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MsMpls
Dodge Dakota
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11/14/2010
23:16:17
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 Subject: Can't stop/decel in snow! High idle?
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Message:
Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum but have had good luck
online finding advice for my previous car.
Here is the main problem: my 1993 Dakota is like a husky-it
wants to pull! I am seriously worried that this behavior in the
snow is going to cause an accident, soon. What I mean is
that when I am stopped, if I let my foot off the brake it just
starts going as if I had pressed on the accelerator. It just
takes off at probably 3-5 mph. I was given the truck this
summer by a family member after my old 94 Saturn's engine
seized up, and this weekend's epic snowstorm in Minneapolis
was my intro to winter driving.
In the snow, because of this problem, what happens is that I
almost cannot fully stop the truck at all. In the slushy snow it
would often take a full city block to finally stop! It does not
have anti-lock brakes and is RWD. I put 500 lbs of sandbags
in the back before the snow.
When I try to stop in snow I have to very gently press the
brakes, because braking too hard will lock them and send me
sideways. That's basic winter driving...but so is pumping the
brakes gently to not lock them.
Every time I gently let up on the brakes, when nearly
stopped, it starts pulling forward again, fast!! It is so scary! I
am honestly worried this could kill me this winter if I can't
figure out the problem as I live in Minneapolis and have a 40
minute commute to the suburbs. I am really hoping someone
here can help me; I'm a girl who's never had a truck and I
don't know too much about cars but have had luck before
looking online for help to diagnose the problem and then
explaining that to a friend who can fix it.
The truck specs are:
1993 Dodge Dakota Sport
V6, 3.9
115,000 miles
Idles when warm at about 600-700 RPM
I love this truck and I want to feel safe in it, if I can just get
this problem fixed it will make my winter so much safer.
Thanks to whoever reads this, and to anyone who might have
ideas.
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BENVAAGE
Dodge Dakota
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11/14/2010
23:43:56
|  RE: Can't stop/decel in snow! High idle?
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Message:
Hey I live near minneapolis! I drove to my hunting area at 530 in the morning and it was intense!!! That is a very interesting problem. dont know if I can help you. Maybe its you throttle position sensor?
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Bob Lincoln
Dodge Dakota
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11/15/2010
08:25:17
| RE: Can't stop/decel in snow! High idle?
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Message:
Is the idle speed you mentioned in Park or in Drive? What is the speed for each?
It could be that someone misadjusted the bands in your transmission. Does it shift roughly and at higher speeds than expected?
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bobs an Idiot
Dodge Dakota
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11/15/2010
10:42:31
| RE: Can't stop/decel in snow! High idle?
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Message:
"Is the idle speed you mentioned in Park or in
Drive?"
Did you read the post dumbass ??????????
"Can't stop/decel in snow! High idle?"
How many people do you know that try stopping or
slowing down in park?
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MsMpls
Dodge Dakota
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11/15/2010
11:37:32
|  RE: Can't stop/decel in snow! High idle?
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Message:
Hi again, here is some more info that may help about the
RPM speeds and my truck's behavior. Thank you in advance
to anyone with advice...
No check engine light has gone on. The brakes are almost
brand new (completely redone in September) and the tires
are all in good shape. And, when I was driving in this 6
inches of heavy, slushy snow, maybe because of the extra
weight in the back I had absolutely no problem accelerating
slowly from a stop (good tire grip/weight?) and felt like I had
reasonably good traction and control while driving. And when
I was braking gently, it was stopping OK. But then I would get
to a point where I had to pump the brakes a little bit and all is
lost, because it starts pulling forward and speeding up. . .
I did some more testing last night to get a more accurate idea
and here's what it did.
Cold engine, immediately after start (pulling out of driveway):
--RPM stays at 650, Dakota pulls itself from stop to about 5
mph
Cold engine, after driving for about 2 minutes:
--RPM jumps to about 800, pulls itself from a stop at about 5
mph
--Tested at stop sign; pulled itself to steady 5 mph and
cruised at that speed for over a full city block on a flat
surface, no incline
Warm engine (this was surreal)
--RPM jumps (needle spikes) from 650 to 800 as Dakota
cruises up to 5-6 mph, then gradually climbs to 1,000 RPM
and stays there while truck cruises seemingly infinitely at 6-7
mph
**This last test, with the warm engine, was from a full stop at
a stop sign, making a full left turn, and then heading up a
slight hill. So the truck went from a stop, turned itself left,
jumped up to 800 RPM/5 mph, then climbed up to 1,000
RPM and 6-7 mph as it climbed itself up a small hill! It then
coasted over a block at that same RPM and speed as the
surface leveled out. It would seemingly drive forever like that.
in all these tests I do not touch the gas pedal at all.
Another thing I have noticed is that there is a discernible "pull"
when youi have your foot on the brake - I don't know how to
describe it but you can feel this tension like instead of making
sure you stay stopped, you're instead holding the truck back
from this natural accelerating that it wants to do, if that makes
sense. That's why I mentioned that it's like a husky, originally
- if you've ever taken a walk with one on a leash and felt how
they pull at the leash, that's kind of what it is like when you
have your foot on the brake and the truck is stopped.
I really, really love this truck - other than this it runs great, is
so comfortable and surprisingly smooth to drive, and mine
has low(ish) mileage for its age and I'd like to drive it for years
to come. I just need to figure this out soon because snow
season here, and what it's doing now sabotages the best
winter driving skills (I grew up in WI and moved to MN so I
have driven in snow since I got my license, and I've never
had such a tough time handling a vehicle in snow). Like many
folks out there, money is pretty tight now and if there's any
way I can figure this out and have a friend help fix it that
would really help. I know some people who are good at fixing
vehicles if they know what to fix but not so good at
troubleshooting vehicles they've never worked on before.
Really appreciate forums like this, thank you for reading this.
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Bob Lincoln
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
11/16/2010
08:37:23
| RE: Can't stop/decel in snow! High idle?
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Message:
The usual slammers are here with their insults. And as usual, they are the ones who did not read and ASSumed. And did not provide any help toward solving the issue.
The poster said the idle was 600-700 warm, that does not indicate whether that's in Park or Drive. There is usually a difference of about 150 RPM between them. Idle should be 600 in Park, so if it's 600-700 in drive, it IS too high. If 600 in Park, that's normal.
Thanks for the additional info. It's very possible that you have a vacuum leak. The most common place on these engines is at the intake manifold. If so, you'll need to replace the so-called belly pan gasket. To verify, look down inside the throttle body and see if it is black with oil at the bottom. Usually a leak here will also suck in engine oil. If it's clean, there may be a vacuum leak elsewhere.
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