I have a 1997 dodge dakota club cab automatic with v6 engine.

It doesn't do it every time, but often enough to be scary it will stall out when shifting gears.

The other day it did it and i got stuck in the road and the truck wouldn't start long for 10 mins or so.

"Usually" its happened when i'm going from reverse to drive. Yesterday i thought that i could just put it down in neutral for a second first then go in drive after reverse and it happened doing it this way too.

I have never had it happen when going from park to drive or from park to reverse.

I let the truck warm up for 10 mins and it will still happen.

Any ideas?

Mine does the same thing but never stalls, RPMS will drop and the engine will stutter but thats it. Did this with the original engine and still does it with a used one.

I've read that it has something to do with your transmission line pressure, especially if your wheels are cranked hard one way. Can't remember the mechanics behind it but I know there are a few threads on these forums which mention it.

thats interesting. In every circumstance when it would stall i likely did have the wheel turned one way.

I will try to see if i can get it to do it if i straighten the wheel out before going back into drive.

Even if it stalls it should start right back up. To have it not start for almost 10 minutes indicates something more may be at play.

Does it just die? How does it stall? Does it misfire?

If it does this again and won't restart, check for spark. Pull a wire and crank the engine. You should have a nice bright blue spark.

Possibly there is some relationship between the wiring in the column and the shift mechanism or the ignition switch itself. Wires can break or wear. Switches can also become intermittent.

I've only had it not restart immediately one time.

that time i didnt warm it up first and i think it might have flooded after the stall. Once it sat for a few mins it started right back up.

alright so you guys have really given me something to look at.

Searching the forums based on the information you gave me i found that the crank shaft sensor can get pinched and cause a stalling.

I think its basically this cable
that made me realize that every time its stalled on me i have been backing up to pull out of a driveway or something which would have the wheel turned all/most the way.

I have tried shifting from reverse / drive and never get a stall.

I think this might be the issue?

I was thinking of trying to duplicate the stall with the wheel turned all the way this evening and if that does it take the wheel off and duct tape that sucker out of the way.

yes the crank sensor will throw the timing off somehow, someway that I cannot explain, such that the load the reverse puts on the motor will stall it.

When I whacked my CPS when i put the high stall convertor in, I couldn't even use reverse, it would instantly die. It's very line pressure related.

Well more information.

Yesterday evening after i went home from work i went out to the truck and I found out that it is definitely related to turning the wheel.

If i turn the wheel near all the way you can actually see the rpms flutter, "sometimes"

So i think we are on the right track.

However I looked up under the passenger side front wheel where this cable is supposed to be thats getting pinched and i didnt see anything thats getting remotely close to the tire.

Maybe its getting pinched by something else, or maybe there is another issue. I am no 100% sure. I "think" i might be able to just give it a little gas when the wheel is turned near max and keep the RPMs up, but I would rather find an actual solution to the problem.

so apparently the IAC valve can also be a cause of this.

Before you replace the IAC valve, take the throttle body off and clean it out. The IAC passages OFTEN get clogged with carbon.

It's not that hard to do, just take your time.