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1994 Dodge Dakota 3.9 V6- Idle and gas MPG

I bought this Dakota from a dealer that was about to wholesale it to get it off his lot. In general the vehicle is in pretty fair shape, interior and exterior are ok with no rust or anything other than minor dings. To date the following things have been done to the 3.9 V6 engine and automatic tranny. Replaced head gaskets and intake gasket, oil pump and pick up tube, water pump, fuel pump, crank was turned and new bearings installed just prior to my buying it,complete overhaul of the transmission just completed. The A/C unit has been gone thru with new compressor. My complaint: The truck seems determined to idle poorly. I have cleaned, adjusted, and tried all of the normal or readily known fixes. Idle motor on the back of the Throttle body is the next component of choice to replace. Other than a poor idle, the truck runs fine. The second part of my complaint, the fuel mileage is simply terrible. So far my best has been 16 mpg. Granted, I am not ASE certified yet (working on it) but there seems like there should be a few simple things to up that mileage. Any thoughts or suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance

Reply to
Walt
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16 mpg is normal for milage, was the intake gasket replaced (bottom of intake) ??
Reply to
sqdancerLynn

Dodge makes a good truck no doubt. However, fuel economy has never been a concern in any of their designs. I own 4 of them now and have owned a few in my past and all have been bad on gas mileage - except for the Neons. They are not too bad. The truck really stink on it though. My 98 Dakota was getting near 17.5 MPG until I tweaked the plugs to spec. Now it is near

16 MPG (5.2L V8). I will tweak them back with a new set soon.
Reply to
Abby Normal

Yes, sorry if that bit of information did not make it clear, when I did the heads I replaced al associated gackets, would not consider trying to reuse any gasket

Reply to
Walt

Have ou disconnected the EGR Valve to see if this helps the idle?

Glenn Beasley Chrysler tech

Reply to
damnnickname

No, actually I have not at this point. I have been so busy the truck is on the back burner but thanks for that tip, I will be hooking it up to a scan tool when I dive in to see whats what. Walt ASE Automotive student

Reply to
Walt

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