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Dodge Dakota: Problems & Solutions
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It looks like you have to pull the front bumper off to get to the petcock....if it`s even there. Does anyone know how to get to the drain without removing the front end ?
Are you sure that you have to change the thermostat housing when you change the thermostat?
installation. I think the guy at Auto Zone was just trying to run my bill up and make a commission.
Anyway thanks for your help, this is a great website.
John6 ">
Two things are required for backfiring to occur: raw fuel and enough oxygen to allow combustion.
A few more questions:
How is the idle speed and quality, both cold and hot?
How is the engine performance?
How is the fuel consumption?
Best regards,
Dusty
Cold starts are smooth and idles also very smooth!
I hope my gas mileage goes back up also!
61k miles and I'm still happy with my '01 Quad.
MM
Figured I was skirting the new battery issue, but was convinced after Voltage check. Truck running fine with new battery. Just adding that I've read some odd problems with old batterys resulting in some weird problems, but never saw this one. Glad it didn't cut out while on the local or interstate.. :P Ger
My guess is that it will fail suddenly ...perhaps this winter on a -20F morning 8-(
When it does fail, I will be installing the most powerful battery that will fit in the batterybox.
this is what the dealer did:
1, found on cyclinder mifiring and low compression
2,.valve no sealing properly check out found low compressionon #1 cylinder remve left cylinder head and inpsect and found value not sealing properly, grind valves on all cylinders on left head. replace head gasket reseal, change oil and filter, install coolant and clear codes and road test.
The service writer said that we need to have them do a BG treatment and the change the rear axle lubricant.
Question:
has anyone had a probleming wanting until the scheduled 36,000 miles on changing the rear axle lubricant? we have 13,000 miles and tow a Trail-lite batam Flyer traveler that weilghts 3,000 when loaded.
Thanks,
craigm2 :confuse:
I changed my rear-end lube in about 20 minutes by sucking out the old then adding fresh lube... all thru the fill-hole. By doing it this way, there is much less possibility of introducing contaminants that could damage the internal-workings of the differential.
Bookitty
Regards,
Dusty
Use care when removing the PCV valve. Unlike older engines, they twist in and lock into position. I found you need to remove the vacuum hose that goes to the PCV valve and a number of collateral items in the area in order to gain good access. I remove the air filter box.
You can see the PCV valve, but there's enough stuff around it and in the area that twisting the valve to remove it is problematic.
Best regards,
Dusty
I had a 307 nova v8 whereas when I made that left or right turn (don't recall which direction but only happened at that direction) at slow speeds, the carbs' float would stick and fill the carb up with gas, and choke out..I ended up rebuilding the carb and fixed "my" problem..I had about 120000 miles on that orig carb though..Think it was a rochester though..not sure what the '98 dakota has.. (Carb-or fuel injection) I used to floor it also when it started to die and it would come back to life! Sounds very familiar..Good luck! Ger
The total flow of air is as follows;
Thru air filter into the tubes you mention above
into top of each valvecover
thru the crankcase
up the oil-fill-tube
thru the PCV valve (in the side of the oil-fill-tube)
thru hose into intake manifold (Where a vacuum is created at Idle)
into engine to be burned
out the exhaust.
Axles and drums have already been replaced too.
I have had a problem since about 1000 miles. The vibration was more intermittent, but has kept getting worse since then (now have 5500 miles). At first, I only felt the vibration when I was braking at about 35 mph. Now I feel it constantly even when driving down the road.
I took it to the dealer 3 times and this time they told me that a tire failed the road force test. I took it to a Goodyear dealer and he ran the same test and got the same results, but the were well within Goodyear's acceptable range.
They (the dealer) even rotated the tire, and the supposedly offending tire was put on the front. But when I drive, I still get a horrible vibration from the rear.
I hear that my truck isnt the only one with this problem. Has anybody else had the same issues? If so, what did you do to correct it?
Thanks for your help.
Mark
1. About 2 of 10 times after startup in the morning when I put it in gear and drive away there is a loud engine roar and the transmission is not fully engaging. I always allow at least one minute of warmup before driving. This only lasts for 10-20 seconds before stopping and all is quiet and well again.
2. I live in Colorado and when I get above 10,000 feet in elevation the same roaring will suddenly begin and go on until I get below about 9,000 feet. It may last for hours under these conditions. It is very loud and very annoying.
I told my local dealer about all this and here is what they provided me with from their own Dodge Service website: (https://w05.dealerconnect.chrysler.com/service/mds2002/tsb/enUS/080022dc80bbf413.htm:
"Some vehicles may exhibit an engine cooling fan "roar" noise. This noise is created by a large cooling fan that is required to provide optimum cooling for low vehicle speed operation in hot weather conditions and for heavy trailer towing. Since the large cooling fan is unnecessary in most operating conditions, these vehicles are also equipped with vicsous cooling fan drives that allow the fan to operate at variable speeds based upon temperature loads. The viscous fan drive will engage the fan for maximum cooling when temperatures are high and allow the fan to operate at slower speeds when temperatures are low. In addition, at engine start-up, the viscous fan drive engages the fan for maximum cooling until the fluid in the viscous clutch can dissipate out of the clutch drive grooves allowing the fan to operate at a slower speed.
Because of the viscous fan drive, the noise may occur during high temperature conditions and for the first 1-2 minutes of operation. Due to the roar of the fan, customers may also complain of a PERCEIVED loss of power, automatic transmission slippage, or that the transmission is staying into a low gear too long (delayed upshift).
Customers concerned about this noise should be advised that this conditions is norman and no repair attempts should be made. Policy: Information Only". Dated 07-05-98
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So this describes my problems exactly. What I take issue with is the word "Perceived." The loss of power is NOT perceived, it is real. And I never tow anything. I can't help but think that some engine and/or tranny damage is occurring. At the very least it is incredibly and irritatingly loud and just not right. I'd like it to be fixed on mine even if Dodge/Chrysler doesn't see it as a problem. Any advice or thoughts on this?
Sorry for the long post. Thanks.
Try a load test on the battery and see what happens. Or, because of the age, maybe a new battery before winter can be justified on its own merits.
Please get back to us with your results.
Best regards,
Dusty
By the way, I had mine viscous fan replaced last year. Mine was causing a chirping and belt-type noise. It's been fine since they replaced it.
Regards,
Dusty
Irreguardless what you may think, it really is a "percieved" loss of engine power. The only "loss of power" would be what the fan is soaking from the engine (perhaps less than 1 horsepower) Your ears are hearing that roar and it sounds as if the engine is really cranking out power.... when in reality, it is not any different.
To allevieate your issue wiht the perception, try this.... Start to watch at the Tachometer as you drive. Get accustomed to what the "normal" RPMs are during driving. Then, the next time it is "roaring" try to ignore the sound and watch the Tach. you will find that the RPMs are completely normal.
It is also interesting that this "roaring issue" comes up in the spring and the fall. this is because the viscous coupling of the fan does this funky thing right around 40F. If 10 degrees warmer or colder than 40F, the roaring is much less pronounced.
The only thing about your complaint that I cannot explain is the fact that you can hear this roaring for long periods of time while at high altitudes. Perhaps somone else can relate to that phenomonon.
Regards,
Dusty
Regards,
Dusty
The only time I get to experience this lovely increase in performance is when its raining outside??? I know its weird but its true.
Any clue has to how to fix it so it will perform both when its raining and when its not ?
Just trying to keep voltage regulator output at a needle above 14 on voltmeter gauge because the truck runs better, the windows roll up and down quickly, the wipers move faster just a much better performing truck when the voltage gauge reads a needle above 14.
The only time I get to experience this lovely increase in performance is when its raining outside??? I know its weird but its true.
Any clue has to how to fix it so it will perform both when its raining and when its not ?
If it were my truck, I would pull each and every ground connection, solder the wire to it, file to bare metal underneath and screw it back down. Also, clean the battery and alternator connections. Ground wire to engine/frame is also suspect.
If you are good with a DVM (Digital Voltmeter), it would be trivial to isolate the problem within a few minutes of probing around looking for voltage drops.
2001 Dakota Quad 4.7L, Auto, 2WD. Been a great truck until a couple of weeks ago. Just before my 90,000 mi. service (only the dealer has ever put a wrench on it), I started to have problems.
1. When cranking (especially the first of the day), it would idle up real high, then ease back down, then it might go up real high again.
2. On the road, it started to shift in and out of overdrive (OD) by itself, and also seemed like it was running poorly (fuel-wise).
Took it in for the 90,000, and they did everything they were supposed to do for the service. After picking it up, it seemed to run alright again. At least the cold crank idling was fixed. Within a couple of days, it began to do the same things again. I called the dealer, and they said bring it back in. Before I could get there, the Check Engine lamp illuminated. Really running horribly by this time.
When they plugged-in the diagnostic tool, it reported a P0202 code, which they said was "Lost Signal to Fuel Injector Circuit - #2 Cyclinder". They told me it was caused by a faulty PCM, that it was not serviceable, and the only thing they could do was order me a new PCM. Almost $700.00 for the new PCM, another couple of hundered to install and "flash" the new PCM. Now we're talking right at a thousand bucks!
The dealer also jokingly recommended that I could always trade on a new Dakota. I said "no thanks", so the mechanic "reset" the PCM (erased the memory?), and I came home and started to look around on the internet. I found a place that would refurbish my PCM and return it with a lifetime warranty for around $250.00 (http://www.ecudirect.com/index.asp), so I shipped it off, and in about a week, the refurbished PCM arrived.
After I installed it, I am still having the problem of the truck continuing to shift in and out of OD. It feels like there is some sort of fuel delivery problem going on. Even if I push the button and turn the OD off, I can still feel the engine surging, and you can watch the tach jump up and back down about 5,000 RPM (almost continuously) at almost all speeds. It's worse when you are climbing a hill, but it does it even on a level highway. It does it worse with Cruise Control on, but also does it without the Cruise.
The battery is practically brand new. This almost has to be associated with the fuel injection system somehowe, but the Check Engine lamp has not illuminated again since I put the refurbished PCM in. The dealer ensures me that they cleaned and serviced the injector system, as required, at the 90,000 mi. service.
It will sit and idle almost effortlessly, smooth as silk, but the trouble begins when you start to accelerate.
OK you experts, any ideas out there? Even the dealer seems to be stumped.
Worth a try at this point. I have an uneasy feeling about this one.
Regards,
Dusty
You could have a bad connection at the alternator or the PCM (the voltage regulator is in the PCM). Could also be bad brushes or some other defect in the alternator itself. Because of the year I would recommend a complete electrical system health check, including the battery and connections.
Regards,
Dusty