The vehicle in questionis my Dakota Convertible with '94 5.2Lmagnum
(including the entire '94 fuel system, ie fuel pump is in the 22gal
tank) and NV3500.
This morning on my way into work the dakvert started to lose
horsepower and sputter a bit above 3000 rpm. That magic rpm number
quickly started dropping till just before I pulled into a gas station,
it was around 2000rpm. It didn't stall, just sputtered and resisted
revving over 2000rpm. My fuel level was low (still about 2 gallons
left) and I figured maybe a little water made it's way into the tank,
so I put 4 gallons in. I was already late for work anyway. It seemed
to help a little, but above 2000rpm it still sputtered and provided
very little power. So I start worrying someone dropped sand in my tank
while I was parked at the concert last night (this is still a
concern...) Well, after work the truck gets me 15 miles to a gas
station on the way home. I put some gas dryer in and fill'er up. Well
that seemed to help... but still have loss of power and sputtering
above 3000rpm again... also noticable at times when I really step on
it above 2000rpm.
The truck idles smoothly and runs smoothly when only lightly on the
gas. I pulled the codes... the only one is 32 (EGR valve problem).
Something else worth noting that's bothering me recently... it takes
about 5 seconds of cranking before the truck starts lately. This
started a week and a half ago and came on suddenly. Before this, it
would fire very quickly.
So my questions: What are signs of a failing fuel pump? Does this
sound like it? Does a fuel pump just fail outright, or might it fail
slowly and get progressively worse? Does this sound more like
contamination of the fuel??
Could it be something else... a sensor that I'm not thinking about? I
hate dropping the tank.
Thanks!
Don in CT
'89 Dakota Convertible 5.2L NV3500 4x4
'74 Dart Sport 340
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