I picked this up on the real cheap.. all the guy could (or would) tell me is that it wouldn't start, and he didn't know why.

I have put in a new battery, new starter and starter relay. Replaced the positive terminal and cable, just becasue they looked kind of ratty. The ground is tight and looks perfect at the battery and to the block. i pulled the end on the block just to look at it. I checked the wire harness under the fuse panel (under the hood) and got rid of the old 3 to one splice with the red wires. It looked ok, but I re-spliced anyway.

Still won't start..

Here's what it does - The starter just clicks - usually. Every once in a while, it will turn over for a second or two, but then it just stops. It almost seems like the battery is weak, but I know that is not the case. Initially I thought maybe the motor was locked up, but thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case!
I also pulled a few spark plugs and tried to turn it over.. still just clicks. I even jumped the starter with a screwdriver.. still the same. Have tried starting in neutral and park, no change.

Any Ideas? Suggestions? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thomas

 

did you check the distributor plugs and wires? that would be were i would start

 

Tgresch - thanks for the response! I haven't looked at the distributor yet... I didn't think that would have anything to do with the starter operating. I am new to Dodge though, so what exactly would I be looking for?

 

Did you turn the motor over by hand? Or how do you know the engine is not locked up? The reason I ask is because I recently replaced an engine in a 92 Dakota that was locked up but would occasionaly barely turn over when turning the key. I could not turn the engine over by hand (breaker bar and socket on crank bolt) so I knew it was in bad shape. Of course I had an extra engine for it already... I know that's not the case for you, but you can pick them up used for cheap or it would be a good candidate for a v8 swap

 

Dakota Rt - hmmm.... well, I was hoping that wasn't the case, but I will definitely give turning it over by hand a.shot. I thought since it did turn (while only briefly) that I could rule.that out.I will check that today and.report.back!

 

Yeah it is still a possibility, sometimes when you spin a bearing the engine will seize but sometimes the starter can still get it to move a little... that's what the '92 did. It was originally my bosses truck that he was going to pay me to put an engine in. He decided to get another truck and gave me the Dakota (Awesome!). Before I did the swap I decided to make sure the engine was blown and put a good battery and a good starter in. It would turn over for maybe a second then would just stop even with the key still turned. Turns out that one of the rod bearings had spun. So long story short make sure it turns over by hand before you do anything else. Good luck.

 

The Engine is locked up hard.. I could't budge it at all with the breaker bar. I guess I'll be looking for an engine to swap in. Thanks for the help!

 

Found a few options for a relatively cheap replacement motor... another 5.2 from a 98 Dakota, and a 5.9 out of a 94 Ram. Any concerns for the newer 5.2? How about the 5.9, it's actually cheaper.. would either one bolt right up, how about the ECU, fuel system?
Thanks in advance!

 

So, doing a little research.. from what I have gathered the easiest thing would be to get another 5.2. I want to change as few parts as possible.. If I went with a 5.2 from say a 98 truck, would I need to change the PCM? I read something about injectors and flow rates being different..

 

you can go with any 93+ 5.2l motor. all you have to do is change the electronics over from the old motor to the new motor and it will plug n play. i would also suggest changing the exhaust manifolds over also being that 92-93 have the bigger(better) manifolds