Starting When Sitting in the cold

[Ranger1776]

so my dad bought a 1995 dakota, extended cab with a topper, a real old mans truck, chopped off 318, 4wd, yadda yadda so on and so forth, well, it has been COLD up here for a while, and after sitting for about a week, he decided he wanted to go drive it, weeeelllll it wouldnt start... he already had the camry running for my mother ad I to drive (i only have my learners permit) so he went and started my truck up for us to drive so he could take the camry... FIRED RIGHT UP! (it had been sitting for even longer than the dakota had as i hate road salt on my truck) what is it about the dakotas? it just had a full tune up, i got it started for him tonight and it cranked but was spitting and sputtering, so i feathered the gas pedal a little bit and it slowly increased its sputters... so i decided to put it to the floor... well it started up after i did that... anyone know why they do that? wussy fuel system pressures? we have never had a dakota before and im just curious...

 

[Mark_88]

Not sure...haven't looked under the hood of a Dodge since my GF told me to get out of Dodge...

Could be moisture...could be fuel pressure...put it in a shed or under an overhang if you have one and try to start it on a similarly cold day...if it starts then I'd say moisture.

you can probably test the fuel pressure but I wouldn't know where to start on that...so I guess I'd have to ask..."how cold was it"?

 

[Ranger1776]

about 16 below that morning, but about 25 or so below overnight...

 

[wildbill23c]

Cold weather causes some weird things happen when trying to start an engine that hasn't been started for a while. Sometimes if the air is too cold it makes starting very difficult. Not really sure what the problem could be not having the vehicle for inspection. Could be water in the fuel due to sitting for a long period of time. Condensation in the distributor from sitting and the weather will definitely cause starting problems.

 

[a31ford]

Face it... (Sorry to say), It's a Dodge, and they suck up here also....when it gets cold.

Dodge's mandate (from about the 80's on (after the hay-day of big engines)), Dodges design team was given one goal..... whatever you design, it has to be the cheapest to build, (uni-body for example, dodge was a north american leader in this).

All their offerings, even to date, thinnest steel, plastic everywhere, the rest of the world considers them a "throw away vehicle" (the Neon was a good example of this).

I'm not trying to be an ass, just my opinion.

Greg

 

[Ranger1776]

yeah my dad also has a 1985 dodge w350... hell of a truck, ESPECIALLY compared to the dakota....

 

[DRanger024]

How many miles are on it? And I'm guessing by "chopped off 318" you mean it's a 3.9 Magnum. Is the timing chain rattling yet? Was the tune up done with quality parts? My Dakota, also a '95, always fires right up. Did when it was a V6 and still does with the V8.. Even when it's dead ass cold out.

Face it... (Sorry to say), It's a Dodge, and they suck up here also....when it gets cold.

Dodge's mandate (from about the 80's on (after the hay-day of big engines)), Dodges design team was given one goal..... whatever you design, it has to be the cheapest to build, (uni-body for example, dodge was a north american leader in this).

All their offerings, even to date, thinnest steel, plastic everywhere, the rest of the world considers them a "throw away vehicle" (the Neon was a good example of this).

I'm not trying to be an ass, just my opinion.

Greg

My Dakota has less rust than my '02 Ranger. Also less plastic and far less rattles. Not to mention the superior ride quality compared to a Ranger (had a '94 2wd Ranger, Dakota is 2wd as well). Don't get me wrong, I love my Ranger and it is still my baby but my beater Dakota is much more pleasing to drive. Maybe it's the V8 and the 5 speed... I don't know.

Also not trying to be an ass but they're both good trucks. I don't expect my Dakota to EVER see the 200,000+ miles my Ranger has. But for now, it's my ride of choice for traveling, towing and keeping my Ranger out of the salt.

 

[Ranger1776]

the same parts i did my ranger tune up with, and all of our cars are the same parts, it runs nice and quiet in the engine compartment, no rattle from the timing chain, it usually starts up really quick, but for some reason it didnt for a few days there...