High Idle

From: Mike (mclancey@ns.sympatico.ca)
Date: Sun Mar 02 2003 - 14:32:14 EST


Howdy Folks,

I've been running this "new to me" '88 Gen I V6 3.9L Dakota for about a
month now and am getting a bit scared ... in the past week the stock
radio/clock has died, so has the dome light, the kick panel light and the
temperature guage does not move anymore either ... the scariest of all
though is the fast idle ... I've let it go this long cuz it IS an old truck
and it has been very cold here. What I have noticed ... start the truck on a
cold morning and the idle is way up (as expected) until it's warm ....
problem is the idle never drops down to normal ... I CAN get it to drop down
to normal if I shut the vehicle off the wait a sec and restart ... then
she'll purrrr nice and low ... whether it stays nice and low is "hit or
miss" ...

At a stop light I may notice the truck is wanting to pull outa the start
gate like a race horse ... pop it in Nuetral and VAroom ... it's idling @
3500 (no tach; I'm guessing) ... sometimes a tap on the gas pedal will drop
it down most times it won't. I've taken the air cleaner off and peeked down
the Holley carb ... it seems like a teeny bit of fuel is leaking down the
chamber at all times (high idle or not) and I can't put my finger on the
choke itself ... the plates that seem like the 2 closed choke plates stay
closed all the time even at low idle (unless you give a little yank on the
throttle cable; then they open).

There seems to be many sensors on this truck (too many) .... a quick flip
through my Haynes suggests that the O2 sensor is in the Y pipe where the
headers meet ... I DO have a teeny whole in this Y pipe and have to wonder
.........

Anyone wanna start me off on a mission? HELP!

Nova Scotia Mike



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