calling on you automotive experts again!

[android]

thanks again for all the advice i got from some members on my seized pulley on the old water pump. got that fixed and things seemed good for a while, but then my check engine light came on a few months ago, went off for about a week but came back on and stayed that way ever since.

this morning, i went out to start her up and it started kinda hard, stuttering a bit, as it normally does after sitting for the weekend and especially after rain. it was definitely misfiring and the check engine light started flashing, i slowed down, it stopped and i turned around and drove slowly home. it was getting worse when i tried to apply more pressure to the gas pedal.

so, i went and checked out a code reader from the auto parts store and got: 0308 - cylinder 8 misfire.

it's got about 120k on it, leaks oil and coolant (i try my best to keep the fluids topped off), and i'm not sure if the water pump thing (i had to drive it home with no cooling - only about a mile) had anything to do with this misfiring/possible compression issue on cylinder 8. i mean, if the head gasket blew during the water pump deal, it wouldn't even be running now would it?

where do i start, spark plugs/wires/rotor?

thanks for any insight.

 

[Hang Glider]

What kind of vehicle? Make/Model/Year (for those of us who missed your seized pulley post and don't want to bother searching)...and for those of us who wish to be forwarned to never buy one - 120K isn't much if you take care of it...

Yes, it will run with the head gasket leaking, if it is leaking in only one or two cylinders, but will run awful - kind of like you're describing.

 

[android]

sorry, 1999 Dodge Dakota, 5.2L V8. it only runs rough while it's warming up from a long sit and usually doesn't take more than about 100 yds of driving to start running good. i honestly have tried my ass off after bad experiences in the past to really take care of this truck. i have been meticulous about general maintenance and have had quite a few repairs i've been able to make myself with good results (ball joint, u-joint, window out of guide, broken lock solenoids, etc), but things just seem to keep happening. it does sit outside (unfortunately) during really rough iowa winters and i suppose that doesn't bode well for components.

if it helps anything, my A/C works for about 10 minutes, then blows moderately cool air. that has been since the whole water pump deal too.

here's the old thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f19/any-automotive-experts-house-170758/

 

[jppostKW]

I would try plugs wires and rotor/cap first this will eliminate the spark circuit fairly cheaply. after that if it doesn't fix it i would compression check the #8 cylinder to make sure that nothing is wrong mechanically, a shop shouldn't charge to much to do this if you are specific on what you want done.

 

[android]

got a hold of an old friend who's a mechanic and he told me to remove the plug that was in the misfiring and see if it looked clean and wet (which he said would be a dead giveaway for the head gasket leaking into that chamber). fortunately, this was not the case. so i'll start with the plugs/rotor/cap/wires and see what happens from there. thanks for the replies.

 

[Homercidal]

If it has a cap and rotor they are cheap and easy to replace. Also check plugs and wires. Still pretty cheap to replace.

Also reseat the computer module wires. I have a Jeep that run crappy and the ultimate cause was a poor connection to the computer.

Our Durango also had a failed Crank Position Sensor, which was a bit of a pain to get to, but not expensive to replace. That gave a different code than the one you listed.

If your plug wires are wearing down, they can start to short on the engine block or anything else that is grounded and reduce the spark and cause the wrong cylinder to fire. There are several other things that can cause misfire like poor sensor connections or even a poor battery which can lead to sensors reading funny. Bad Ground connections.

 

[motobrewer]

is the timing chain or belt driven?

edit: found it, chain. nevermind.

 

[kjung]

I failed my recent emissions test because of the same error code (What THAT has to do with the emmisions, I don't know, but my mechanic told me that ANY error code will automayically cause a failure!), and all it was, was a bad wire.

 

[Ti28]

Plugs and wires.....

 

[android]

just to update, i swapped out my plugs, wires, rotor, and distributor cap. she's running real nice right now. been a few days without the return of the 0308 code. hopefully it'll stay that way. on to the other problems with this old girl...

 

[arturo7]

Man, a '99 and you're calling it an old girl?

 

[android]

sad ain't it?

 

[TomRep]

Word up for you on that beast, do not run it hot...ever. Those heads warp very easily and pretty much can't be cut to flatten. I've already had them literally pop themselves off the engine block when all the head bolts are loose because they were so warped. And unfortunately I've never had luck using remanufactured heads which means a new assembled head from Mopar for, I believe, $1300 per side. Nuf said!@
tom

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

Man, a '99 and you're calling it an old girl?

It is a Dodge afterall. Sadly, I'm an owner of two Dodge trucks, my '99 1/2 ton is on it's third tranny, and the motor has 220K on it. I'm sure it will blow anytime now. My other is an '01 3/4 ton Diesel, Great motor, the rest of the truck is crap. to the OP, I feel your pain. My advice would be to dump it and get a honda.

 

[android]

my wife and i got a '96 camry from a friend in chicago this summer who didn't want a car in the city anymore, so at least there is an extra car if this truck takes a permanent dump. it actually seems to be running really well for the last week or so since i did the tune-up, so i'll keep my fingers crossed. i remember when i bought this thing, i called a friend of mine who taught me most of the car tune-up stuff back in college and he said... it's a dodge, be prepared for weird things to happen to it, and he has been right.

 

[motobrewer]

dodges have to be the worst. my parents' durango motor blew up at 67k. whoops.

my buddy's neon had oil coming thru the gauges. how that is possible, i have no idea.

that camry will last forever if you preform standard maintenance. how many miles are on it? I'd do timing belt/water pump if they're still original.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Hard to replace a Durango with a Camry.

 

[android]

well, the camry is mostly for my wife to drive for her job so we don't rack up miles on her 4runner. i'll keep driving this dakota until the bitter end.

the camry has 158k on it and we did all the tune-up stuff when we got it, but i will take the water pump/timing belt advice and check it out.

 

[Bobby_M]

I've got a 2k Dakota and I was pulling random misfire codes after a bad load of gas. I pulled the injectors and tapped out about a tablespoon of rust sediment. No real replaceable filter on that damn truck, only a mesh sock in the tank.

 

[motobrewer]

Hard to replace a Durango with a Camry.

yeah, the camry doesn't look as good sitting in the lawn rusting.

speaking of, that durango had insane rusting problems. front end, hood, doors, etc. my dad had to completely strip and repaint the front bumper. it was like 4 years old

158k, if it is original belt/pump, i'd have it replaced this weekend.

 

[Hang Glider]

It is a Dodge afterall. Sadly, I'm an owner of two Dodge trucks, my '99 1/2 ton is on it's third tranny, and the motor has 220K on it. I'm sure it will blow anytime now. My other is an '01 3/4 ton Diesel, Great motor, the rest of the truck is crap. to the OP, I feel your pain. My advice would be to dump it and get a honda.

Funny - I had an opposite experience. Had a 97 Dodge Stratus. Took care of it, Mobil One since day one, all the maintenance. Stuff went wrong - water pump at 145K, alternator at 167K, Starter at 190K - but none of that is internal stuff - sold it with 250K on it, still getting 31mpg.

My brother had a Honda he swore by, but every 50K he was putting in new CV joints...

 

[jppostKW]

+1 to HG i had an 98 intrepid with 300,000 miles on it when i bought it and put another 50k on it it was a great car. my current gmc pickup has 250 k no major problems previous car was a ford escort zx2 had 212k when the tranny finally broke drag racing. i love them high milage domestics

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

Well I've never owned a Dodge car, but the two trucks I have are nothing but trouble. Like I said, 3rd Tranny in my 1/2 ton, plus a couple other minor things. Which from all of my research is pretty typical for a Dodge, I've never had a major issue with the Motor though, had to have the Thermostat replaced years ago, but that was no biggie. It's just really tired now with 220K in it.

On the 3/4 ton the Fuel system has been the major issue, the lift pump went out right after I bought, and I'm almost certain that damaged the injector pump which went out sometime later. Then the float in the tank would stick so I didn't get accurate fuel readings, so I ran out fuel in the middle of nowhere. The tranny is also a POS on 3/4 ton. Again these are all known problems on Dodge Trucks. Dodge has apparantly fixed the Injector pump issue in the Newer model, but the tranny issues remain. With all of that said, I'd probably buy another 3/4 Ton Diesel, but with a Manual tranny. I hear they are bullet proof. Or drop 5g's(???That's a guess) on an Allison.

So I guess my point is that comparing Dodge Cars to Trucks is comparing Apple to Oranges.

 

[TomRep]

Ahh yes, the lovely VP44 injector pump issue. $200 lift pump goes out and you need to do $3k worth of work. Love Dodges, and Fords aren't too far behind!
tom

 

[Homercidal]

2000 Durango. Bought it with 108,000 on it. Already aware of potential problems, but it really fit our needs. So far (knock on wood) it's been pretty decent. No major repairs and it's at 200,000 miles. It still runs good, although you can tell it's not new when it starts up.

I replaced the Ball joints since Dodge was being a dick about the recall. And the originals still looked really nice when I changed them. So far, even with pulling a good-sized camper, it's tranny has been flawless.

 

[android]

did you have angle grind off the welds and punch them out to get the old ball joints off? i had some fun with that. the recall didn't pertain to my year i don't think, but i had the noisiest ball joint of all time in that mofo.