My Dakota (1999, 4 cylinder, manual transmission) stalled out recently. Prior to this, I noticed that when I would accelerate, the RPM gauge would read as high at 4500 until I actually shifted. It's as if something robbed the engine of power. When it died, I noticed what smelled like burning rubber, and steam coming off the engine. I let it cool down, tried to start it, and It turned over. I got about 2 miles down the road when the same thing happened again. I had it towed to my local Dodge dealership.

They diagnosed the problem as a bad crank shaft sensor, and that my power steering pump was leaking fluid onto my wiring harness. $700 to repair both. I accepted. They did the work, and I picked up my truck. I got about ten miles from the dealership, when the exact same thing happened again. They did mention that my clutch was starting to wear out, but I don't see how that could account for these symptoms.

Since the dealership seems to be grossly incompetent, or just are trying to milk as much cash from me as they can, I thought I would post on here and see if anyone knew what this issue might be. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

 

Just one addition, my check engine light has NEVER come on during this whole process.

 

I will move this to the 2nd Generation Dakota sub-forum.

 

Does your check engine light come on when you turn the key to the on position. The bult could be burnt out. It happens all the time and you could have a code and not know it

 

Yes, the check engine light comes on when I turn the key.