I have a 1995 dodge 1500 4x4, me and some buddies where on our way to go mountain bike riding, we got about 15-20 miles out of town, and all of a sudden the truck acted as if the fuel pump just quit.

In Depth: Once it starts.. If i put put it in the clutch, it idles rough, but not enough to die.. I pull over to the side, and it will idle as low rpm as possible without the truck dying. Sitting idle it dumps in air. I will sit for about 30 minutes and start the truck up and it will start fine, about 10 miles more down the road same thing will happen. If I give it any gas while i'm driving it acts / sounds like it has a Jake brake. ( complete loss of power, with a rough idle as i glid to a stop with the clutch in.

I am completely dumbfounded . keep in mind if i pull over and let the truck sit for about 30 minutes, it will idle/drive just fine for the next, ~10 or so miles.

Smokes like crazy when it does it also. I had came to the conclustion it was fuel pump or throttle position sensor. But I want to find out what it was before I go throwing money out the window.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

What does your oil pressure/ temp gauges say when this happens?

 

What color smoke?

 

Could be a lot of things, I'd start by removing the throttle body and clean it and the IAC on back of it. While the TB is off, look inside intake with a light and mirror, to see if there is any oil pooling. If there is, the o2 sensor and the cat are most likely no good. You can also test most if not all the sensors with a multimeter and a Haynes manual. Other than that, a failing crank sensor can also show the same symptoms you are having. And when was the last tune up?

 

Thanks so much for the reply's! I will answers these in order..

Chad: I am not 100% positive, but i could have sworn everything on the dash was perfectly normal, because as soon as it first did it the first thing i looked at was temps/oil. As it has been a week or so, i am almost certain the oil pressure was good.

HeyYou: It smoked white, almost as if it were winter time, same amount / color.

Zman: I will check those out this evening, i dont have a test meter handy but I will check everything else. As for the tuneup, a complete tuneup was done roughly 2 months ago, new plugs, wires, distro&cap, maf, timing chain. did all of that when my water pump started leaking.

Like I said it runs like a champ, except for when it started doing this. And i have to drive it on the highway for 5-10 miles before it will do it. I dont know about in town cause i live a mile from the interstate.

 

Well, I'm going to say crank sensor at the risk of spending your money.

 

Ruh Roh.... white smoke is coolant....... if it ain't cold enough for the water to re-condense out of the exhaust under normal circumstances...... and it starts blowin' the white stuff, I suspect you have a cracked head, or blown head gasket, that isn't real bad yet, but, as the engine warms up, it opens up enough to start dumping coolant into one or more cylinders......

Check and see what your oil looks like, also, check your coolant level, (but, wait until it cools....)

If you get the opportunity, make it do it again, and WHILE it is blowing the white smoke, have a sniff. (do NOT stick your head into the cloud, and inhale.... very bad plan, wave some at ya, and sniff. (yeah, don't ask....)) If it burns the eyes/sinuses pretty bad, you gotta big problem.

 

Alright, i will find some time tomorrow and ill take her for a spin. This time i will record my findings and will post it. Saying / seeing what my truck is doing can be two different things. I will post my findings/vid tomorrow or tonight.

Again, you guys have no idea how much help this is! Thank you so much.

 

Hey guys, sorry it has been a crazy week. I just got a new job later that night and had to be at work the very next morning. I am going to drive my truck back to Cookeville Saturday morning.

Also, heyyou. It doesnt smoke when it idles, so there is no way for me to sniff the white smoke. It only smokes white when it is doing its thing and i am giving it gas causing it to bog down.

What would be the next best way to check for the cracked head? Would a radiator pressure test show anything, even if it is not acting up when i test it? ( Cause keep in mind it runs fine, except for when it has its ****fit and desides to just running. randomly) Should i go ahead and rule out a fuel pump or fuel pump relay? Only thing that doesnt ad up to a fuel pump problem is the white smoke. And the only one who said it is smoking is my fiance. She can exaggerate sometimes ^^

Also, if it is a cracked head, is there a way to fix it without just having to get a new motor? Cause that wouldn't be worth fixing for me atleast. I'd just get that new cummins i've been wanting for awhile.

fyi, truck has 180,000 Miles (Guesstimated)

 

Are you losing any coolant? You could try a pressure test on the cooling system, sure wouldn't hurt...... also, when the engine is cold, the hoses should be relatively soft, if you start the engine, and they IMMEDIATELY become hard..... there's a problem.

If you do indeed have a cracked head, you can just replace the head(s). There are a couple companies that sell some good replacements for under 300 bucks a whack. (clearwater, or Odessa cylinder head, two different names, but, the same company....)