Hi everyone,

I have searched through the forums for days now to make sure I covered everything regarding my problem, and honestly there were solutions that helped to one point with my dodge dakota 02.

I have signed up in hopes that with your experience you could help me. I know I am new and usually I don't bother anyone if I can find the solution, but the solutions aren't working, or worked to some extent.

Truck Info:
Dodge Dakota 2002 3.9 V6 Manual Transmission.

Quick Intro:

I am a new dodge driver, and so far kind of starting to regret buying a dodge. I bought a dakota 02 with stalling / Acceleration problems. I have searched through the forum to help me out and here is what I was facing and how I took action.

What you need to know and why I am desperate

I live in a country where Dodge doesn't really have a specialist, yes there is the dodge agency, but they don't support dodge. Plus spare parts are ordered online and if I order through them it costs a fortune. Dakota is not supported by them. So I am faced going to different mechanics and using my own logic and experience from other trucks (GMC and such) my knowledge in cars is fair, but weak with terms and part names to an extent.

Problem:
The Dodge was having acceleration problems right from day one and the RPM was having a horrible response time. Acceleration is horrible beyond horrible.
I realized that some cylinders weren't working. ( I don't know how you number them) but if your facing the car from the front it is the cylinders on your left . All 3 of them seemed like they either were misfiring or not working.

What I did

First I cleaned the injectors took it to a specialist and got them back to brand new. That didn't make a difference. The plugs are new.

I searched through the forum and most what I got was the O2 sensors. So I took it to a mechanic and checked the o2 sensors and one turned out bad so I have changed it.


The results were AMAZING!! Power came back instantly and the v6 was roaring. I drove it for a while a couple hours later I decided to come back since I had the ABS problem and felt there was a slight misfire with vibration.

The mechanic checks the cables and plugs, unplugs some just to check. I start the car again and drive it to test and boom! no power! back to the same problem.

Here is the funny part I check it with a computer and the only codes it gave me were the ABS related. Nothing about engine, sensors or anything.

So I playing around more we cleaned unplugged, plugged back in, checked the sensors. and power came back again.

but after a few rounds to test, went off! and no power again. Was coming and going, and mostly happend when I was slowing down to make a u-turn or taking a turn.

No the car has no power BUT!! the RPM response is great! no delays like before! RPM is working fine so I think electrically everything is fine and the sensors are working fine.


Mechanic #1 Suggestion:

Distributor must be at fault (which I honestly doubt coz it was working fine). So tomorrow he is replacing it. to test if it is the Distributor. ( we tried cleaning it but no difference. So he says it's the distributor cap & MAYBE the cables to.

Mechanic #2 Suggestion:
Clutch Disks are the problem! Which makes kind of no sense since the previous owner said changed the clutch 3 months before! He is saying the clutch is not responding.

To be honest I think the mechanics are playing guess work and now regretting to have bought the truck.

Please someone really help me. I wouldn't have generally bothered anyone since I usually try to explore and learn. But when it comes to dodge its a completely different world. I need to experience the car 100% working to figure out what went wrong in the future.


At this point I am pretty sure its not the o2 sensors since the RPM is back at 100% response, its only the Acceleration now.

Please help, since I am kind of stranded and away from experts and tired of running around for a week playing guessing games.

Thank you all in Advance!

 

Sounds like whatever it is it is ignition related. How many miles are on the truck? Did the previous owner have any other work done besides the clutch and if so did he provide any documentation or receipts for parts and/or labor?

Diagnostic trouble codes will go a long way towards solving the problem. You can get the codes by doing the key dance...turn the ignition key from off to run and back to off. Do that twice and then turn it from off to run one more time and leave the key in the run position. Any diagnostic trouble codes you have will display in the odometer window. If you have multiple codes they will all show in the odometer and it will say "P Done" when the last code is displayed. Post back with your codes if there are any and we will help you.

Whether you have trouble codes or not it may be best to start with the simple things first. Do a good tune-up with new distributor cap, rotor button, plug wires and good quality plugs. If you have no codes present the problem may be simple to fix and a tune-up may be the best first repair attempt.

If you need a good supplier for parts, try www.rockauto.com. They are located here in the USA and I am pretty sure they offer worldwide shipping. A lot of the parts they sell are OEM quality and their prices are very reasonable, even with shipping. You can do a Google search for "Rock Auto Discount Code" and usually find a small discount code online, like 5% or so. 5% is not much but it helps pay for shipping costs if nothing else.

Jimmy

 

thank you for your quick reply

I have done all the necessary tune ups I am sorry I haven't gotten back sooner I was doing what you suggested.

I have done the ignition trick and it gave me one code. p0131. i have checked online and it seems the o2 sensor in bank 1 sensor 1 is at fault. the code says circuit low voltage. I am sort of confused. does that mean i have to change the sensor or is it trying to say something else is wrong in the truck.

Tgere is always the fact that i might have gotten the wrong info about the code would like to hear what you would know.

Your help will be very much appreciated and i am very very thankful for your help though i am just a new user.

honestly am relieved that the problem is not gear or clutch related.
Awaiting your reply. I am sorry for the feedback. i am replying through my phone.

 

P0131 means that the bank 1 sensor 1 Oxygen sensor is shorted to ground. In other words, the O2 sensor is defective or there may be a wire connected to the sensor that has shorted out to ground, but the possibility of a bad wire is pretty small. Most likely the sensor itself is bad. Finding which O2 sensor is bank 1 depends on what emissions system you have. If you have 2 catalytic convertors and 4 O2 sensors, Bank 1 sensor 1 is the O2 sesnsor on the left (driver's) side exhaust pipe, it is the one before the catalytic convertor, between the exhaust manifold and the catalytic convertor on that side. If you only have a total of two O2 sensors, Bank 1 Sensor 1 is the sensor between the exhaust manifold and the main catalytic convertor.

It sounds like you need to replace the bank 1 upstream oxygen sensor. It is called upstream because it is mounted before the catalytic convertor. It is best to use an NGK or NTK Oxygen sensor. Do not use Bosch, they do not work well with Dakota's for some unknown reason. Also it is much easier to get the new sensor with the wire connector already pre-installed so you can just unplug the old sensor and plug in the new one. The one that you have to splice in the connector may be cheaper but it is a big time headache to figure out the wires and how to splice it in to the existing wire harness in the truck. After you replace the sensor you will need to drive the truck a few miles to let the PCM recognize and learn the output signals for the new O2 sensor.

Jimmy

 

was having the same issue changed my rotor cap. map sensor and coil and it helped big time .........learned that no matter what they say has been done its always better to double check

 

From what you are saying it sounds like what happened to me and it turned out to be the PCM or computer.

I was having bad idle then good idle surging then bad acceleration then it would be perfect for a few days then back to the bucking bronco beast from Hell.

It also would sputter and backfire all kinds of strange things going on.

To put it in a nutshell my Dakota ran like a possessed monster.

How you test that I dont know I had a shop figure it out and they were correct ran perfect after the new PCM

 

I'd put more weight on the O2 than the PCM itself.

Unplug the O2 that is suspect and see if things clear up.

 

wait......was it a bosch o2 sensor.......they go out quick there garbage i too would check o2 sensor again

 

I know its been a while since I updated this thread and I am really sorry. This issue frustrated the hell out of me. It had me going around in circles.

However, I solved it and got a few things to share.

Short answer, the problem WAS the O2 sensors for sure and definitely the upstream O2 sensors from both sides.

However, some would think the problem is the PCM like I found in many sites and even here on the forum. IT is not! Not at first, however it could lead to a PCM failure.

Due to the voltage spikes and drops that the O2 sensors cause, after a while of plugging, unplugging and resetting codes it will kill your PCM. SO BEWARE, this I can confirm! Just a tip, do not under no circumstances change any other sensor until you resolve the O2 sensor.

That will really put your PCM in danger of voltage spikes. (newer sensors generally have better current pass). I know I know, not logical or not much sense, but promise, it does effect, specially when its an old car.

Eventually my PCM failed driving down a highway (horrible day!!!) lol I thought my engine ceased! Thankfully it was just the PCM. A new IAC sensor installed 1 day earlier helped rush the fail.

I ordered a new Mopar PCM, that is a newer model and MUCH better. I have also repaired the OLD PCM for backup (you never know when I will do something stupid).

The new PCM gave me a performance boost, not much but noticeable.

Truck runs much much smoother. Backfire also gone. However, now I am facing an ABS flashing issue, which is caused by the change of PCM.

I either have to reset the ABS or the ABS has a problem. (I am guessing it has a problem, since it braked funny since I got it, like one of the wheels suddenly lock)

I have a suspicion that it could be the bigger wheels I have on. However this is a whole different topic.

Also got me a 5.9 engine from a friend for free :P and thinking of shoving it in. XD

I am sorry again for the late reply, wasn't intending to ditch the forum. In my defense, I only recently fixed the issues.

Thank you all.

 

^ that 5.9 is going to need a tranny, your NV3500 manual (that is what your transmission is) doesnt bolt to 5.9 if I remember correctly. Plus the 5.9 makes too much power for the one you have. Especially if you start modifying it. The Dakotas woth 5.9s in them have the 46RE tranny in them. And I would suggest changing from stick to auto.

Sorry for the errors, this is off my phone