Hi,

I'm having an issue with starting my 1988 Dodge Dakota.

Yesterday I cranked the truck numerous times, and it will turn over, but it will not stay running.

Today I charged the battery and when I initially attempted to start it, and it ran for about one or two seconds longer than before, but died. I gave it a few more tries, and after getting the engine to turn over, the plastic throttle body assembly popped off and a moderate amount of smoke came out of the throttle body. I cranked the engine again afterwards with no smoke, but after trying it another time, smoke came out of the throttle body a second time.

The truck sat for somewhere between six and eight years, and after trying to start it for the first time, smoke had come out of the exhaust as well.

Upon inspection of the engine bay, I came across a cracked vacuum line, specifically the line on the far right in the picture below. Does anyone have any idea where it goes or what it does? I've seen some trucks have it capped off. Could this somehow be the cause of the smoke?


Thanks in advance.


Front of Throttle Body

Cracked Vacuum Line

 

That one SHOULD run up to the thermostatic valve in the air cleaner; don't know where it runs now.

You really, Really, REALLY should do two things. 1) Buy a copy of the factory service manual (used can be found on eBay reasonably priced; new can be bought at Bishko Books, http://www.autobooksbishko.com/ , for under $40 for the PDF version on disc.)

2) Replace ALL the vacuum lines.

All of them. Don't ask, "But which one is bad?" Answer: "They're all rotten with age."

But for the plumbing question, here's the VECI (Vacuum Emission Control Information) label that should be on the bottom of the hood attached as a PDF.

As to the smoke - I BET your timing chain is off now, and it's misfiring. But I don't KNOW that's it.

I'd be planning on checking that in any case due to age.

RwP

 

My question would be: Why was it parked for several years.

 

I'll look into picking up a service manual.

As far as the vacuum lines go, they look nothing like the diagram under the hood or in the video below. It seems to me the previous owner messed them up. I'll have to look into replacing them all in the original locations.

The smog pump in my truck had been disconnected by the previous owner, specifically by removing the belt, but leaving the pump in place. Would this have any effect on the hard start situation?

The timing chain is a possibility, but I'm going to exhaust all of my options before moving onto that as it's quite the job.


Ah, I see you're asking the real question!

The previous owner had a car collection, but passed away a few years ago. When it was initially parked, it ran, but over the course of a few years, the fuel pump and sending unit assembly rusted away and it wouldn't run, something that I got around to fixing before running into this starting issue. The previous owner's son didn't know much about cars, so he let it sit until he sold it to me.

 

Sounds like a prime candidate for "Rip it all out, put it back in fresh!" for the vacuum lines.

The sad part is, even with the vacuum line disconnected, if the output lines of the pump's diverter valve were connected, the A.I.R. pump was still working just as hard, but not as efficiently on cold starts (I THINK it defaults to the cat and vacuum on cold redirects) OR it was screwing up the air/fuel mixture (if I'm backwards on it; don't know, haven't checked, just plan to restore mine to proper operation.)

But with the vacuum system with new rubber or silicone, the truck will run pretty darn good overall.

I've got apparently a timing issue to fix now; but that's easy enough to take care of.

RwP

 

As far as I can tell, the vacuum lines weren't the issue.

I fixed the vacuum lines that weren't in the right spots, for example, the previous owner had a line running from the heated air temperature sensor to the cruise control inlet on the brake booster, and plugged the remaining lines that were incorrect. These changes did not correct the stalling problem.

After doing some research online, it looks like the ignition switch can cause a problem with the engine starting, but then dying immediately afterwards. It appears my ignition switch does not register in the 'Accessory' position as the radio is inoperable, and unfortunately, I don't have power windows to check if they work in the Accessory position either.

The computer started throwing code 24, so I'll have to replace the TPS, but I doubt that's causing the truck to stall.

Lastly, I found a connector that was cut underneath the dash. Does anyone have any idea what this is for? One of the wires is clearly going somewhere else now...


Good luck with your timing issue, and thanks for your help, Ralph.

 

According to the FSM, it's part of the cruise control wiring.

That run goes to the switch on the brake pedal (which is shared with the brake light switch; no, not that section, but it's a different section inside the brake light / cruise control switch on the brake pedal.)

See the attached PDF from the FSM.

RwP