Howdy.
New User here who got herself a nice 1995 Dodge Ram extended cab 1500 5.2 V-8. Sweet ride. Now the bad news. The guy I bought it from did CRAP for maintenance. BLACK BLACK OIL, BURNED PLUGS. Changed air filter, differential fluid, oil. FIRST ISSUE: On acceleration, (ie highway, stoplight) I get some occasion popping and sputtering. It will not really GOGOGO until I'm around 50 MPH, and then it opens right up. Checked the plugs and wires, replaced 'em all. Didn't help. Tried to replace the cap and rotor, but it's WAY back there, hard to get to. Dealership did scan, says everything checks out electrically, except maybe the tranny temp sensor. (So I guess that rules out PCV and O2 sensor.) Shot some carb and choke cleaner in there, seems to help a little, what to do next? (I've been using regular unleaded--haven't tried higher-octane, should I?) Guy I bought it from says he just had it through emissions, but I DO NOT trust him. If I drop the exhaust system from the cat back, will it tell me anything? SECOND ISSUE: I get some slippage between 2-3 gears, figure its maybe a clutch pack seal, but too scared to find out. ($$$) Should I check anything else first? THIRD ISSUE: The radio is not properly installed. AM/FM/CD. It has a removable faceplate. When the truck is shut off, all memory is erased. Time, stations, etc, GONE. Interesting: ONE station stays on there. I figure I'm missing a ground wire somewhere, but not sure. Had to take the whole truck to the dealer to have the dash re-wired after the alarm the loser installed (and didn't give me the remote for) armed itself one day, and cut off the starter. Had to jump the starter relays to get home, and then have the whole alarm system taken out. (Turned out it was installed wrong too - big surprise there) Any suggestions?

Who wants to take a shot at my misery? LOL

 

for the missing and popping issue id look at the fuel injector system
ive had issues with that and
that was the problem
izzinya [sm=smiley15.gif]

 

The radio issue sounds like the guy rewired the radio using the wire that only has power when the key is turned on. Your radio has a wire that has to have power running to it all the time to keep the memory. If this is the case your clock won't hold the correct time either. Some do-it-yourselfers do more damage than good. That's what the guy seems like to me. Good luck w/the other problems though. By the way, welcome to the board!

 

bout the radio, mississippi is right. it is or was the orange wire. havent installed a stereo since 95 or so, things change but try to energize the orange. good luck

 

On your acceleration problems, do ALL the basics 1st, cap rotor plugs (autolite 3923's non-platnum) and I'd also add
wires (I use MSD's 8.5 supercondutor, about $65 shipped @ summit racing), then I'd check the fuel injectors for proper
operation, you can go get one of those auto stethescopes from the auto parts store for less than $10. Use this to listen
to each injector to make sure they are at least opening & closing (should hear clicking when placed on the injector).

If problem persists, then I'd take it to a shop that has a temperature measuring gun and measure the temp on each
exhaust port when you rev the motor to about 1800 to 2000 rpm, a cold cylinder will indicate it is not functioning properly
and you can go from there. If all are good (roughly the same temp), and all the injectors and igntion are working o.k. then I'd
look at an input sensor having a problem.

I hope this helps, I always start with the basics... good ignition & fuel...
The more I think about it... slap a timing light on it & rev it... make sure the iginition timing changes with the rpm increase.
Maybe your crank position sensor is loose? It is mounted behind the passenger side head where it mounts to the transmission.

HTH
-steve

 

Well, I had an inkling, and I was REALLY hoping I was wrong. The torque converter blew itself up. So while it was still allowing the truck to move, it was shredding itself into the trans. We have to do a complete re-build, to the tune of about 1800.00. [:@] That includes a three year, 36K warranty. Not bad: my Taurus set me back 2300.00. Quick question: on the radio, I saw a green wire tapped into. What's that for? I've never done a radio install, and the trans taps me out so I can't afford to take it to someone who knows what they're doin'. Any advice?

Shannon