Hello everyone,

I have a 96 Dodge Dakota sport 5.2l v8 magnum 318ci.
my truck seems to be stalling on start up (cold start) but not cold by weather, when you turn the key over the truck starts but then stalls, try and start it again and it does the same thing starts then stalls. Its almost like its not getting enough fuel on start up, if you give it a little bit of gas when starting give it a shot of gas, and slowly let the gas pedal out she stays running, once its running it runs fine, however is lacking power.

Can anyone give me some tips on what I can do? 02 sensor is already changed, changed the plenum gasket, replaced thermostat, the heat gauge doesn't go up either it stays on the 2nd line on the heater gauge. not a lot of heat coming out, but the coolant pipes do get hot.
not OBD2 codes either

please someone help

 

sounds like AIC motor (air/idle motor) failure or gummed up bad.. will be located on throttle body

similar picture.. http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/br...2_141906_1.gif

 

A friend of mine had a Toyota that was only running on 4 of the 6 cylinders that had similar symptoms. It ran pretty smooth but lacked power.. he didn't notice the power loss until the motor was replace though. It might not be a bad idea to check spark and compression.
Also if you aren't getting good coolant flow that could cause problems down the road, could be the water pump going bad, bad thermostat or a blockage some where.

good luck!

 

I own a 92 .. the temp gauge never goes past first line, new fluid new thermostate new heater core.... removed mechanical fan I cant even get it to heat up in winter.. even made a plate to cover rad entirely and only get it to first line :O onestly tho my 2002 was the same with the 4.7.. took about 30 minutes of harddriving to heat up.... the 318 gets.... nothing LOL

also from OP <-- my truck seems to be stalling on start up (cold start)

pull the AIC .. or even pull off a vacuum line on throttlebody it will tell you if its AIC ...(engine may rev with vacuum line disconnected so be prepared to turn off fast) I just did one on a 98 and a 2004 Dakota..

 

I took the IAC off when the truck was running it didn't seem like it made a difference, I did take a vacuum line off just under the TB and the idle changed. Does that mean the IAC could be gone?

 

" when you turn the key over the truck starts but then stalls, try and start it again and it does the same thing starts then stalls. Its almost like its not getting enough fuel on start up"

My '92 Dakota had the same problem (among others) and I had to press the fuel pedal to keep it running. So the dealer changed the AIS and installed a new fuel pump but I was still having the same problem. The dealer said the TPS and MAP were ok. I decided to just go ahead and change the MAP but I was still having problems. So I decided to check the TPS and found it WAS shot, but you could not tell by just putting a voltmeter on it as it read as "good", and if you took the TPS off, the mechanism appeared visually ok. However, when I tried to turn the inner mechanism with a flat head screwdriver the mechanism was very sloppy and the spring inside was rattling around, then it fell apart in my hands. I could then tell it wasn't holding the throttle open but was slipping. I put a new TPS on it and that problem stopped.

 

I was thinking about just changing the IAS, MAP and TPS since there's no vac leaks no egr that can be causing the problem.

 

Make sure you can hear the fuel pump on start up when you turn the key to "on". If you can't start there. The problem could be a failing fuel pump that is not holding pressure. When the truck is running there should be about 40psi in the lines. When it is shut off there should still be about 10psi, and it should go no lower.

Check your fuel filter for clogs. Its easy to take off, just 2 of those screw type clamps, and a 14mm? bolt holding the bracket on. Its on the drivers side, pretty much in line with the gap between your cab and box, tucked up in the frame rail. If you cant blow through it replace it.

Where do you live? (climate wise). In -30c weather I used to have to take a hair dryer to my ecu to warm it up before my fuel pump would kick in.

Take off your IAC and TPS and visually check them/clean them.

Cheers, Spinner