Hey guy's, I'm new to the forum and 2nd gen Dodge trucks as well. I have a 95 shortbox 4x4 with a 318 that misses on #7. It just started last night. I have fuel, spark and 105psi compression. I can't figure it out. Spark+fuel+compression = go but it's not working out. No ticks, knocks or any other nasty noises. New plugs/wires done today. The plug is wet when I pull it so there's fuel. The same plug also fires on the same wire out of the hole.

Any ideas? The spark is an orange color...bad coil maybe? If so why only #7? It's a steady miss all thru the driving range. And gutless bad(it's never been great).

I thought I'd post the prob in hopes it's a known problem with these trucks and maybe someone can help.

Thanks.

 

You need to browse thru the Plenum thread stickied at the top of this forum.

With everything being new, and only having the symptom on one cylinder..... I would suspect you either have a vacuum leak, (blown plenum...) or, the crank sensor is on it's way out.

Welcome to DF!

 

How does the spark compare to the others? Maybe a worn dis. cap and rotor? Were those replaced?

 

The were all about the same. The coil resistance primary is 4.1 ohm(out of range) and 13332 from the ground pin to the coil wire terminal. Dodge say's the primary coil should be 0.4 - 0.6 ohm. So I know it's bad. But I need to know if it's the sole cause of the miss as I need the truck running on the cheap(low hours at work).

I'll check that thread also. How do I test the crank sensor? And how would it cause a miss?

 

Well good thing you got all those other vehicles in your vehicle description to drive in the mean time Right

 

No real way to test the crank sensor.... unfortunately. If the weak spark is consistent across all cylinders, problem is likely the coil. If it is only a few cylinders, probably crank sensor.

 

Yea it is good to have all the cars. The van has a mystery vac leak I can't find(in the heater control I think). So it switches to defrost by itself and gets 5.9mpg. But the truck is best for a Canadian winter for sure. 4 wheel drive is a must with my job. Can't fix the truck=can't get money to fix the truck..sucks.

 

I checked the plenum thread and some symptoms are the same. It uses MAJOR oil. Anything lighter than 15-40 will burn a quart a day easy. I thought rings but maybe not. It's also anemic. No ping under load or any mechanical symptoms at all. No cat so that's not it. No relevant codes(12-55).

I should ad I was driving it when the problem started.I was driving around 65mph with the cruise on and it just felt like I lost a wheel weight. I thought it was a vibration so I tried to speed up but when I put my foot on the pedal it was already matted. It just got slower on the way home to the point that it's just embarrassing to drive. It's got a crappy glass-pack muffler so driving with a miss is a terrible sound.

 

May wanna run a compression check on the engine.... see if it's even worth saving.

 

The compression is ok. They're all within 15lbs of each other and averaging 110. So it's low but even. How much oil use would that plenum gasket cause?