Hey all! I replaced the tired engine in my 97 Dakota with one I bought from a salvage yard... they said they don't know the mileage of the vehicle it was from, but they claim to have done a compression test and oil pressure test, they claimed 135-145 compression in all 8 and 40-50lbs oil pressure..

Here's what I've got, this thing is gutless, will barely pull 45 mph up a hill, empty pickup... I've had other dakotas before, and they are anything but gutless... this thing runs bad, has a sporadic idle... misses a little (I already tuned it up, new plugs, etc.) - it has a cold air intake and a gutted cat with a 2-chamber flowmaster... if anything I would assume it to have a lot of power...

also, I checked the oil pressure with a mechanical ga. and it runs 14psi warm idle... (to me, that says junk engine, that doesnt seem like enough) - at the end of the day... I am just trying to figure out what the deal is here.. this thing has very low oil pressure, no power.... getting dusted going up hills by v6 toyotas and crap... embarrassing...

also, the heater doesn't work.... engine only runs about 130 degrees. ever... I am wondering what might be killing the power, maybe the gutted cat is confusing the computer because of the sensor behind it??? or maybe the temp is causing the computer to poorly adjust the fuel???

any help would be greatly appreciated!
thanks!!

 

way too little oil pressure and way too cold coolant temp.

I would have had them do a compression/oil check in front of you...bring your own electric drill/primer/gauge with you as necessary.

is thermostat stuck open maybe?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwaEP-7sT8c

 

Yeah it would have been better to try and make them prove it... however I have it in there now, stuck with it... just trying to figure out why it runs bad...

I am wondering.... will having the cat gutted cause the computer to do something wrong with the fuel/timing, etc??

and/or, will it running too cold do the same thing, cause the computer to retard the timing or something?

thanks!!!

 

The temp being 130 is way way too low.. I would check if there is even a thermostat and to answer your question yes; even a 180 T-Stat will hurt your fuel mixture.. the ECM is looking for around 192-195; the 97 came (At least mine) from factory with a 192 stat.. the ECM will try and adjust the Fuel/Air trims and most likely try and dump extra fuel.

The bad thing about dodge is most of their engines runs too rich anyways.. even all stock.. so it would just be throwing into the mix.

Heater core is probably clogged. I would do a complete system flush on it and then do a back flush on the core it self; i did it and it solved my problem.

Also these trucks have **** poorly designed water pumps; that cause other additional problems.. he even showed him the difference from a good design and a bad design. The good one had one less fin than the other.. you would think the extra fin would have more flow; but it does; it just causes more turbulence.. His words.

 

Hi, i have a 1997 Dodge Dakota V8 318 with a gutted cat and haven't had a problem with it, i would need more info or maybe a video of it running? i also have a bad O2 sensor too and don't have a problem with it running and or driving, just loud with no muffler of any kind , factory pipe with cat gutted no muffler dumps under the bed just behind the cab =D give me more info and ill do my best to help!

 

Don't they have a 30 day warranty on those engines?? Or did you buy "As is"???

Take it back if you can. You spent good money. Time to get your monies worth.

Just my two cents.

 

ok! I appreciate the help! here's a vid I did, naturally it's not at it's worst in the video, sometimes, (a lot) it will sit there running like you see here, then bog down by like 300 rpm, to like 200rpm, and act like it's gonna quit, then pick back up again... and the idling, id just doesnt "sound right" to me... I feel like it should be smoother and "fuller" sounding... but here's a vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTzcGjuJxRg

 

you are right it did come with a 30 day warranty, but it took longer than that to get it put in, one problem after another, because I work a lot of hours... then every little thing that could go wrong, did , of course! and they won't do anything for me...

 

That sounds off to me very quiet is the muffler maybe plugged up some?

Try running it without any cat and muff and see what happens or just no muff no cat may mix up the computer.

Just something to think about.

 

yea I definitely agree, it should be loud considering...
The cat is gutted...and it has one of those imitation flowmasters... that has less than 1000 miles on it... - Lesson learned there... only get REAL flowmaster, the knockoffs are NOT the same!!!

but I still think something's wrong with the engine...cause with no cat and 2 chamber muffler, it should be throaty and loud (that was the goal) but it isn't...