Every forum I see is filled with instances of Dodge trucks running rough, skipping, backfiring, etc. Is this a Dodge truck trait? I have replaced so many components on my 3.9L V6 that I have begun to lose track. I gave up and carried it to the shop twice, the last time to a Chrysler Dealership. They charged me $270 to replace one fuel injector and the problem never improved. If the pros don't know whats wrong how in the world are we supposed to know? At one time you could enjoy the satifaction of changing out a obviously defective part and seeing a gratifying improvement in the way yourtruck ran. Now, after replacing the spark plugs and wires, distributor, rotor, oil pump shaft and bushing, timing chain and sprockets, throttle position sensor, temperature sensor, catalytic converter, O2 sensor, muffler and tailpipe and one fuel injector I can still get in my truck and feel it miss andbuck and hear it backfire underload as if I have done nothing. There is no satisfaction in that. I have owned a number of Dodge caravans(current one has 193,000 miles on it and is running great)but I will think twice before buying another Dodge truck.

 

The "pros" don't always know or don't care. FWIW, my truck runs as smooth as silk.

 

The guy above me is right. My truck is running great. It kinda pisses me off when people jump on here and ask stupid questions like "what bulb does my dome light take..." but I guess not all people have a little bit of truck knowledge.

 

And why should I care?

 

This is just a wild guess but aren't most forums used for troubleshooting?

My truck is fine.... only enginerelated "repairs" I have made are...

Plenum Gasket
2 Water Pump's (one failed other was making noise)
2 Fuel Pump's (one failed other was making noise)
Fouled a plug once....

All other work has been my choice.

 

I agree with everyone above me. Generally people come on here to learn, exchange ideas, and help the guy who is learning the art of fixing his dodge. Granted people repeat a lot of the same problems but the people who help have diferent ways of grasping knowledge and may need it explained a couple of times. Everyone has the right to *rant* we have all done it, most times we rant about our own peices of equipment. A generalization like yours tends to **** people off because like me I spend time taking care of my dodge and so far has never left me hangin.

 

Might be dumb question.. if the truck is running like that.. shouldnt it havethrown a code into the computer??.. still could be burnt valve, ..bad pcm...bent valve/sticking.. cracked head..
I would start with running a compression test.. if the cylinders are off more then 12/15 % of each other ..I would be pulling the head/s and checking the valves.. does it have a lot of blow by ? crank senser? if it is running like that it should throw a code.. or aleast show up on a scanner..as misfire or something..

 

Sometimes it's better to properly diagnose the problem, and fix it rather than just throwing parts at it. Are you a democrat or something? jk

1) Never take your truck to the dealership. No offense to those members who are good and qualified Chrysler mechanics, but most of those guys don't know squat unless it's in a manual or tsb, and the whole operation from top to bottom is set up to take your money. If you don't feel comfortable doing something, find a honest qualified mechanic at an independent shop.

2) Check your plenum gasket, and if it is bad replace it. If in fact that is your problem, replacing the gasket may not completely solve it. It may be necessary torun combustion chamber cleaner through the intake several times.

3) Do a leak down test on the cylinders. The stock heads are prone to cracking between the exhaust seats, and, if cracked, will cause the symptoms that you desribed. If the problem is bad enough, it will show up on a vacuum gauge.

4) Invest in a cheap obd2 compliant scanner. Most will work on any newer vehicle that you might have in your driveway, and will give you a lot of info about which parts you should be replacing, and which ones are working fine.

Good luck.

 

^ +1 on what Baddnet says.
Another possibility fora misfire is the electrical clips on the injectors themselves.
Few years back I hadto replacemy injector clips. 2 of the clips didnt stay positively connected to the injectors. Wiggling them at idle could cause a misfire. One of them (#5) may have had a broken wire going into the clip and it was misfiring the most.I replaced them with MSD clips (1/3 the price of oem replacements)that have a wire latch to keep them always connected firmly.

 

got a part number?