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Bill Carroll
Dodge Dakota
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4/30/2003
22:47:38
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 Subject: 1988 3.9 4X4
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Hi everyone, my '88 has 141k on the clock. I bought this truck about 6mo ago and love it. Everything is fine except this: Gas milage is 11 city and the motor seems very under powered. Merging onto the highway for example can be scarey. I've done a complete tune it up, added Dura-lube ect. Ive even ran several bottles of injector cleaner which did improve the idle. This is irrating especially since the gas gauge is not working.
I suspect the engine had some head work done to it due to the lack of smoke and cleanliness. Oh yeah, it also has true dual exhaust.
Any advise on what to do to improve the power and mileage is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Bill
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Kracker
Dodge Dakota
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4/30/2003
23:16:59
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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do you think it might be a transmission problem? or does that seem to shift fine?
in other words, does your overdrive work? (if applicable)
and of course, im also assuming its an auto when i say that, because you didnt specify..
---Kracker
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Bill Carroll
Dodge Dakota
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4/30/2003
23:53:37
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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Yes its auto and shifts perfect.
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snickersbps
Dodge Dakota
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5/01/2003
00:23:34
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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might it shift late? maybe not until 2000 rpm under a very light load?
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SuperBee
Dodge Dakota
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5/01/2003
00:31:14
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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hhmmm, my 1990 has 146 on it and hasnt had any major work to the engine, im getting 13 mpg city
i dont know....
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Dak95
Dodge Dakota
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5/01/2003
07:56:27
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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True duels on a 3.9L will kill your torque! I bet if you put a single 2 1/2" exhaust it would run better.
I thought the 88 was carbed? I know the 87 is.....right?!
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Bill Carroll
Dodge Dakota
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5/01/2003
11:52:05
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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No it's not carbed it has throttle body similiar to the GM'S. Not sure what Chrysler calls their set up, but it's deff injected. Also the shifting seems normal. I have no tach so I can't say for sure where it's shifting. I don't think it's a tranny problem. I think maybe she's just tired. May be time for a rebuild. I can't think of any thing else.
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vern
Dodge Dakota
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5/01/2003
16:27:43
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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sounds like the computer[pcm]is getting lazy.
in other words,not advancing the timimg properly,this will make the gas mileage and power suffer.
a dealer can check the advance on the pcm and may be able to reprogram[i,m not sure]
also check your timimg should be at 10 degrees,if this ok try advancing it 5 more degrees,this should help the mileage and power some.
i have a 89 3.9 4x4 dak with 3.92 rear gears and i get 13-15 around town.
good luck
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bsasteve
Dodge Dakota
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12/09/2003
17:10:42
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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might want to check out you're dist. assy. and you're throttle body you had mentioned that you had run fuel cleaner and it helped try aproduct called sea foam sold at napa stores $10.00 but awsome stuff NOT BS. Second trick OLD SCHOOL let old nelly get warmed up and then run it up to about 1,000 rpm and dribble some water down her throat try not to rev it to much or stall it.
If that doesn't do it might be time for routine check up fuel psi.14 timing 10 to 12 compression and leek down. still no luck 10 GUAGE SHOTGUN OR BOUNCE BACK TO ME. good luck
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Dianes 88 Dak
Dodge Dakota
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12/09/2003
17:55:05
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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Sounds sinalar to my problem with no take off power although i HAD NO PROBLEM WITH MOVING IN TRAFFIC AND IT HITTING (sorry cap lock) PASSING GEAR ONCE YOUR MOVING GOOD. Mine has a TB made by Holly. But I have no take off low end power.
Dianes 88 Dak
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bsasteve
Dodge Dakota
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12/10/2003
17:55:43
|  RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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If the trani is in fact fine, the one thing that it might very well be are the throttle shaft bushings. It doesn,t take much of a leak at base rpm when a load is applied for an old motor to fall flat until such time as the rpm has increased and the engine no longer needs the initial charge to get going. Also might want to check the wiring harness connecting the dist. to the ecm.hope this helps P.S. anyone know how to go about adjusting the caster and camber on the 88 3.9 4*4
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Spencer
Dodge Dakota
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12/12/2003
00:24:18
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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true duals wont kill the torque, i have 2" true duals on mine and it was the biggest improvement i made, it really made the cam come alive
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Wadak
Dodge Dakota
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12/12/2003
00:59:35
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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Sounds like a Oxygen Sensor change may be in order. I had a 1987 2 wheeldrive that suffered a lapse in performance and gas mileage. I disconnected the O2 sensor took it for a spin and the power came back. Changing it out, may help to increase power and mileage. ITs possible that the catalytic convertor may need changed. Take it a muffler shop and have them perform a flow test on the exhaust system. By thed way the recommended interval on the O2 change out is every 60,000 miles on Gen I Dakotas.
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GB2000
Dodge Dakota
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12/12/2003
01:04:21
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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Spencer, the 2" pipes are prolly what's giving you the backpressure to keep your low-end torque up... I bet if you ran 2 1/2" or 3" pipes you'd be saying otherwise.
Josh
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orange
Dodge Dakota
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12/12/2003
01:18:30
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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i dont have the 4x4 but 13mpg is what a stock v6 dakota gets around atleast i do and my other 90 dakota does well im sure i dont anymore since i shelled my rearend and replaced it with a 8 1/4 391 sure grip posi in and to top it off i dont have an od tranny so at 40 my motor is turning 2000 rpm and 3000 at 60mph so no more highway for me but off the line i take any truck with a v6.
88 dakota
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Firstly
Dodge Dakota
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1/19/2004
10:44:12
|  RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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I just turned 16, and after working for 6 months I decided to go out and buy a truck. Well i bought an 88 dodge dakota with 147k, and so far I love it. It's red w/ pinstripe, and it truly is the perfect vehicle for me.
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Dianes 88 Dak
GenI
1/19/2004
11:25:44
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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Congrates Firstly!
Just got my 88 3.9 4x4 Auto(5 sp), 109t, Dec. 2, 03 and I love it to. I've had a few problems tho, but it's still a great little truck. Hopefully soon I'll get to mod the engine a bit.
Your's auto or stick. I wish mine was a stick.
Hang around this site and you'll learn a lot about your truck and Dak's in general. There's a lot of great people here to help with any problems that may arise, too. Also, doing a search can turn up lots of great info.
Good luck with your Dak and welcome aboard!
Diane's 88 Dakota [MOPAR RULES...other's... well, you know]
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outlaw
Dodge Dakota
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1/20/2004
00:31:50
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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Bill is your motor stock or not? If it's stock the dual exhaust may be to much for it. Try going back to a single.
89 Dakota
3.9 V6 5 speed 4x4
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BSASTEVE
Dodge Dakota
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1/24/2004
10:24:02
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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Hello bill did you ever get you're truck going good? or is it still suffering from old truck syndrom
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Wadak
Dodge Dakota
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1/24/2004
12:44:55
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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For all you Gen I fans here is another way you can improve your performance.
1. If you haven't given your truck a good tune do so. New rotor, cap, plug wires and plugs.
2. Consider getting an MSD 5 or 6a. You can use to drive your factory or replace it with a good after market coil.
3. Buy some new spark plugs and gap them out about 10 to 15 thousandths over factory settings.
I believe the recommended gap for Gen 1 is .035 try .045.
4. On my Gen 1 I used an MSD-5, factory wires, factory coil and non-platinum splitfire sparkplugs gapped to .045. The Gen 1's run good on the split fires.
Becareful about using low resistance performance wires with the factory coil, they increase the current draw to plug which can improve performance. But they can also cause the factory coil to fail prematurely due to the increase current.
On my son's Gen 1, we put the MSD-5 his truck, low resistance wires, with a so called high performance accel coil with the splitfires gapped at .045. The truck ran great for about 6 months then it died as if someone had just turned off the ignition switched. It turned out to be coil was bad.
On my daughters Dodge Shadow, I did a complete tune up, new rotor, cap, plug wires, Bosch Platinum +4 plugs and an MSD 6 system. I was suprised at how much the performance improved on that car, also about 3 mpg increase in gas mileage.
Another benefit of using an MSD in your ignition is improved driveability in cold weather. I have been in Wyoming visiting relatives, whe the weather was extremely cold 20 to 30 degrees below zero. One time I was the only one who was able to get my vehicle started because of the ignition system improvements.
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Dianes 88 Dak
GenI
1/25/2004
14:22:25
| RE: 1988 3.9 4X4
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Message:
Thanks for that input, WADAK. I am collecting any ideas for better performance.
Diane's 88 Dakota [MOPAR RULES...other's... well, you know]
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