i have a 1996 dodge dakota, 5 spd manual, 3.9 liter v6. seems to not have alot of power. 155000 mi, and i push the gas down the the floor and that same amout of power excists as if i were to lightly press the gas petal. it does speed up though, i just thought it would go quicker. airfilter is good and i ran fuel cleaner though it along with premium. could the engine be shot? also i hear this annoying rattle and i don;t think it is a lifter or rod seems to come from engine somewhere. when its cold in the morning, i don't hear it. as it warms up, i can. i allready put a waterpump on it, and the knocking went away, now its just a rattle. anyone know anything on what it may be? thanks! o yea and my volvo i found out that the sparkplugs were loose, i have to tighten the metal things on the top + that 25 amp fuse keeps comeing loose shuting the car off... doh!!

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```1990 volvo 240dl sedan. 202000 mi, broken odo, work car, in need of major tlc! or i just need another cheap nicer volvo~~~

Just wondering if a chain reaction with a tensioner hasn't occured. Some new tension might have worked its way around the pulleys.

I have a 93 Dakota 3.9 with about 175,000 on it. Those engines are notorious for developing sloppy timing chains, which is probably the source of the rattling. As built, they don't have any kind of chain tensioner, however Mopar sells a mod kit that adds one. Mine made the rattling noise, and for the longest time I thought it was pinging due to the fact it started making the noise at a rather young age. Also, it kind of seemed as though the noise increased with throttle load, but that must have been my imagination. Finally, the water pump went out two years ago at Christmas time (at around 155,000 miles) so I decided I would bite the bullet and dig the rest of the way in and replace the chain as I had heard so much about what a problem area that was for the 3.9. I found it to be as loose as a goose! It hadn't jumped time yet, but it may have been getting close. (BTW - I propose the idea that possibly your's HAS jumped time, which may be the reason for the power characteristics you're experiencing.) Anyway, a new chain and gear set brought about a quiet running engine.

You could probably set up a dial indicator on one of the valve tappets and a degree wheel on the harmonic balance to determine if the cam is out of time, but at 155,000 miles it may be a needless effort. I think I can say with some confidence that it's too bad you didn't go on in when you had the water pump off. Oh well......

FYI - Here's a site for DYI Dakota owners:

http://www.dodgedakotas.com/cgi-bin/amb/view.pl?board=v6

It has a few fairly knowledgeable people, and somewhere on there is a very detailed article on replacing the timing chain. (Keep in mind, it's no "Brickboard" though.)

Good luck.

if i just drive the vehicle, will it hurt it? i think it gets about 20omg on the highway, 15 in the city,

If it really is the timing chain that's the problem, I don't know what damage would be caused by letting it go till it breaks or gets so sloppy that it slips WAY out of time. I've gotten mixed info as to whether the 3.9 is truly an interference engine or not.

If you do end up tearing it apart, take the opportunity to flush out the heater core real well in both directions with a garden hose, as they have a way of collecting sediment which decreases the heater output - even if you have been diligent about keeping the antifreeze up to snuff. I was surprised how much crud came out of there and how it helped the heater performance.

Check out the Rev limiter and check out the Throtle Position Sensor for adjustment - does it say service engine soon?

Disconnect Cat. Conv. and see what happens if those don't cure the problem.
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1992 - 244 - AW70 'Soft Ride' / 1987 - 244 - M47 (Hydra, turbo bars, bilstein, urethane bushings - now deceased)

+1 on checking the catalytic converter. The cat on my dad's Chevy S10 started rattling and eventually the loose chunks of ceramic jammed up the pipe leading to the muffler and the truck would only go about 10 MPH. My old VW Passat also did this. A new cat solved the problem in both cases.

When the truck is cold, try thumping on the bottom of the cat with a rubber mallet. If the ceramic honeycomb inside is shot, it will probably rattle.

Andrew S.

'91 744