Hey there Steve,
I had a similar problem with my Dak, with the exception that my truck pinged
like crazy also (like popcorn popping). Sometimes the engine would run
fine, sometimes it would stumble (especially at freeway speeds). The dealer
did the spark plug wire reroute, replaced the thermostat, replaced the spark
plugs, replaced the wires (factory wires), replaced the intake belly-pan
gasket and wanted to flash the PCM (no way Jose!). After getting sick of
bringing the truck in to the shop weekly (for other probs too), I ended up
buying some Autolite 3923's, new cap and rotor and some Taylor 8mm wires
from Summit. The surging AND pinging went away! (THANKS DML!!) I was quite
amazed, the truck gained a substantial boost in power as Ford Festivas were
no longer a tough race from a stoplight. Well anyway hope this helps your
situation out some...
Darren Asuncion
Fairbanks, AK
http://www.geocities.com/dakotaguy1999/dakota.html
'99 Intense Blue CC Sport+ 4x4, 5.2 V8, 44RE auto, 3.55 lsd, 4wheel ABS
> Steve Preston wrote:
>
> > Well,I had the Dakster back into the dealer today. (Remember last week`s
> > fiasco with the dead co-pilot recorder? Now we`re doing guess work.)
> > Again,they said no codes were stored in the computer.This time,they
> > replaced the plug wires.No help.Lessee,we`re up to new TPS,new fuel
> > pump,new plug wires.Still runs the same.Actually,power-wise,it didn`t do
> > too bad on the trip down there.Even though I could feel the "bumpiness"
> > in the drivetrain,like it was missing severely,I cruised up and over
> > some big hills on the highway at 70 mph without downshifting.RARE!!! But
> > on the way back home (after the plug wire replacement),it was a
> > dog.We`re talkin` Pekinese here.I was back to mashin` the pedal to the
> > floor to regain my speed on hills.It almost had me concerned that
> > perhaps they made it worse.........until I got to within a mile of my
> > house.There is a place where I have turn from a dead stop,and drive
> > uphill to merge onto a 70 mph interstate.Normally that REALLY kills my
> > truck.Not this time.I don`t know where the power came from,but I drive
> > this road several times a week,and normally I have to STAND on it just
> > to break 50 mph at the end of the merge lane on this hill.Today,I hit 75
> > mph so quickly,that a car which had moved over to let me in got BEHIND
> > me! That never happens!! Unfortunately,now I`m starting to believe that
> > my problem must be the torque converter or transmission,like a friend of
> > mine suggested.I watched my tach very closely as I drove today,and every
> > time I felt the sagging,jerky.....well,BUMPY sensation from the truck,I
> > only saw minute changes in the tach.I would expect to see larger changes
> > if it was an engine misfire or stumble.Perhaps the problem is in the
> > tranny,causing small load variations on the motor,which I am seeing on
> > the tach? Or could it be that at 70 mph,even with a bad engine
> > stumble,the tach cannot respond that fast and is simply "averaging" all
> > the misses,and making the rpm`s look "smoother" than they are? Am I
> > making any kind of sense here? I can hardly hold my eyes
> > open.......zzzzzzz. Please take another stab at this problem,guys.Any
> > way to determine if the tranny is really my problem? (Hope not) Steve P.
> >
> > 99 Dakota Sport Intense Blue RC 4X4 V6 42RE 3.92 Anti-Spin w/Infinity CD
> > system and optional hand-crank windows (2) 3923 Autolite spark plugs
> > Big Blue Ram sticker in the slider window that intimidates people into
> > establishing a safe following distance
>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:57:56 EDT