When i was coming home from work yesterday, i was about half way home and my truck started shaking violently everytime i hit the brakes. I know for a fact the brake rotors are not warped. This morning the truck ran fine and on the way home from work today it also ran fine. One suggestion i got from a mechanic friend was that the clutches in the torque converter were not dissengaging. Does this sound plausible to anyone or has anyone experienced the same thing. My truck is a '95 318 automatic 4x4.

 

did it seem like it wanted to stall? the EGR valve went on my 89 and everytime i came to a stop sign or slowed down i thought the truck was going to shake to pieces. it could be sticking closed once in a while.

 

Well i was on the interstate while it was acting up, so i never got slow enough for it to stall, so i cant dont have a definate answer for that. Exactly what does the EGR valve control and how easy is it to replace it?

 

your truck probably has a 42RE trans, mine was . it turns out they were light duty tranny that could not stand up to the power from the 318 magnums. they went bad easily, that tranny also just sucked. Neither could the rest of those Dakotas. I had a nice 1993, 318, 42RE, Mark III pakage. The brakes, coolant, tranny/drive line, the steering even, could not handle the 318 magnum. I was always replacing things at 107,000 miles! To much power for that small truck. Man, I miss my Jenny

 

To answer your question: EGR is Exhaust Gas Recirculation. When the engine is cold, it is open, to let hot exhaust back into the intake and warm the engine faster. It improves gas millage and emissions. a vacuum line controls it, based on the CCCV switch(cold coolant closed vacuum switch, located on the intake manifold).If it malfunctions and opens when the engine is already hot your engine would run badly because your computer would get confused and change your fuel air mixture, trying in vain to compensate for the problem. Carb'ed engines would suck also.
Since yours is only bad off the gas and/or in the brake, i'd lean towards the tranny problem. an EGR problem would make the engine run bad for the entire time after the engine was warm.

 

Its funny you mention the mileage cause my truck is just over 107,000. Now it could be coincidence, cause it was just shy of 100 deg when it happened and i had the A/C on, but i should have mentioned the engine had nowhere near the power it usually does. Its my understanding that the power brake booster is also controlled by the engines vaccum, so if the problem only happened when the brakes were applied could it be translated as a possible engine vaccum problem? I'm not too worried about it anymore because the truck has been running fine the last few days.

 

run your truck in the driveway, then spray some areosol can (propane torch works too, non-lit), like starting fluid on your vacuum lines. if the engine RPM changes after you spray it, you have a vacuum leak.
It also sounds like your AC system may be getting worn out. see what a tech shop says and maybe do a R-134 retrofit on it, so you can do most if it yourself (if you haven't already).
Pete

 

Thanks for your ideas. I emailed dodge for a build sheet for my truck and just received it. My truck is equipped with the 46RH transmission but what caught my attention moreso was that it is equipped with a lock-up torque converter, which makes what my mechanic friend say a lot more plausible that the torque converter might not have unlocked. I will still check on the AC and vaccum system though. We have an AC machine at the collision repair shop i work at so it wont be any trouble. Thanks again for your responce.

 

It sounds like your rotors are warped. You probably will need new ones most likely it is your front ones. I hope this helps.

 

I agree! With the info you gave us it sounds like it. You can buy new rotors with warpage on them. After geting them serfaced it can warp easly with out overheating or anything extreem. I suggest getting back on the road. See if it happends at any speed. at any rpm at going straght or at turns. if it does it when press hard or soft. do some more diagnostics.