Hi, I have not been on in a long time because the truck has ran like a champ. However when the cold hits, the stalls start.


About the same time last year i was having a issue with the truck stalling just after start. i remember the fix i had for it then, i pulled the negative power cable on the battery. Well this year that fix seems to only get me about 1 gas tank(about 300 miles). So to be honest i want to FIX it this time not just jury rig it.

here's what happens.
When i start the truck after a long cold stop it starts right up, then after i turn it off and try and start it again it starts but only stays on for 2 seconds, it seems to hang at about 500RPM's then drops the rest of the way to finally stall. Here's the truck info for ya.

1997 dodge dakota 3.9L 197.000 miles. I do maintenance very often and have done all the basics in the past year. (tires, plugs, few oil changes, radiator fluid. i did more just can't remember.)

Well thanks for anyone who has anything good to say!


Btw i have no idea what to look for when i search, seems like a problem that could be a few things.

 

clean your idle air control valve. good starting point

 

Not to sound like a clown, but i've yet to hear of anything like that... is there a DIY or something i can look at?

 

the IAC is like your automatic choke doe a throttle body/fuel injected gasoline engine.

http://www.v8performance.com/tipsandtricks.htm#CleanIAC

 

It's on the back side of the throttle body facing the firewall. You can remove it by taking out the 2 T20 Torx head screws that hold it on the TB. It looks like a little plunger mechanism and gets gunked up. Clean the end of it VERY GENTLY with a shop rag soaked in carb/TB cleaner. You just want to get the black junk off the pintle end and the shaft of the sensor. Do not drop or handle the sensor roughly or you will need a new one. Clean the orifice it mounts into on the TB and check to see its O-ring isn't damaged.

When doing this job it's not a bad idea to go ahead and remove the entire TB and the other sensors attached to it and clean the TB, lubricate the pivot points on the butterfly linkage and throttle linkage and reinstall it with a new gasket. Gasket is about $1.50 at Napa.

This is also a really good time to take a look down into the manifold with a flashlight and mirror to check for belly pan gasket leaks. Personally, I make this job a part of my truck's yearly 20,000 mile tune-up.

A bad or dirty IAC will cause a bad idle and cause the engine to stall. At 197K it is a good idea to replace the upstream O2 sensors. A weak or incorrect signal from the O2 will also cause the IAC to not work right, which will in turn cause the truck to idle bad and stall out, especially on a warm engine.

Jimmy

 

You guys are kings! thank you very much that was just what i needed! I'll check those things tomorrow. again thank you very much for your help.

 

So i cleaned it and was very easy. however... it was caked like completely covered.

Here's what happened when i started it. started up ok, it was rough at first (should be though no? i mean i cleaned all around where the MAF sensor was, with a carb cleaner.) but after a few minutes it steadied and sounded normal. turned it off and waited a few mins to go to walmart (about 5-8 miles away), while driving i noticed allot smoother idol and coasting, performance gains were way better acceleration in 50-70 range (Took me forever before), however it still stalled after turning it off and restarting it right away. i haven't checked the upstream O2 sensor yet. (earlier this year i tried to replace the O2 sensor's my self to no avail). think i should pull the negative battery cable to reset the computer?

also i have a couple of other things i'm not sure of.

1. i have green fluid coming out of the A/C port on the passenger side floor, i think it's the window washer fluid because my light for it just started coming on when it started leaking. also my washer fluid is green and so is my Rad fluid. i'm hoping it's not the latter, but you tell me. i'll post some pictures tomorrow with where and what the fluid looks like.

and lastly i have a really annoying sound coming from the front end that sounds like a ticking, i think it's the belt pulley, but again I'm not sure. it only happens in the mornings when it's cold. i'm gonna try and record the clip somehow and show you.

well thanks again guys sorry to bug with such n00bish questions.

 

hate to tell it to ya dude but my money is on you're heater core took a turn for the worse, smell the fluid. that will give you a definite answer... by the way coolant smells sweet.

 

lol yeah that's it.... oh well been on the fritz anyway.

 

You should not need to reset the PCM after cleaningthe IAC. You have other issues causing the poor performance and stalling out. You could start by checking the fuel injectors either with a noid light or the old-school way of putting the end of a long screwdriver on the injector and put your ear to the other end of it. You should hear a fast ticking noise when the injector is working properly. Any injector that sounds different should be replaced. If the truck had sat for a long time an injector could be clogged up.

It could also be the fuel pressure, which could be related to a weak fuel pump. There is a fuel pressure tester available, I think you could get a cheap one at Harbor Freight Tools or maybe Sears or the auto parts store. Acceptable pressure is supposed to be between 42 and 49 psi or however they measure it I think. This is just a guess. I am probably wrong on that one. I would definitely check the fuel delivery on the truck though. I think your model might have a Schrader valve on the fuel line under the hood to test fuel pressure. I might be wrong on that too. Check it and see.

The green fluid under the dash is from a leaking heater core like Fox said. Not exactly the easiest thing to replace. You might do better taking the truck to the Dodge dealer for that one.

Jimmy