Hello All,

I have a 97 Dakota 4X4 3.9 V6. Recently it became difficult to start, cranking and cranking. Sometimes it starts after sitting awhile. Did a tune up, changed the plugs etc... Started great. 2 days after, it stopped starting. I can smell fuel in the engine compartment but no fireing of the engine (it does crank). Once it fires, it runs great. I am in the US Army and stationed in Mongolia, so diagnostic equipment is not available, gotta do it the old fashioned way, so the simplest solutions are appriciated, thanks.

DJ

 

welcome to df... Thanks for serving our country!!!

as far as the motor goes, yank a plug and see if it's gas fouled. if it is, then get ready to do a complete tuneup on it if it hasnt had one in a while. the next think i'd do is check for spark, if there is spark, check the air filter to make sure it's not plugged, pop the air hat off the throttle body and have someone crank the motor while you have your hand over the TB opening... there should be a good pull of vacuum while they are cranking. if there isnt, then there are a couple of possibilities... plugged cat, or no compression in the motor. if all that is good, then look at the coil, cam position sensor (in the distributor) and the crank position sensor (back of the block on the passenger side).

this should get you going...
how many miles on it?
when was it's last tuneup?

 

Plugs were changed three days ago, air filter was in good shape and blown out. 104,000 miles, a very short commute to work. When it starts, it run like a champ, good power and excelleration. Now it just will not start. I smell fuel in the engine compartment after cranking it a few times, could there be some blockage that is cause a leak somewhere? I see no fluid on the ground anywhere. Your thoughts?

DJ

 

I checked all the items you listed and discovered no air being pulled in the TB. I must note, due to the fuel availability here, the cat was removed on the assumtion only regular fuel was available, but unleaded is what I have been running with no problem. Pulled the plugs, they were wet but not dirty, does not even look like they have fired, but I know they have.

 

cap & rotor changed also? I would lean more towards the coil... your problem is engine wide, not cylinder related... if it was a cylinder issue it would be a miss... you can try this... hold the throttle wide open and see if it starts I dont think it'll tell you much other than the cylinders are still holding compression...

if no spark, then coil, crank sensor or cam sensor....

 

No cap and rotor, best I can do is pull it and clean it. I have a set on the way, parts are really limited here. Will pull that soon and check.. Can I check the coil with a volt meter? If so, what should it read?

 

Rotor cap and rotar look good, very little wear. There appears to be no spark, thats if I am doing the test right.