Hello all, first let me say that this is a great site full of an unbelievable amount of info and knowledgeable people. I find something new every time I log in.

That being said, I'm having a little issue that I can't quite figure out and was wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction. The vehicle is a 92' Dakota 5.2L V-8 4x4 automatic. What it's doing is when it's parked with no load on the engine, it idles and revs up beautiful. At WOT hammering it through the gears, it's all there as well from 0-65, but when you make the initial shift from park to reverse or park to drive, the idle drops significantly and if you keep feathering the gas to try to make it run, it will actually drop low enough and stall out. It does have a few vacuum lines that are melted through at the back of the engine and an exhaust leak from the EGR tube or whatever is on top of the manifold. The previous owner has wrapped everything in wire loom, heat insulation, cable ties and electrical tape, so pulling things apart is a bit of a challenge and probably a fire hazard. Also, all the rubber vacuum lines are pretty brittle so when you do pull one apart, they crack or break off at the nearest fitting. (already changed a few up front that were bad).

I guess what my question is, is this: Would a bad enough vacuum leak cause the truck to stall out or am I chasing after the wrong thing? Is there a TPS or some sensor that could be causing this?? Bad injectors, vacuum canister, fuel pressure regulator etc?? I definitely want to fix this the right way, because not only is it dangerous pulling out of parking lots, but it's obnoxious to have a truck that keeps dying if you aren't full throttle everywhere you go, especially in the snow. Any help is very much appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

Yes it is very possible the vacuum leak is your problem or even the leaky EGR valve.

 

That is kind of what I was thinking, or at least a place to start. I'm just not very familiar with these trucks and was wondering if it might be something else. Does anyone know of a good link to a vacuum diagram or a good manual that would have one worth buying?? I inherited one of the cheap "parts store" manuals with the truck, but it doesn't have any diagrams other than very basic electrical. Also, is there anything I can bypass to clean it up a bit under the hood? The previous owner or whoever his mechanic was left this thing in a big mess of electrical tape, wire loom, hose clamps, and cable ties. I figure if I have to open it all up, then it's worth fixing everything the right way and just replacing the rest of the lines/fittings in one shot.

 

The FAQ in this section has the factory service manual with the vacuum diagrams.

 

couldn't find the service manual one, but that link in the FAQ brought me to Autozones site which had a couple choices for diagrams. There is a 92 5.9L diagram and a 93 5.2L one. I'm guessing the 93 5.2L is close to the 92 model year because the 5.9 looks like a different setup. Gonna give it a shot this morning and see what I come up with. It can't get much worse than it already is. Maybe get the front axle 4x4 working in the process.