Does this vehicle have manual choke?

JEREMY MCAFEE

MEMBER
1987 DODGE DAKOTA
3.9L
V6
2WD
AUTOMATIC
150,000 MILES

Hello! I recently purchased the vehicle listed above and was looking into getting a new carburetor because it didn't really like to idle all that much. However, after inspecting the flap for the carburetor I noticed it was stuck all the way open. This made me realize I couldn't find a choke inside the cabin anywhere. The previous owner had done some questionable repairs that I've tackled one at a time, but I doubt that they would just remove or hide a choke cable. Does this truck come with one that goes into the cab through the firewall?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

Manual choke cables went away in the 1950s. Your carburetor uses a linkage that goes down to a thermostatic spring that sits in a pocket in the intake manifold, and is heated by hot exhaust gas. First we have to determine how much of that is still there. Any chance you can post a photo of the passenger side of the carburetor?

There should also be an electric heater to assist the opening of the choke. Those rarely caused a problem, so I don't recall ever working on one. The parts will also be on the same side of the carburetor.

Last, look on the back of the passenger side exhaust manifold to see if there is a "heat riser" valve still there. It's a round cast iron disc on a shaft that goes through the manifold. On some newer models it was a rectangular metal block. Regardless, it should be free to rotate 1/4 turn. (Check that when its cold).

Let me know what you find.