I've been reading this forum for awhile now and i hope some of you can help me as much as you have helped others. From what i have read there are some very intelligent people on this site. This may look like a long post to some, but i would appreciate it if you guys would read anyway to help me. I have an 01 extended cab 3.9 V6 automatic, i was having a problem with my truck starting when the engine was cold, i had to give it some gas for it to start and stay running and i had to drive with two feet until the engine was warm and then it would run fine. I read some stuff on here and they said that it could be the sensors on the throttle body, so i took them all out and cleaned the sensors and the electrical connections and now it seems to start up good except every now and then it will die if i'm in reverse and have the wheel cranked all the way. The truck has no ***** what so ever. i have to mash it to get it to down shift on the highway, that right there tells me there is a fuel issue, some of the posts i've read on here say it could be the O2 sensors, but at over 100 bucks a piece i'm not gonna replace them if i don't know that is definately the problem. I just changed the plugs and wires and the air filter. So its getting plenty of spark and plenty of air. And here is the real kick in the pants that makes this even harder to figure out... there are no codes. the only code i got was one for the #1 injector when i unplugged them one at a time to see if the truck ran differently when they were unplugged, which it did. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Sorry it is so long, but i figured the more info you guys had the better you could help me. Thanks in advance

 

you cat is probably clogged. get intouch with the dodge dealer the truck came from. there is a recall on them for clogging up. they should replaceit. as for the stalling the truck has knock sensors in the block to detect sudden purges. try not turning the wheel to far left or right. i know if i am at a traffic light and take my wheel and move it left or right i feel the motor kinda hesitate but picks itself back up. as for the cat . get truck up to operating temp and stick your hand at the tail pipe and see if you feel hot air if not grap the pipe just after the cat and see if it is hot but becarefull. if not it is plugged. all the hot air has nowhere to go but back into the motor. and if the cat goes it wont toss a code.

 

exhaust definately comes out of the tailpipe. it doesn't feel like a lot but i'm not sure what the pressure is suppose to feel like that comes out of it. i guess it could be clogged but not completely. i'll have to bring it to the dealer like you suggested. thanks for the reply. any other suggestions/ideas?

 

hows your gas milage? usually when an O2 sensor goes your gas milage will suck and it wont throw a code either.

as for the cat. if you can get up high into the rpm's then its probly not plugged. what you can to is take a laser heat thermometer and check before and after the cat, it should be hotter after the cat.



you can take out your O2 sensors and clean them and see if that helps and even take your TB off and clean that. it might be a lil gummed up.

 

i haven't been able to get into high RPMs. it shifts by about 3k all the time and never wants to shift down. Gas mileage definately sucks. At 40 MPH stop and go traffic with AC on i go about 10 miles and use a quarter of a tank. Today i went and picked up the $15 socket for the O2 sensors and could only get to one of them. The one on the driver side after the cat. The others i didn't any way to get to them without dropping the whole exhaust, which i didn't want to do today since everything is so rusted and will probably have to be replaced and don't get paid till next friday. The one i got out was gray but didn't look to bad, but like i said that was the only one i could get out, so the others i have no idea about. I was thinking if i'm taking the whole exhaust off to check them why not replace them if i could. I've seen universal O2 sensor online for about 60-65 a piece. Has anyone used them? If so, how well did the work, did they go bad quick? Over $100 a piece for O2 sensors is crazy. Especially when there is 4 of them. Thank you guys and girls (there are few, but they are here) for the help.

 

if you cant get into the higher rpms then that means your cat is clogged. can you rev it in neutral and get above 3k?

also I jut used a wrench for my O2 sensors. I just cut the plug off and then had to double wrench them to get them to break loose.


and I would not put universal ones on. since you have to splice them in and they could get a false reading if not connected 100%

also running rich will plug up your cat. so you've probly ran rich for a while with the crappy O2's and now its plugged up your cat.

 

i can rev it in neutral and get over 3k, just driving with it in gear it won't go above that before it shifts. would that be the only problem with the universal O2s if i got them? Does anyone have a programmer i can borrow so i don't have to have them at all, i'll pay shipping both ways if anyone does. Cats are 250 a piece and O2 sensors are rediculously high as well. I'll just cut them out completely if someone has a programmer i can borrow so that the computer doesn't even notice anything.

 

just replace the cat. if you have no check engine light on then my guess would be that the 02 sensors are fine. did you check with dodge about any recall on them. when i had my 97 fullsize the cat froze up and they replaced free of charge no questions asked

 

i haven't taken it over yet. the dodge dealer around here has messed up hours for service on satursdays. Hopefully i'll have time on monday to take it over after work. I don't understand why would they would do at no charge or they would a recall on them. Wouldn't the cat clogging be normal wear and tear unless the O2 sensors were bad? And then wouldn't the recall be on the sensors and not the cat? I'll bring it down and see what they say monday afternoon.

 

For the down shift, you TV cable might be stretched to the max or in need of a major adjustment. Moving it towards the firewall will give you a stiffer pedal and more cable you can more more kick up and down you get.