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Tow Truck problem

chiefalen

chiefalen

Banned
"People never easy for me to a

"People never easy for me to ask for help. But it appears after day's and days of f--king with this i have hit a wall.

I have a 2002 Dodge 1500 van 3.9L motor i tow my boat with.

Stikin check engine light had to shell out 350 bucks to a shop to replace the evac pump ok that code is cleared.

I have a persistent #4 cylinder misfire. Went to go to finally have the inspection sticker slapped on and damn the truck failed again.

Changed out the plug twice, have good spark on plug i checked yesterday bye pulling plug and holding the plug to the block and turned the motor good strong spark.

Ok been on the net looking and looking for a solutin, these high tech freekin sensors all over new motors got me pulling my hair out.

The solution on one site bye a " expert " is get a can of throttle body cleaner start motor and shoot the stuff at high idle into the thottle body till the can is empty, making sure the motor don't stall.

Then he said to drive it around under all kinds of conditions. Hi-way city all different conditions to allow the motor to get used to the clean throttle body , i plan on also replacing the air filter, then cleaning the #4 plug, or replace it.

Question 1- is this a good plan to finally get my inspection sticker?

Question-2 should i maybe replace the one plug with a higher temp, or split tounge or some other " magic " plug you young guys use.

Please, please, please take pity on a ole fart that aint maybe up on the newest plugs and magic treatment.

Also i never in my life ever added anything to t oil as in lukas oil or something to the gas maybe.

Please school me you young guys, someone maybe had this problem in there pos dodge.

I await any reply and will hold off going to napa latter today or after the big storm thats about to dump a foot or 2 on my head today and into tomorrow.

Going out to make sure the new /old 10hp b&s motor i installed on the 50 year old 3 stage snowblower is good to go for tomorrow.

Thank you all for your reply in advance.

Please don't be angry with this post, i trust your minds more then some car site."
 
"I had a code thrown on my tru

"I had a code thrown on my truck (diiferent make and year) and I had it scanned by a friend with a snap on scanner. It told us bank 1 sensor 1 fault (with code number).

After almost a year of the engine light going on and off then finaly staying on I had it scanned again. This time another guy with a high end scanner, $10,000.00 type scanner. This scanner not only showed us the same basic error but it took the error to the excat issue with the sensor that was bad.

In my case it was a oxegen sensor and the high end scanner showed the detail of the heater element was the root cause of the sensor failure.

So my advice would be to try to find someone with a high end scanner and ask them to rescan the error. Maybe it will show in more detail what the source is."
 
is it showing a P0304 all the

is it showing a P0304 all the time or a P0300?

Can you feel the misfire or does engine run ok and just the ecu turns on the light?
 
Have you tried running the eng

Have you tried running the engine in the dark looking for a flash of light coming from a bad plug wire?
 
Did you change the plug wire?

Did you change the plug wire? It can appear to be working when tested but fail when in place. I'd clean the TB cold and wipe out the gunk w/paper towels. SeaFoam makes a product called DEEP CREEP that will clean anything in the TB. Spray it on and let it soak a few min. to remove heavy crud in the TB.

Chrysler used to have the PCV gases dump in back of the TB which coats the entire intake plenum w/s..t so it won't run smooth w/o regular cleaning. SeaFoam in the fuel can't hurt. Fill up w/high octane fuel. Drive it 20 min. at 60 mph just before the test. Keep the idle up to 1200 RPM while waiting until you pull in for the test.
 
"[b]"I have a persistent #

""I have a persistent #4 cylinder misfire. Went to go to finally have the inspection sticker slapped on and damn the truck failed again.
Changed out the plug twice, have good spark on plug i checked yesterday bye pulling plug and holding the plug to the block and turned the motor good strong spark."

Ayuh,... Do a Compression Test...

All the spark in the world won't light a Dead cylinder...

Btw,... There's No magical sparkplugs...
Other than the Magic of draining your Wallet...."
 
"Mark p0304 when i put the new

"Mark p0304 when i put the new plug in the first time
i pulled the battery cable clearing the code.

Then it came back on, after 2 months. Then same thing again.

Can't feel the misfire, truck runs AOK.

Ok high test fuel i discussed that with a couple guys, i know.

Sea foam in the gas ok.

Deep creep ok.

Bond-o i re-read my intial post i didn't post i did a compression test, aok right on with the other cylinders, i forget the numbers, stupid me,
I should have wrote them down, but more then 150 each within one pound of each other and i left the gauge on for 5 minutes each cylinder zero leak down.

Ok guys if you think of anything more let me know.


Not going to napa till monday. Oh i didn't post i pulled off the dist cover all looks good, i lightly sanded all connections anyway.

Maybe when it gets dark tonight i'll look at the motor in complete darkness running. But 3 nights ago i had the hood up my friend came over and i ran it and i explained my tale of woe to him and we both were looking in the motor but i didn't get under it in the dark this time i will.

This stikin van i got to pull the dog house off inside the truck to get to the throttle body, no more Dodge i swear."
 
"if it has only set a p0304 an

"if it has only set a p0304 and no p0300's, I'd concentrate on the ignition as it is specific to cylinder 4 only. (read that as misfire is not likely to be due to the induction system. It won't hurt anything to clean it but be careful around the MAF sensor, if there.)

If the wires are over 4 years or have seen over 100K miles, they are overdue. Ditto for the cap and rotor. Many times, the core in the wire will break and then arc and then start the death spiral, repeating over and over....The whole swap shouldn't cost more than a full tank of gas."
 
"Izdbye,

there is no such t

"Izdbye,

there is no such thing as a cheap toyota truck sorry izdbye.Even in their current state of recalling more than 2.1 million vehicles...although only 800 of them had a sticking gas pedal...long story that im not gettin into....The value of a toyota still doubles that of a similar chevy,ford or dodge of the same model year and trim level.I hate to say it but more times than not they DO make a better,more reliable vehicle.Its funny how the only toyotas recalled are the ones made in the states NOT Japan????Where are us Americans going wrong???thats a bad reputation of US!!!
uhoh.gif


Chiefalan,

I work for chrysler and would be willing to assist you in everyway possible!!!
3.9L are common for cylinder misfires and usually are an easy fix.I know that you have changed that plug,plug wire, did a compression test, etc....I have seen this problem in the past and more times than not the pickup in the distributor is bad.Will run just fine but every now and again will "burp" and throw a code. I live in NY where your Check engine light cannot be on to pass inspection, so I have have a lot of experience with this kind of problem. I have seen NUMEROUS times where EVERYTHING got changed. all plugs,all wires,cap,rotor,fuel filter,etc will the same problem.Alas, the pickup coil was forgotten in the distributor and that was the root of the problem all along. If you lived close by I have a Chrysler Star Scan tool that would tell me exactly whats wrong.Good luck and feel free to shoot me an email with any questions as I have EVERYTHING Chrysler offers to fix any kind of their problems."
 
"If Chrystler still uses distr

"If Chrystler still uses distributors on a 2002 model year then shame on them. No wonder they are bancrupt!

How did you fail your emission test does it say?

First I would change the plugs and wires. That's pretty much all there is to a tune up. After that you may need to have your cylinder coil checked. A modern electronic system uses a can sensor to fire off individual spark coils, one per cylinder. If your coil was bad you would probably feel it when the motor is running. I like working on my boat because it's old school technology but when it comes to my cars I just take them in if there's a problem. I don't mind doing tune-ups and brakes but if it's a engine runability problem just take it to a dealer, have them put it on a scope and they can tell you what the problem is. Once you know what to replace it's not rocket science.

Good luck Chief"
 
"Jessie thank you your graciou

"Jessie thank you your gracious offer. But your about a 8 hour drive from me.

Yea had the dist cap off, and cleaned the contacts and it never occured to me the pickup could be bad.

Rock auto has it for 22 bucks. 25 for a tune up kit, new cap,rotor and wires. The one they show cheaper is 22 bucks, i figured i would go with the 25 kit.

60,000 miles on the truck.

I'm going to study the paper they gave me when it failed but i think it only says check engine light, but it wasn't on the light.

Jessie i am 2 miles away from oasis dodge, no way you can call them and ask them to put the truck on there machine, just to pinpoint the problem exactly. I don't mind paying them for the service."
 
"Chief,

I can look up thei

"Chief,

I can look up their number and give them a shout and see if they are willing to help me out.They may charge from half to one hour diagnostics time however it will help pinpoint that problem for sure.Ill talk with my one of my master techs this morning at work and see if he knows off the top of his head whats wrong and I can save you some money!!!"
 
"chief:

If you get that stu

"chief:

If you get that stuff from Rock, don't forget to use the discount code in the "how did you hear..." box on the cart's page...if you need a current one, they are usually posted on several www sites. 5% will get most/all of the shipping."
 
"ohhhh didn't know that. T

"ohhhh didn't know that. Thanks Mark

Jessie thank you again , if any of you gentlemen are down my way please give me a heads up, i would like to take you out on my boat."
 
"Alan,

I talked with one of

"Alan,

I talked with one of my techs today and he said if it is ALWAYS a cyl #4 misfire it will not be the pickup.....the pickup would be a eratic misfire between all cylinders...He said either an injector or a sticky(carbon buildup) intake or exhaust valves will most likely be the culprit. De Carbon the engine and if you have time swap injectors with another cylinder to see if the misfire moves with the injector.That should narrow it down for you.Good Luck.Let me know if you need anymore help"
 
"Update, i'm still kickin

"Update, i'm still kickin myself in the @ss. Stikin 6 cylinder dodge motor from 2002 had me scratching my head.

So i sat back and started thinking, and i pulled the dist. cap and sanded all the contacts. Problem fixed going today to the shop to have them slap the sticker on.

Drove the van 50 miles plugged in my friends handheld code reader last night, a " stinger " model i think.
No codes.

Again 60,000 miles on the van only use it for pulling the boat, maybe a 20 miles round trip, 5-10 times a summer, or when i have to fit say 7 people to go out to dinner with my mother-in-law and her husband or something like that.

Used to go on say 2-300 mile boy scout trips with my sons, used to is the keyword. Oh i did pull my utility trailer a 4x8, with boy scout camping gear.

Very little use the van, never again a dodge car or truck for me.

My wife is even ribbing me about this."
 
""...only use it for pulli

""...only use it for pulling the boat, maybe a 20 miles round trip, 5-10 times a summer..."

Part of the problem?"
 
Maybe not used enough i though

Maybe not used enough i thought of that.

Update got the inspection sticker yesterday. Good to go for another 2 years.

Problem really is the truck get terrible mpg around 14.

I run around town in a 94 tercel. close to 30 mpg.

Spring break i'm driving it down to Orlando.
 
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