Hi,

I've been working on at 94 Dakota 2.5l tbi that has been giving me trouble since December. Back then it wouldn't start but thanks to oxygen454 I got it running again by changing out a cracked ignition coil and it's been running ok.

Last week, during normal driving, it had a sudden loss of power and a bad engine shake. Turns out there is no compression in cylinders 3 and 4 and is exhausting white smoke (it will no longer start). I now think the problem back in December wasn't completely fixed to begin with. I'm hoping it's just a head gasket and since the owner can't afford to take it to a shop, I decided to dig into the engine.

I took the throttle body off and valve cover but now I'm stumped getting the crankshaft pulley off. It has a center 15mm bolt surrounded by 5 smaller bolts. The guides I'm looking at just gloss over this step. I was unable to find which way the bolt turns. Everything turns when I put a wrench on it so I am in the process of borrowing a compressor and impact wrench or renting an electric one.

This is all a bit over my skill level but right now the truck is a loss so it doesn't hurt to try. Any advice as to what I've gotten myself into and any tips would be great.

 

I'm not to familiar with the 4cly. But in the service manual it shows the center bolt is retained with the pulley off. So my guess just remove the smaller bolts and not the center. The service manual is downloadable in the FAQ in this section. It has all the details on the removable and installation of it.

 

Thanks for the tip but which manual are you referring to? I went through the FAQ and have looked at manuals on 2 of the library links in it but never saw mention of the center bolt info you listed.

 

http://rapidshare.com/files/422914781/95_D_DFSM.ZIP

 

Got the manual. Much better than i ones i was using.
Thanks. l be back if (when) i get stuck again.

 

dude, the rapid share cartoon is hysterical.

 

my last car had the 2.2l version of that motor...iirc you have to take all the bolts off it. I had to use an impact gun on mine the first time, so i sprayed it with some nut buster and it was good after that.

little advice for experience. don't put the valve cover on till the timing is done...its helps to find what cycle cyl 1 is in.

 

I got the pulley off today, nasty weather yesterday. Crazy4x4RT was correct the inside bolt stays and the outer five come off. Neither the crankshaft pulley or the water pump pulley require a pulley remover. Broke an adapter on my breaker bar trying to get the head bolts started, only had a 3/8" drive 15mm which worked up till this point, so that will be tomorrows project.

Valve cover gasket was shot and it's pretty oily under the timing belt cover but the belt looks good and clean. Also any tip on tightening the timing belt without the "special" tool that I'm unable to track down in town. Might not need it depending on the damage I find under the head.

Thanks for the timing tip shadow, I'll need all the help i can get for that step. The center bolt would have to come off too if I was doing any crankshaft work or seals.

 

Got the head off today and there is a 1/2" chunk of the head gasket missing between cylinder 3 and 4. Still have to check for other problems before I replace it. Cylinder 1 has some carbon buildup can I just use a brush and carb cleaner on it and would that also work for cleaning up the head?

 

Yes it can work to clean things up. Don't use the wire brush on any machined services.