Question for you 'Motorheads' out there.

luckyinkentucky

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
462
I have a '91 Dodge Dakota that I have owned since it was new. The engine is a 4 cyl. and has 234,000 miles on it with a manual transmission. It never fails to start right up when I turn the key, and I keep up the maintenance on it like I should. It doesn't burn any oil, and other than changing a power steering pump on it, all of the parts are original.

I'm having a minor problem whenever I get up to 2nd gear. The engine hesitates, and jerks for a second, and then it goes away. It never does it any other time other than in second gear. I keep a constant pressure on the accelerator through the process, but it just started doing this, and I can't figure out what it might be.
 

mrfixitman40

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 13, 2007
Messages
286
Re: Question for you 'Motorheads' out there.

do you feel it in the shifter ? is it a bang or just hesitation? Do you have a tach that you can see if the clutch may be slipping some?
 

luckyinkentucky

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
462
Re: Question for you 'Motorheads' out there.

It's not a slip. More like a hesitation. Almost like it cuts out repeatedly and picks back up. It's not missing or misfiring.
 

SpinnerBait_Nut

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Aug 25, 2002
Messages
17,651
Re: Question for you 'Motorheads' out there.

Does the '91 have the electronic box out in the fenderwell area?
If so, unplug it and spray some electrical cleaner on the plug and then plug it back in and see if that helps.
My wife's, an auto, would just be going along and die for no reason.
Unplug it and plug it back in and it was fine.
So, I sprayed it down good and let it air dry, put some electrical grease on it and plugged it back in and it's been good to go ever since, although I do that every othr time I service it.
Might not work on your's but won't hurt to try.
 

Summer Fun

Banned
Joined
Mar 2, 2002
Messages
2,251
Re: Question for you 'Motorheads' out there.

I had one do the same thing. Its was the computer . The fuel pump chip was starting to go bad..
 

mrfixitman40

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 13, 2007
Messages
286
Re: Question for you 'Motorheads' out there.

Try Cleaning the throttle plates and see if it helps any
 

dolluper

Captain
Joined
Jul 19, 2004
Messages
3,900
Re: Question for you 'Motorheads' out there.

Check for slack in the motor mounts or bad ground cable,when motor shifts between shifts,torque applied
 
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