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more power?

2K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  RXT 
#1 ·
i just bought a 91 dakota with only 93k i was wondering if the 5.2 is supposed to have quick throttle response or be able to spin the tires , it doesnt seem to have the power i suspected it would any ideas?
 
#2 ·
Wow, a '91 with 93K? That must have been the proverbial little old man or woman who only drove it to church on Sundays. Seriously.
Are you sure it's a true 93K?
Maybe it just needs a basic tune up. You know, plugs, wires, cap & rotor, air filter. Was the fuel filter accessible from outside the tank back then? If the previous owner was barely driving it, he or she may not have kept up on that stuff.
 
#3 ·
And just out of curiosity, are you running the stock sized tires?

When I bought my Dak, the tires actually had a lower profile than stock, & that thing was a rubber burning animal. When I needed new rubber I didn't want to go with those little tires (I felt they contributed to the bumpy ride & the higher revs had to be hurting my MPG) & I was going to get the stock 255/55-17s but they were just ungodly expensive (I thought), so I put on a set of 245/65s which are actually bigger than stock. It doesn't smoke 'em like it used to & it lost a bit on the hole shot.
 
#4 ·
i am sure its 93 original the little old man i got it from used it to tow his boat to the ramp and back only. it hasnt had much maintenance before i got the babe , except for a few rust holes that got filled with caulking and sprayed with primer , i fixed all that, and primed and painted the whole thing. it has new plugs wires and stuff but had a rat living up in the motor and it ate some of the vacum hoses so... i dont know if thats the problem she just doesnt have the power my Ram had with the 318 and i figured it woulda
 
#6 ·
I would think that if you had some vacuum leaks going on from rat-damage that would have an adverse effect on performance . . . .

I was also thinking that with 93k on it maybe it had sat for massively long periods of time & maybe some of the valve springs took a set to them &/or the compression rings got bound up in their grooves from not moving & maybe it wasn't making a lot of compression because of that . . . but I really don't know how much of a factor that would be in real life.

I would have thought the same as you, though, that a Dakota with a 318 oughta scoot along pretty well when you shoveled the coals to it. Maybe start seriously looking for some vacuum leaks.
 
#7 ·
My 96 5.2 has 112k on it. Little engine screams when I punch it. Zero hesitation, just gets up and goes, chirps the tires through 3rd gear. 5 speed, short bed, standard cab so not much weight. 4x4 too. Have a Hughes intake but same as keeper minus looks better and revs faster.
 
#12 ·
Not exactly sure how it works, but it sure does work! Driving normal, I've never had a tire slip, and we have some pretty steep hills around here that don't always get plowed right away in the winter. Other cars just spinning their ass off trying to get up the hill. My truck just walks right up like it's nothing.
 
#14 ·
Yes, unfortunately, you do not have the 5.2 Magnum. What you have is the older and weaker 318 LA. 91 was the last year of the LA. The Magnum introduced in 92, was a significant improvement over the LA in terms of HP and TQ.

Though you have an LA, it is still a very good engine with all sorts of options to make it whatever you want, but in it's current state, don't ask it to roast a set of radials

Ed
 
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