Started fine this morning and drove to gas station. Was very low on fuel, lucky I made it to station! Filled up and drove off. Immediately it started to sputter. Giving it a bit of gas it slowly picks up and is driveable as long as I keep moving at a steady pace. If I let up on gas or try to accelerate it sputters. It was raining but do not recall going thru a deep puddle that might have gotten something wet.

No engine light. Only thing I can think of is really bad gas at fill up which I've never had happen from this station or maybe fuel filter clogged up?

Another thought is the dreaded broken valve spring. Would that throw a code from a misfire?

D has 140,000 miles on it and has ran perfect since new. Any ideas of what else to look at?

 

As described not a broken valve spring as with that symptom it smoothes out above 3000 RPM.
You may have something that could be worse, even disastrous to your engine, which is an intake gasket leak. Water getting into the intake will cause stuttering and missing. Water is directed into the intake area by a cracked plastic cowl.
Possibilities from worst case:
1) This water issue is well known and can cause total engine failure if parked in the rain with the engine off. Water drains into the rear cylinders and when it is started, it hydro locks and destroys the engine.
Replace the intake gaskets now, new cowl is probably a good idea also.
2) Broken valve springs, can just be mild issue, or fatal to engine. Replace them all now. Cheap insurance, new design is more reliable.
3) Fuel pump, filter, gauge asembly, worst case can leave you stranded but not fatal to engine. Test pressure at rail.
4) Spark plugs, when were they last replaced? Use only stock replacement Champions. Others are a waste of $.
My 2004 has had gaskets and valve springs replaced after failure. Fuel pump is next.
170,000 miles and going strong.
Not trying to scare you, but why replace the entire engine if not necessary?
A smoke test will show up the gasket failure, but it is almost 100% sure to happen! along with valve springs sooner or later.
Dave

 

I've heard about the issue of a cracked cowl allowing water onto the intake. Many have reported engine light codes from the resulting misfire. I get no codes.

Today I started it and drove around the block and everything seems fine. Runs great. Sure sounds like rain related. Will take a look at the cowl and see if its got issues.

 

You might also look into the crankshaft position sensor. My 05 had the same symptoms. Replaced sensor with factory part (not aftermarket) and all seems well.

 

Just one thing I need to clarify, it is not the cowling that is causing engine failures, it is the leaking intake gasket. This is easy to test by any competent shop.
Water is channeled to the intake area by a faulty cowl, but it can get there from road splashes, heavy rainwiper hole seals, etc. and hydro-lock the engine.
The leaking gaskets should be fixed or you can easily have complete engine destruction.
This is just not my "opinion" but any 5.7 hemi expert will know this, get several opinions.
Does not seem to occur on the 4.7 liter.
I have owned both, the 4.7 has other issues.
Any Hemi with over 100,000 miles is suspect. Don't know when, or if it has been fixed by Dodge. as it is usually out of warranty.
Dave

 

I just did a search for "hemi hydrolock" and it returned a lot of posts on this forum on the subject.

 

Well problem is back! After the storms stopped the Durango ran perfect for the past several weeks. Last night it rained again. This morning it fired right up but again sputtered bad at idle. Runs ok once up to speed but very rough at idle.

I assume the cracked cowl issue is the start of the problem allowing water onto the engine. Am I correct to assume possible bad plug wires not sealing well? Plugs and wires were changed about 50K ago. Not up to speed on the 5.7L so what else needs to be replaced when changing the wires such as boots, coil caps etc to get proper seal?

Since it runs fine once up to speed am I correct in assuming the intake manifold is not leaking?

 

I would caution you on assuming anything at this point. Did you actually find a leaky cowl? Did you see water dripping down on the engine or puddled around the intake manifold? Any codes showing?

Maybe it's time for the garden hose rainstorm test. Spray it like it's raining and look for water in the places in question.

 

The cowl leaks considerably. It's got a good sized gap across most of the width of the window. The seal is lifted up and not sealing at all. Water pours all over the plug/coil wires.

I'd like to assume that since it runs fine up at speed or when dry that the intake is not cracked or gasket leaking. If there was a leak on the intake wouldn't that cause bad running or other issues both at idle and at higher RPM?

No engine light, no codes. Just very rough idle when it rains.

 

I guess to be thorough you could also check the DTC codes to see what is there. Just rotate key from off to on three times ending in the on position and write down the number of flashes on the light on the dash. It flashes the first digit and then the second digit.

Also, by the on position I mean power is on but engine is not running.

The DTC might reveal a bad sensor or some weirdness that I guess wouldn't be worthy of a full on check engine light.

I think, and someone can correct me if I am wrong but plug wires are not due for 100K miles. Never-the-less you could check the wires for cracks in the outer casing as that would allow electricity to run on the outside of the wire and if water were present might mess up the firing order.

I'd say fix the cowl first. I got a deal on a new one from the dealer for like $110, maybe it was $135. It was easy to install. At least that would stop the water leaking on the engine and you could go from there.

It's not unlikely that the manifold gasket could be leaking a small amount. When engine heats up the metal expands a bit and so that expansion might be enough to seal a small leak. So if it runs better as it warms up then I'd say there's a good chance you have a small leak. Not only that but at idle is really the only time you might notice a difference because it's trying to hold a specific idle.

If you had a leak worthy of jumping the idle something like 500 rpm's (as if the idle air control were bad) then you'd definitely notice a difference at idle and maybe at the pump (use more gas). I'm no expert though.

Nothing wrong with getting the gasket changed and I speculate it would be about the same cost as putting in a new cowl. So for like $300 or $400 you could get both the cowl and a gasket done at a shop at not worry about it.