heating a plug thread red hot. To test for this, try double plug washers but don't leave it like this. dropping to one number colder on plugs can help but is not a fix. it's a band aide that can help.Last, you could have a flashing in one head, very rare.
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turtletom
Mechanic
7/04/2007
15:08:31
|  RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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it's either a O2 sensor or the egr valve/control solenoid. get your hands on a drb 2 and check. on the old ones, o2 failure (usually froze at 0mv) will not set a code, egr will though. try cycling the key. also does it idle consistant? a high idle means bad IAC which me when running down the road, it's lean because air which is not being monitored by the ecm is entering the engine. first- check o2, there common. good luck
turtletom
tom
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gen1dak
Dodge Dakota
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7/04/2007
16:01:25
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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Plenum gasket first. Fixed? Okay, EGR next. Also, make sure you reset the computer....unplug the battery for a few minutes after repairs. Otherwise the computer will not see the new parts/repairs, and will continue running as if nothing was done.
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ejo
Dodge Dakota
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7/04/2007
16:34:41
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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This problem is bugging me big time. I tried stepping it down and ran a colder plug and see if that would help, no it didnt do anything. I went over vacuum line and they all look nice and good. The egr valve is working fine. In those 2 years you can actually watch them when you throttle it by hand to see if they are working, and yes it is. Also all new gaskets and surface cleaned there to. Also for the hell of it I replaced the oxygen sensor. Truck idle's super smooth and not high right on. I put a scan tool on truck, ran thru no codes also. Any other tips, Anyone???? Oh I also tried a colder thermostat, 180deg. It seemed to may help a bit, but not really sure about that. If it did it was not really much to talk about. I dont want to go any colder, since some sensors run from the engine temp. Plus I would think that is a band aid fix not what is really the problem if that worked.
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?
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
08:48:43
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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If is like my 95 , you just need to 'make use of
the available Power of that 3.9 '.
Which means - shift up sooner , or hit her harder
to get to the point you want to shift at.
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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
09:13:32
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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how old is the coolant? has it been changed recently? what about the radiator cap? what about the coolant temp sensor. I know you said you changed the t-stat, does the temp sensor report the correct temp from the t-stat? what temp does the truck run at? is it a little hot?
you said you changed plugs to colder ones, what about wires? did you test them with multimeter? are any of the plugs to hot? you made need to reroute some of them.
have you checked the fuel pressure on both? is the pressure higher on the truck that pings?
do you get the gas from the same station? as a last resort you can try draining and refilling the tank.
pinging is usually caused by heat. When you increase pressure of gas, the temp increases. You are in a good position for testing. You have a good working truck as a baseline for numbers for comparisons.
- Dan M
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gen1dak
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
10:01:52
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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An old-fashioned thing involves carbon build-up in the combustion chambers. If it had an intake leak at some point, it's had some buildup that probably can't clear out. This will increase the compression ratio enough that even better grade pump gas will not solve the problem. So, basically, you need to idle up the engine a bit, and keep it idled up as you pour a modest amount of water through the throttle body (after the engine is warmed up). Not so much as to kill the engine, but you will notice the rpms drop. The idea is the hot carbon will be cooled when the water hits. This will cause it to fracture and get blown out. Give it a few sips, see if it helps.
Would also run a can of SeaFoam to help clean the injectors. This stuff is used in injector cleaning machines, and can dissolve the hard deposits that build up. You could have an injector that's dumping fuel because it can't close fully. The computer could be leaning out to adjust for the excess fuel, and pinging as a result.
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ejo
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
12:25:12
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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I replaced all the wires, also got a report from the dodge dealer for that year on the exact proper routing of the wiring, (because they say this was a reroute because of pinging that worked). Well that didnt help. I may try the sea foam idea. I have always run injector cleaner every 2500 miles. But it has been pinging since I owned it. So it dont mean an injector isnt built up bad. But dont you think it wouldnt idle good if an injector was dumping fuel? Also pinging is from being lean most of the time, I wouldnt think that an injector dumping fuel would make motor ping, just run rough or not idle well, or something other than ping. Any more thoughts????
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Curly
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
13:04:30
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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like Dan M asked
how is the cooling system?
has it been flushed recently?
for what its worth
my 95 3.9 pinged like a son-O-beach
long before it tripped a code (32 i believe)
anyway it was the EGR valve
do a google theres a lot of reading
a Bad or worn EGR valve can cause a whole host of troubles
including bad MPGs and pinging
also rough running engine
after replacing mine my MPGs improved and
pinging is gone
pinging can also be caused by a slow or lazy O2
thing is you dont want to just start throwing money at it and hope for the best
though considering its a 95 and if the O2 or EGR was never changed, then their about due
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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
13:38:46
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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obio3 and gen1dak both mentioned seafoam. you can run it in fuel (gas tank), air intake (pcv, throttle body) and oil (straight into oil filler port).
in the air intake, with vehicle idle, dump slowly until the engine misses and almost dies. you'll see dark smoke come out of the exhaust.
sea foam works well, I run it every oil change in my truck, have for some time. Little tip i picked up here.
speaking of egr, how did you see it? I couldn't see it well on my old 95. I did pull mine and found a nice hole in it. bought replacement borg warner one from pepboys. I think it was the only store that had one in stock.
o2 can be cause as well. it can be out of wack and not throw a code - there are certain tolerances that can have adverse affects.
- Dan M
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gen1dak
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
15:18:36
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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The engine will run lean if an injector is dumping fuel. One injector fattens one cylinder, but the exhaust is fed by all cylinders. So, you have a fat cylinder, or two, or three. The O2 sensor senses the rich exhaust, and the computer leans everything out, so the other cylinders run lean as a consequence.
Use the SeaFoam. The usual over-the-counter stuff can dissolve the soft deposits, but SeaFoam dissolves the hard deposits.
Like Dan M. said, I'd still be suspect of that EGR.
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ejo
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
16:51:13
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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Coolant, I may over do, but I flush and put all new stuff in every 2 years. Also brand new radiator was put in 6 months ago. Old one was not plugged in any way. Just developed a small leak. As for the egr. I had that go bad on the 94, and it was pinging, I replaced it and it stopped and was fine. On those 2 years you need a light source and if you look real close at the egr there is a small window to watch the erg working when you throttle motor. Only those 2 years, maybe pre also but not post for sure. Anyway I am rulling out egr, I see it working. I am still thinking of this sea foam. But if one injector was dumping fuel wouldnt it only lean out that cylinder? A lot of you guys seem to think that could cause it to? What is the best way for the best results to use this sea foam? Just in case someone didnt read upper posts, oxygen sensor was replaced with no results from it.
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OBIO3
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
17:03:15
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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Long as your at it, check the timing. You never know.
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ejo
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
17:27:01
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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Timing is set at tdc. It is right there. I dont know about the other years but these have a 10 deg. working range with the computer. For kicks I tried to retard it a bit or advance it, but the computer dont let you. It puts you back to tdc at idle. And if you turn to much, the obvious it stalls. Just thought I would add that to all I have done.
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03 QC Sport +
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
17:34:23
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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I'm not that familiar with the ignition system on the earlier model Dakotas, (never owned or worked on one). Do they have a mechanical advance on the distributor? Or is it controlled electronically? Could the advance curve be off???
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ejo
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
17:56:13
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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The advance is by computer. I had a distributor once stripped down to the case, there is no springs or mechanical advance of any kind internal. Looking for more tips. Thanks everyone so far for there input.
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daddio
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
18:31:13
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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as the others have posted, vacuum leak, EGR, O2 colder plugs. is the engine running hotter than usual?
try cleaning the combustion chambers either with Seafoam or dribbling water into the TB making sure not to stall the engine.
EGR may be working but are the passages clear?
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Curly
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2007
18:40:56
| RE: I NEED A REAL MOPAR MECH. TIPS!!
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""But if one injector was dumping fuel wouldnt it only lean out that cylinder?""
No
that cyl. would be rich by getting more fuel then it can burn and getting constant fuel
this unburnt "raw" fuel goes out the exhaust
the O2 reads it
then the pcm leans out the other cyls to try and compensate for the problem
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