Im broke and need to get this problem fixed right the first time.

I have a 96 Dodge 1500 4x2 and I have been having some problems lately.

First off every once in a while I hit the gas and the car simply wont go but then if I floor it, it will finally accelerate no problem.

I can turn the truck off for a little while and the problem stops and it runs fine.

Second and it just started today is that when I stop the car will start rumbling and shaking and then it turned off. The oil pressure goes real low and when I rev the engine the Oil meter will go up and down as it REVs up and down.

If I put it in park it revs up as if I was still holding down the gas a little bit.

I have no clue what it could be. If you have any ideas please let me know Greatly appreciated!!!

 

Welcome to DF.

First, before anything else, please read this:
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-ra...s-section.html

I will move this to the 2nd gen section for ya.

 

Since your broke, I don't want to spend your money. But, I'd say crank sensor and or your plenum is blown and the cat is getting or is clogged. Check out the plenum sticky on top of the forum.

 

-As zman suggested; could be the crank sensor, blown plenum/bad cat...
Blown plenum can contribute to a power loss, vacuum leak (rough idle), spark knock, oil consumption (unrelated to oil pressure).
-Check your throttle body (the butterfly valves), if it's dirty clean it. Also clean the Idle Air Control Valve. -- That's what fixed the majority of my random revving problem.
-Throttle position sensor malfunctions may as well be a problem, test it and/or replace it.

Don't quote me on this but from what I understand... Oil pressure is supposed to rise with rising RPMs. Although the Oil Pressure gauge isn't all that accurate, it should read between 35psi-70psi.

 

One more "no cost" suggestion in addition to what has been mentioned - Go to the FAQ/DIY section and download service manual. It will show you haow to test TPS among other things.

 

Here are some things you can do that won't cost a penny:

Test the crankshaft position sensor (CKPS) as discussed in the thread "Interesting spark problem". This is a vital component that often goes bad, and not necessarily all at once.

Inspect and clean the idle air control valve/motor. When it gets clogged your idle can go to crap.

Do a compression test with a reliable gauge. The engine should be warm, the throttle plate should be open when cranking, and you should unplug the coil first.

Test the resistance of your spark plug wires. Wires are often neglected, but they're obviously vital.

While you're spelunking for your CKPS (it's way in the back of the engine, slightly to the passenger side), take off your dist. cap and clean up the contacts with a wire wheel on a dremel. Rinse it out with brake cleaner to get rid of any dusty crap inside it that might be causing spark tracking.

Take out some plugs and see how they look. Their condition and appearance can tell a lot about how your engine is running. Clean them up if necessary, sand the electrodes and posts with very fine sandpaper, and re-gap them if necessary.

Test your throttle position sensor with a multimeter. The readings should change smoothly and steadily.

Test the fuel pressure at the fuel rail. 49 psi is ideal, low 40's is OK.

Examine your temperature sensor (the one for the computer). They can get very crumbly (is that a word?); see if it looks intact.

Take out the pre-cat O2 sensor and see if the truck runs any better; this helps rule out a plugged cat.

And as others have said, read all about the plenum problem. The most common diagnostic method is to take off the air cleaner (and ideally the throttle body as well) and have a look inside the intake manifold/plenum. If there's engine oil pooled inside it, that's a strong sign that the plenum gasket (on the bottom) is leaking. My 318 has 160K and mine seems to be OK, but they go bad very often. Very common problem.

***

The fluctuating oil pressure reading might just be perfectly normal; it increases with engine speed, and the stock gauges aren't known for their precision.

The idle speed increasing when you shift into park also might be perfectly normal; you've taken some load off of the engine.

"First off every once in a while I hit the gas and the car simply wont go but then if I floor it, it will finally accelerate no problem". On the face of it, this might seem to be the TPS, but a bad crank sensor might actually fit this symptom. When mine went bad, it did better at higher rpm's, but the truck would barely idle. When I wound it up to four grand, it sounded like an Indy car.


Good luck.

 

Welcome. The best advice I can add is listen to these guys, they usually know what theyre talking about and have helped me out and saved me money. If you can check everything suggested already before taking it in, it may be the difference between a $40 part and an afternoon figuring out how to do it yourself and a $600+ mechanics bill.

 

Thank you ALLLL!!!!

 

Stefan, Go to your user CP and add all the info about your truck to your sig. This will help you and us a lot(you won't have to type the info every time). And if you post from a cell phone a lot, add the info to your profile also.; Anyway, I hope you get your problem fixed and welcome to DF.

Check out this thread Stefan when you have a minute. https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...e-tragedy.html