about 3 weeks ago i noticed when i gas up and florr it im not gettin all my horsepower and to top that off...at the tyme i noticed im losing horsepower my truck when it gets to a quater hell really half basically its start hesitating and the enging starts shakin not all the time but when i gas it or going up a hill plus i used seafaom and it aint working started usen mild grade gas doesnt help plus it cuts off when it gets warmed up or a half tank of gas or lower me and my pops thinks it the fuel pump and filter i did always drive it on low most of the tyme and it just started acting like this plus when i was getting ready to go the gas station from my house my check engine light came on and it was on the last line before E so i cut it off im so pissed but just really needing a lil info or if it could be anything else but were sure its the pump or filters clogged up also were is the fuel filter on a 94 318 slt dodge dakota ext cab 2wd......????

thanks mike henderson

 

also when i fil it up it drives smooth but sumtimes it shakes or hesitates a lil but then itll stop if i got plenty of gas in the truck...dat is...!!! thanks

 

Well, our trucks don't have a seperatly replaceable fuel filter. It's all integrated into the fuel pump assembly.

First thing I would do, since your check engine light is on, is pull the codes. See the following page for more information: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...ml#post1472415 (Once you pull the code, post the code itself. People who post "the code said something about ____" aren't helping themselves out.)

Also, please start using the "Shift" "," and "." keys on your keyboard.
reading sentances that look like this is hard on people to read and understand especially when there might be more than one problem you see i had a bolt sheer off on my lower control arm i have a problem with the horn going off all the time on my truck and i need to replace all the shocks on my truck on top of that i want to relocate my oil filter and i need to add a relay for my headlights i think i want to go with the sylvania ultrabrights but i hear their not worth the money what should i do?
(See what I mean?)

 

sorry' but im kinda pissed off my truck acting funny now.so using proper english wasnt really on my mind at the time sorry. and thanks....!! please the explination sentence you gave was not needed...!! also im young so sumtimes i might slip up and not use proper english but now...! i know im at school agin ill sit down like a good lil kid and listen i only asked for advice on a vehicle not advice on how to speak proper english okay thank you mr teacher SIR..!! now thats wat i figured about the fuel filter. is there a filter in the tank sumwere...??? or its inside the "fuel pump" get deep with it. becouse me and my pops. wanna make sure we get all the fuel parts needed to get tha job done.and be done with it... i did the tap on the "cat converter" didnt hear nothing weird...ill go by autozone tommorrow and check the codes and post them up on here plus would like to know how to do the key on key off to check em....???any advice my good english fellows...???

 

You don't have to go to Autozone to pull the codes on our trucks. Actually, since our trucks (except for 1996) don't have an OBDII connector, they wouldn't be able to pull your codes anyways. Just click on the link I provided, and it will tell you how to pull the codes.

The filter, I guess, is supposedly permanently attached to the bottom of the fuel pump. I've never pulled one, so I don't know if there is a "work-around" or a way to replace it.

 

well ima take tommorrow off...! too much house work i gotta do. and now this truck geez...???
anywayz i pulled the codes just now. and got the following

35 17 55... "rad control relay switch" and "too damn cold truck sittin too long lolz" its chilly here in nashville tonight..*22 degress* and a wind chill like a ****. by the way it has been sittin since saturday afternoon.. speaking of radiater i did flush it out and put a gallon of straight "antifreeze" in and topped it off with sum good ole h2o.and ever since its been running right on the firsts line and always stays there..?? i believe that the termostat is a 190 er 95..is dat okay for it to be running that cool in unpredictable weather like diz..?? or should it be top dead center like the oil pressure should always be? and hmmm at the bottom of the tank..? so i guess changing the fuel pump is it. well then ill do some more reshearch tommorrow. (and about the codes) to me seems like sumthin must hav froze up wonder how..anywayz i aint no repair guy just a black dude with knowledge and probing skillz haha.. any more advice will be sweet thanks folks

 

Wow...this is an interesting thread.
Question for Dodgerules86. My 88 Dakota, and my 91 Dakota both have an inline fuel filter after the gas tank. Its located under the cab of the truck. Its about the size of a soup can. Did later Dakota's "do away" with this filter?

 

Do you have a fuel pressure gauge? you can check the pressure at the fuel rail w/ the connector, though if it's anything like the exact problem that I am having (which you couldn't have copied it better) what should be happening, is you have enough pressure to get it to idle nicely, and under higher stress the pump just can't keep up with the engine. If you can check the fuel pressure before the regulator while your driving (didn't do this myself, but the tech I took it to said he had done this) and it more than likely drops off under any sort of load. you could first try replacing the fuel filter, should only be about $15 and only takes a few minutes to replace, though my hunch is that it is the fuel filter.

 

Yes they did change it in 94. Pre 94 had an external fuel filter and pressure regulator. 94 and up has both built into the fuel tank sending unit.

 

well guess its tyme to drop the tank saturday and have a look my dads gonna be pissed lol...!!!! i let you guys know when we look at everything and see wats up...!!! we both think its the fuel filter but getting to it gunna be a %&%$& but we know saturday later folks...!!!