Hi all,
I was just wanting some opinions of where we need to start with a issue we have.

The truck is a 1999 Dodge Dakota V8 5.2 318 Sport 4x4, with a 46RE Transmission and I think a 231 (NE?) transfer case (The manual part time one any way).

Over the past 15 years we have had the truck to a few transmission shops, in short, non of them did the job right and it has never acted right since. (Can't remember the issues it was having)
Now we are having a problem when the truck is under a load. During the winter when pulling a small drag to clear our driveway of snow, when it has to pull quite hard to keep it going there will be a harsh, loud squealing/ whining/ rumbling noise? coming from what sounds like the transmission?, this happens in both forward (hard load) and in reverse, 4x4 or not. The truck doesnt stop moving/ hesitate, It only happens during tougher loads, and happens quicker and with less stress needed in reverse. We are wondering what all this could be? Torq converter? Rear end instead? Just a harmless noise that doesnt require the transmission to be dropped?
Thanks
Donny

 

How many miles on the truck??

Has Torque Converter ever been replaced?

 

This was my first thought as well.

 

300,000 KM on the truck, The Torque converter has never been changed.

 

Im going to lean towards the Torque Converter being bad, but for your sake I hope im wrong.

Has it had regular fluid changes? Filter changed?

 

Yes, all fluids have been changed at regular intervals, and I believe the transmission filter was replaced last year or the year before.

Thanks for the input, its nice to atleast have our thoughts confirmed.

Now another side issue......

we took the truck on a 2 hour drive, all of a sudden on the dirt road we had just turned onto a few minutes before , the trucks engine quieted down and all that could be heard was ever so slight hard to hear dieseling till it rolled to a stop with no check engine light and no code. After it would crank over great, no problem, it has fuel to the schrader valve on the fuel rail (pressed it and fuel shot out). Got towed to a local farmers yard, checked for spark. Coil wire sparks going to distributor, pulled number 1 and 3 plug wires, and there is spark at each, a bit hard to see however (did this at noon, so could be the sunlight making it seem hard to see, or else it is not that good of spark.) changed the Throttle position sensor, pulled the distributor and rotor, cleaned them up as there was some carbon built up on them. put it back on, no changed, turns over great, and at that time occasional light dieseling at the end of the attempted starts. pulled the Cam position sensor and looked at it, no noticeable build up etc. pulled #1 plug, no build up on it and seemed in good shape. Swapped around some relays for the fuel pump etc. and checked all fuses that have to do with the starting system and fuel system, nothing found, nothing changed. Got it brought home, changed the Cam position sensor, and the crank position sensor(for old but still good working parts), does the same thing, cranks great but wont fire. Changed the dist cap and rotor (old but working good ones), Same thing. The fuel pump can be heard every time the key is turned a notch so it is working fine and pressure seems to be good, although it hasnt been tested. The inline fuel filter has been changed last year. Any sensors we are missing that we should try and changed? Or maybe the PCM, although no "NO BUS" message is present? Timing chain slipped a tooth maybe? (it has never been changed).

Previous to this we have had the odd occasion where it would take a few extra cranks for it to start, and after those few extra cranks it would kind of go through a spit and sputter session (only about 4 seconds) as it slowly got up to idling RPM then it would be fine. Other than that it had a couple misfire codes while pulling up a steep hill, this we blamed on the exhaust leak from where the manifold exhaust hooks onto the tailpipe (after the "Y" but before the actual manifold portion of exhaust) which we have since fixed.

We will be changing the coil with an old but still working one.
then trying the fuel rail on a running parts dakota we have (same year etc.) But any input or ideas would be greately appreciated, please let me know if I missed anything?
Donny

 

I'm going to say PCM craped out on you sounds exactly like so many others that had a no start condition. Has it ever been replaced if not it was due as every Dakota will need a new PCM at some time. Some just die some will linger for a long time and run like crap before you decide to get it looked at. My Dakota ran like it was possessed ran good then bad then good then bad so on so on till you decide something is very wrong.

 

swapped the PCM for a known good one, didnt fix it, changed the coil, fired right up. Thanks for the help!