Hi,
I inherited my mom's 89 Dodge Dakota V6 with TBI. It hasn't been maintained too well for a while, but neither has it been driven much. It drove fine for about a month after I got it, being driven occasionally. It did have an issue with very occasionally dying immediately after starting. On the second start, it was always fine. I figured it would go away with the tuneup I would give it soon. Then one day when I went to drive it after it had sat for two days, it would barely start, once started would bog badly, and die unless revved. When it was driven, it would hesitate badly and then lurch forward, or die as soon as it was in gear. The engine smelled rich. The engine only smoothed out, a bit, at high RPMs (3000).
No codes in the computer. I replaced the air filter, plugs (quite worn), cap, rotor, wires, coil. It ran less bad. I then replaced the MAP sensor, since it seems to be a common issue, and also cleaned the sensor contacts and the contacts in the computer on the fender. That made no difference. It will start, no longer dies immediately, and will idle rough. Still hesitates badly, and occasionally die in gear. The power kicks in suddenly at a 1500 - 2000 RPM, and the truck lurches.
I'm next replacing the fuel filter, which is likely ten years old or more. I plan to do the rest of the basics for maintenance to get it to a good baseline. However, this happened overnight, indicating to me that something failed overnight. I'm also going to pull the O2 sensor to see if possibly the catalyst collapsed/clogged. Any other suggestions for possible culprits?
Thanks.
Larry