Need a AO gear head .... again

[Swampy]

Hey AO

I need a help with my crappy old dodge. Every time it rains, or I don't use it for a few days it doesn't want to start till it ether dries out or I flood it a few times. Any reason its doing this?

Specs
94 dodge ram 1500 pick up
5.9L 360.
has 167K pushing 168K miles on her.

[Madmarx]

Try a new distibutor and plug wires.

[rkjunior303]

or the coil.

i got given an a hyundai in high school because it wouldn't start every time it rained. turned out the wire going to the coil had a bare connector on it, so every time it got wet it shorted. i replaced the wires and coil and it ran fine until i got rid of it.

[Dend78]

get a chevy problem solved :rofl:

yeah what they said, thats all electrical there, first guess though would be the distrib/wires/plugs, after that if its still an issue go for the coil good luck with it :cheers:

[druid]

also look for condensation in the computer box. It may need a new seal installed after being completely dried out.

[Lohman446]

1) Diagnose your problem, don't guess.

"Wet" related problems are generally ignition. Pull a plug, reattach to wire, hold with set of insulated pliers. Have someone crank engine. Do you have spark? At the same time watch underhood, does spark jump from one wire to the other?

[Dend78]

1)hold with set of insulated pliers


sounds like an experienced person :rofl: that lil jolt will make ya jump every time :bounce:

[pepple84]

aw come on, it's only 12 volts :wow: [/sarcasm]

[Swampy]

Don't think it's the coil, had to replace that last year.

Thanks guys I'll give it a try when my buddy comes over tonight.



get a chevy problem solved

I'd rather drive a Kia then a chevy/gmc. :D

[MANN]

I'd rather drive a Kia then a chevy/gmc. :D

:rofl: better get use to working on your dodge or shopping for a kia. :D

Let us know if that fixes it. My brother is a "Dodge Man" and Ill call him if you need more help.

[Dend78]

I'd rather drive a Kia then a chevy/gmc. :D

i guess you are just wanting to learn how to work on automobiles :spit_take

[Swampy]

well took out a plug I got spark but the end was charred and the gap was about a mile wide. So put in new plugs and wires. It was turning over and started to chug like it wanted to go but just wouldn't fire. Well the tinkering neighbor came over, said I need a new distibutor or cap and rotor. He was telling me that moisture got in there messed it all up, has been raining since saturday plus the humity. :(

[Dend78]

sucky sucky, its chevy time :D

just playin, i wish ya luck, ebay is a good spot to find one of those for a fair price

[bornl33t]

Let me fill ya in on why this thread is ironic.

So, I'm not a brand loyal guy, but my first 2 cars were mustangs. I went to jeep after that. And now own a 03 3/4 ton chevy.

One mustang had 130k miles on it when I got tired of replacing the rear diff cause it was a chronic breaker. BUT it lasted 90k miles before having this problem. The second Mustang was great! But I sold it for something smarter.
The jeep was a 98 Cherokee and I put 40k miles on it before I sold it to my brother who hasn't washed it in 4 years and added another 40k for a total of 140k miles and the only part on it that went bad was a heater coil.

Now, I bought this chevy right and it's COOL! I mean it's stock, no lift or other wise fancy stuff and I got it with 16000 miles on it. Great deal, until 2000 miles later the transmission quits shifting and it's towed to be worked on, under warranty thankfully. About a week later I go to set a loaded tool box in the bed and BOTH tailgate cables snap leaving a nice crease accost the tail gate. Warranty doesn't cover body damage....piss.
It's now got 45k miles on it, the transmission seems to work most of the time, sometimes I just turn the truck off and back on and that fixes the random shifting, the engine is knocking at idle and I still have a crease in the tail gate.....but it's still COOL.

Anything>chevy this includes the pinto.

[PyRo]

Now, I bought this chevy right and it's COOL! I mean it's stock, no lift or other wise fancy stuff and I got it with 16000 miles on it. Great deal, until 2000 miles later the transmission quits shifting and it's towed to be worked on, under warranty thankfully. About a week later I go to set a loaded tool box in the bed and BOTH tailgate cables snap leaving a nice crease accost the tail gate. Warranty doesn't cover body damage....piss.
It's now got 45k miles on it, the transmission seems to work most of the time, sometimes I just turn the truck off and back on and that fixes the random shifting, the engine is knocking at idle and I still have a crease in the tail gate.....but it's still COOL.

Anything>chevy this includes the pinto.
My 91 Chevy K2500 has almost 200,000 miles on it and it's still going strong, the only expensive repairs have been a clutch and tires, the original drive train is still going. It was used by a machine shop before me so it was driven by people who didn't care about the truck and many of those miles are local/loaded miles. My fathers 2000 Silverado has 120k on it and hasn't needed any major repairs either his tailgate cables snapped too though. He uses it for work and tows his boat around with it. It seems no matter what company you go with it's like playing the lottery hoping you didn't get the last truck off the line on a Friday night.

I would have pushed them to fix the body damage caused by the cables breaking. It probably would have taken a bit of fighting but they do have to cover it as long as it happened before you received a recall notice.

[Lohman446]

I love how people take one example of a vehicle and then apply everything about it to the entire company.

[Swampy]

So anyways good news, sort of. I got her to fire after work today and is holding a idle, but it running rough and it seems to have a loss of power when I took it for a spin.

[Madmarx]

Did you repalce the distributor cap and rotor?
Are you sure you have the wires to the correct cylinders?
Have the timing checked?

[bornl33t]

I love how people take one example of a vehicle and then apply everything about it to the entire company.


Ok, round two
I also own a 05 malibu. Purchased used with 25k miles on it in 05.

It's now getting new front lower ball joints, all pads and rotor replaced and it's only got 55k miles on it.
The rotors turns out (no bun intended) are too thin, so the vents rusted shut and the rotors warps something awful. The local chevy dealer machined them and they were warped 3000 miles later. It would seem that in order to increase fuel economy the rotor lost 1/4 inch of their width, making to holes to small to clear themselves. Oddly enough to my knowledge there are no companies making aftermarket rotors for the 05's. Which is odd considering they've been on the road for 3 years already. So I have to buy new ones from chevy at 90$ a pop.

Go ahead and ask me about my opinion on blazers.....

[Dend78]

[QUOTE=bornl33t]I also own a 05 malibu.QUOTE]

thats yr first problem right there you got a malibu :p

seriously though swamp check and make sure you wired it right, one misplaced wire will do that and its fairly easy to do, also if you took the distributor out did you mark it? cause you could be off a tooth or two and it could be throwing it off. first i would check those wires though start it and start let it idle and start pulling wires off one at a time, make sure you get it close to something that it can arc to or it will zap you every time the clyinder is supposed to fire :D speakin from experience here , also did you check yr gaps? all else fails find someone who really knows what they are doing it cant be that bad if its running so its gonna be something kinda small i would think.

good luck to ya
:cheers:

[Lohman446]

Ok, round two
I also own a 05 malibu. Purchased used with 25k miles on it in 05.

It's now getting new front lower ball joints, all pads and rotor replaced and it's only got 55k miles on it.
The rotors turns out (no bun intended) are too thin, so the vents rusted shut and the rotors warps something awful. The local chevy dealer machined them and they were warped 3000 miles later. It would seem that in order to increase fuel economy the rotor lost 1/4 inch of their width, making to holes to small to clear themselves. Oddly enough to my knowledge there are no companies making aftermarket rotors for the 05's. Which is odd considering they've been on the road for 3 years already. So I have to buy new ones from chevy at 90$ a pop.

Go ahead and ask me about my opinion on blazers.....

I would, from experience, name the blazer the worst common vehicle GM has made in the past ten years.

Rotors are not a GM issue either. So no go there. I would be surprised if you cannot find any aftermarket rotors - Raybestos and Brembo are both pretty good about getting things out quickly enough.

Its not uncommon after machining warped rotors to have them rewarp - on any.

[Swampy]

seriously though swamp check and make sure you wired it right, one misplaced wire will do that and its fairly easy to do, also if you took the distributor out did you mark it? cause you could be off a tooth or two and it could be throwing it off. first i would check those wires though start it and start let it idle and start pulling wires off one at a time, make sure you get it close to something that it can arc to or it will zap you every time the clyinder is supposed to fire :D speakin from experience here , also did you check yr gaps? all else fails find someone who really knows what they are doing it cant be that bad if its running so its gonna be something kinda small i would think.

good luck to ya
:cheers:

I did that last night. One seems like its delaying and 2 don't seems to be firing. I went and picked up a new cap and rotor last night but it was dark out so I wasn't going to mess with it. Luckly I got all day off of work cause its raining yet again up here.

[bornl33t]

I would, from experience, name the blazer the worst common vehicle GM has made in the past ten years.

Rotors are not a GM issue either. So no go there. I would be surprised if you cannot find any aftermarket rotors - Raybestos and Brembo are both pretty good about getting things out quickly enough.

Its not uncommon after machining warped rotors to have them rewarp - on any.

Ok, but why machine them to begin with? They should have been replaced, especially because they were under warranty. Ok, this is a dealer issue not so much GM. None the less crappy brakes.

As far as aftermarket brakes, why would I put something more expensive then GM on a malibu, the whole reason to find aftermarket brakes is to go less money. Which btw after making some calls I did find aftermarket rotors at half the price with a lifetime warranty, so about another 4 years.

I'm not sure why it matters though? I bought them I'll pay for them I won't buy Chevy again. I'm not brand loyal, but I won't be fooled again. Are you a Chevy guy?

[Lohman446]

Ok, but why machine them to begin with? They should have been replaced, especially because they were under warranty. Ok, this is a dealer issue not so much GM. None the less crappy brakes.

As far as aftermarket brakes, why would I put something more expensive then GM on a malibu, the whole reason to find aftermarket brakes is to go less money. Which btw after making some calls I did find aftermarket rotors at half the price with a lifetime warranty, so about another 4 years.

I'm not sure why it matters though? I bought them I'll pay for them I won't buy Chevy again. I'm not brand loyal, but I won't be fooled again. Are you a Chevy guy?

Actually before posting here I was wondering why it mattered. Frankly I drive whatever I deam the best value at the time - there is a Taurus sitting in my driveway right now. Of course its next to my Camaro.

Im not brand loyal, simply stated though GM has the same problems every other manufacturer has. Though there quality from the late 80s and early 90s does seem to have gone downhill. At that point I would have flat out said GM makes a better vehicle, its not the case anymore.

[Spider-TW]

Next thing to check may be the fuel filter or pump, unless your sure it's flooding. It is carburated?

[Swampy]

Next thing to check may be the fuel filter or pump, unless your sure it's flooding. It is carburated?

I'm sure its flooding you can smell gas coming through. Nope not carburated.

Replaced the cap and rotor. I unbolted the old cap and transfered the wires one by one, and I took off the old rotor and tried to replace it exactly as the old one came off. Now its firing running rough but not staying dying after a second or two.

[rkjunior303]

Its not uncommon after machining warped rotors to have them rewarp - on any.

GM has notoriously bad OEM rotors. I had an alero that would warp them after a few K miles, it doesn't matter how i drove.

[Swampy]

Yup I broke, I threw my arms up a said F it and had it towed to a family friends shop (right down the road). I really don't have time to deal with it and its frustrating the crap out of me, making me drink a hellva lot more beer. I can work on a lawn mower or our 7.3's but not my own 360. I hate gas engines, been thinking of biting the bullet and buying a 2500 cummins or a 7.3 powerstroke. I don't mind working on Fords, get frustrated means get a bigger hammer.

[Dend78]

sorry to hear that man, are you sure you didnt foul any of the plugs? cause im thinking you may have flooded out a couple cylinders

[Swampy]

sorry to hear that man, are you sure you didnt foul any of the plugs? cause im thinking you may have flooded out a couple cylinders


I replace everyone one at a time. Took the wire off the plug, followed it to the cap, and placed the new wire on, then the plug with the gap of .035.

[Dend78]

hmmm guess its chevy time :rofl:

is the distributor in the back like the older trucks where the water that ran off the windsheild ran right down onto it? if it is once its fixed i would say put a piece of thin rubber over it to help keep the water off of it later on down the road. i wish ya the best of luck and hope the repair isnt to costly

:cheers:

[Swampy]

Bah no it isn't chezzy time. I can get out and walk faster then a Duramax goes in reverse (plowing BAD!!!!)

Nah good ol' Kenny Weber is on top of it. He's fixing the problem and doing a complete fluid flush to the beast free of charge (it pays to know a good tow/mechanic guy, plus he's the only guy my boss turns to when our work trucks break down). Probably going to cost about 70 bucks, I refer alot of work style trucks/equipment to him.

But seriously I'll take that idea to heart. My Cap, rotor, distrubtor is behind the engine(have to take the whole air filter assembly off to get to it)

[billybob_81067]

hmmm guess its chevy time :rofl:

is the distributor in the back like the older trucks where the water that ran off the windsheild ran right down onto it? if it is once its fixed i would say put a piece of thin rubber over it to help keep the water off of it later on down the road. i wish ya the best of luck and hope the repair isnt to costly

:cheers:

Ya know that wouldn't be a problem with a FORD! We got our distributor up front where it's freakin supposed to be! :p