i have a 1998 dodge ram 5.2 and when i first start is it spits and spudders but doesnt stall out. it also shoots water out the exhaust. also the exhaust is really strong smelling and doesnt smell normal. then after about 3 minutes of spitting and spuddering the engine will just rev up and fix itself. any of you know what the problem is and how i can fix it.

 

BTT

 

well, a small amount of water dripping/blowing out the exhaust is normal condensation. it does this until the the pipe get hot all the way back. how much water are we talking about ? and does it smoke ? what color ?

what kind of smell ? rich like gas ? or sweet like antifreeze ?

have you got a check engine light ? if so, you'll need to pull the code(s). if you have the digital odometer, you can do the on - off - on - off -on with the key and read the codes in the odometer display.

if you don't have any codes, you might want to do a compression test or leak down test to see if you've got a major malfunction like a cracked head or blown head gasket.

you can plug off all the vacuum ports at the manifold to see if its a vacuum leak.

 

no it is just normal water i realize now. and the exhaust is kinda sweet like antifreeze, somebody told me that it could be the choke because it fixes itself after about minutes every time.

 

pre-cat o2 sensor.