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Comments
Domestic auto makers are making such a better product than 10, 15 or 20 years ago. I love my new Dakota Quad. The design, engineering, quality, fit and finish bares virtually no resemblence to my last Chrysler product. 20 some years ago, for a few frustrating months, I owned a '78 Chrysler Cordoba (complete with rich Corinthian leather). The recurring 'exchange' around our house between my wife and I was:
HER: "Honey, I have good news and bad news"
ME: "What's the bad news?"
HER "The Cordoba won't start".
ME: "What's the good news?"
HER: "We'll always know where it is!"
I notice it mostly well after completing a tight turn at corners, or situations similar to backing out of the driveway etc. in either direction. At some point later after I am moving forward in a straight line and I need to adjust the steering wheel to the opposite direction, it will click.
It is supposedly due to slight misalignment of the steering column linkage and is addressed by repositioning a 4 bolt saddle clamp at the underside of the dash. I became aware of the TSB back when we were researching a printout of the infamous "engine ticking" several months ago. My brother-in-law (owns a repair shop)subscribes to a site where he noticed it and mentioned it. At the time I was not too interested but may proceed with the fix.
In fact, for those interested, the web-site is available but you must pay if you wish to stay abreast of the recent (past year or so) TSBs. I know the quarterly CD is about 3-6 months behind the dealership, but the site may be up-to-date. If my memory works the site is www.alldata.com
The quality issue of Ford vs Dodge wasn't a factor to me. We had reservations about Chrysler before we decided to buy a 300M last year. We haven't had one problem with the car. My wife says she will probably want to drive the SuperCrew, I guess I will be left to drive the 300M, what a nice situation to be in.
By the way, do you remember if delivery was any quicker because you ordered through the z-plan
With the E-250 conversion, we got it exactly as ordered in about 14 days. We got the Explorer conversion, and I understand Explorer (in Indiana) always has a lot of chassis/color combinations in stock. So, the prompt delivery of the E-250 was due to Explorer's inventory.
However, in both cases, the dealers gave us the 'red carpet treatment', very attentive to details, etc. Z-plan is a great deal, and thus, I strongly considered the Supercrew. But the Quad just suits our needs perfectly in size, handling, power, options, etc. I have 1000 miles on it now and am very happy with every facet of the Quad.
I also include the "War Dept." (my wife) in decisions. In fact, when we first got married, I told her I would make all the major decisions and she could handle everything else.
Amazingly, in all our time together, we have yet to be faced with a major decision.
Bought in Mid February and I live in Syracuse NY. Nuff said??
Allen-
Bookitty
Bookitty
Anyway, the Quad is always outside. Here in central PA and especially here in the wetlands where I live, there's heavy dew on it every morning. The heated mirrors are great. I squeegy (sp?) off the windows and hit the defrost button. After about 3 miles the mirrors are cleared off completely.
Getting close to 12,000 miles and still love the truck. Just wish themacguy would get his oilfield buddies to lower the price of gas so I could drive more. Don't they know that these high gas prices are playing right into the algore agenda. :-)
I write eductation and training programs buy profession, but have an insatiable appetite for adding new skills to the repetoire... The latest of which is becoming a certified locksmith...
Anyway, I found it interesting that my materials referred to the profit potential afforded by keyless entry systems... That is, since the keyways are rarely used, the mechanisms tend to become inoperable after as little as a year... Locksmith to the rescue when the battery in that key fob runs out of juice and the key doesn't work!!!
The recommendation: "Exercise" the keyways on driver and passenger doors regularly... Plus an occasiional spritz of cleaner/lubricant (such as Lock-Ease).
No big deal... Just thought it was worth mentioning.
Bookitty
Guess we've ALL "been there" under varying circumstances! The QC is the first truck I've had with the remote keyless... And it's already caused its share of embarrassment! Parked the truck in front of a milinary store... Jumped out to duck into the hardware next door... Stuffed the fob into my pocket as I walked... The panic alarm went off just as a woman was leaving the milinary... She dropped her purse, backed up against the wall. I disarmed it and apologized... She was not what I'd call "understanding." Ah well... Aren't these toys fun!!??
1. Discarded the remote and attach the truck key to my two other vehicle keys;
2. Get a spare made by the dealer, took it to the basement and ground off the plastic, placed the "skeleton" key inside my wallet.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Luddite, but I wanted to minimize the "bulge" in my pocket and it seemed easy enough to got back to the key.
to appraiser--good luck on your search for a 5spd. Many of us ran into the same thing you are encountering which made us have to order. In the long run, I am glad I ordered the Quad that was equipped exactly as I wanted rather than settle for what was on the lot. Of course, I have to admit if I had found a 5spd already on a dealer lot, I would have been tempted. Good luck on your search.
needadakota
ozark - I'll be in So. Colo. at the end of July doing a bit of fossil hunting. Hey, I thought algore was from your neck of the woods-- kinda looks like he 'might' be moving back there soon-- AND I'm pumping every barrel of the nasty stuff (sour crude) out of the ground I can for you & everybody else. I just wish we'd all switch to natural gas! I HATE oil - I'd give it to ya if I could, but my partners' (and the bank) would be a bit mmm... 'disturbed' if I did that.
impy2 - 01's will have at least a grille design change.
guanner - looks like a great (sick) day coming up! Congrats! - about time. But no wheelies... :-))
Sure wish we could've saved balser though. :-(
I guess I'm at the plate again for 4x4.
Full time vs. Part time - go part time. Shifting is easy and the additional maintenance, entry cost and operating cost make the full time system a complete waste of money in my opinion.
The part time system is shift on the fly - anything up to about 50mph, with the wheels straight for safety.
Don't recall exactly what happens with the front axle when in 2wd mode - let me think about it and post later - or someone else can help me out - hell I probably posted it a few months back - jeez this old age is killing my memory.
The automatic hub spins freely (or as close to that as possible given the rules of friction and resistance) and engages automatically when it senses that 4WD high range is selected. The front propeller (drive) shaft is stationary in 2WD. The selection of 4WD high range causes the hubs to lock, thus providing for both propeller (drive) shafts to rotate at the same speed so as to synchronize, allowing the transfer case to engage them simultaneously. I am not certain regarding the sequence of full time 4WD systems. I do feel that in most instances they are superfluous to anyone's needs, save those who are unfamiliar with 4WD. I feel that part time 4WD in conjunction with a limited slip differential would provide a solution to most tractive effort situations. Purely my $.02 worth.
Bookitty
needadakota
Found one scratch on it today near the back passenger door. very minor will probably rub out.. other than that all looks to be good.. thanx for all the good info on this sight..
Scott
Still LOVE the truck. So comfortable, quiet, and FAST! Rear seat passengers marvel at the roll-all-the-way down windows (important to teenagers who are used to being crammed in the back of 4-door Civics, Accords, and Corollas...)
I marvel at the handling, power, gas mileage, utility, and yes, those mighty good looks. Note to all those married men out there-make sure Mama gets taken care of (her choice of vehicle might not be your choice). After choosing the last 4 or 5 vehicles based on my taste, I decided to surprise her with the "green light" on HER dream vehicle, a brand-new, 2000 Mustang GT. 5-speed, leather, 260 HP, yada, yada, yada....Cherry-red, with chrome-dipped 17" alloys. Whew! Talk about a happy lady! (Damn woman would NEVER suggest buying herself, SUCH a martyr...) Ever since I let her drive an old 5.0 sedan (1989) we had, she's had her heart set on this car....She even let me drive it-once. 0-60 in 5.5 seconds. WAY more refined (but not quite as fast) as a Camaro/Firehawk, but we don't "do" GM products anyway...Needless to say, our garage looks quite snappy with a Patriot Blue Quad SLT and that eye-catching Laser Red 'Stang...nuff said.
Happy quadding!
quark - my driver's side passenger door has an electric 'releasing' problem with the double click (have to do it once more for that door). Sounds like 'you da man' on this one. If you figure out a TSB or something, please keep us updated...
pix posting will be relatively simple if you know any html (hypertext markup language). I you don't it'll still be doable. We'll explain all shortly over on the group site. I'm quite sure we'll do a cookie cutter thing for everyone to follow to keep it from getting cluttered and disjointed.
All hail bonnie@edmunds, our hero!
I have an automatic with a 4.7 and I am getting around 18.5 miles per gallon so far. I am shocked on how good gas milage is on this truck.
I would assume we do not want to post the same items into the owners group forum that are posted in the other active Dakota forums. Makes for a lot of redundant reading.
I do have a suggetions I would like you two to consider. In addition to having messages discussing the various accessories, what about having a link to a spreadsheet which contains consoidates the details of the various options.
This linked document could provide a matrix of the Accessories that folks have identified for the truck. For example: Soft Tonneaus, Hard Toneaus, Hitches etc. It could include the Manufacturer, Brand name, mfg website, list price etc. I have started this for myself only for items that have interested me, and have found it useful to reference. I can go to my spreadsheet and look at all of the items in one spot versus having to "locate" and the "read" a multitude of documents to sort out the possible options. I know that this would require some coordination, but could benefit a large community. Obviousl, one link would be too complex for all accessries, so several would have to be set up.
Second, what about a link to a summary list of TSB's that exist. I have a list of them through April '00 and would be williing to type these into a format to set into the link. My list covers the 2000 Quad and also the 1999 Dakota which appers to have some overlap into the Quad- as best I can tell.
Any thoughts on this idea- Up to and including "kill it"!
Ed
I totally agree with your idea. I think the only drawback to these types (edmunds) of discussion groups is that you really have to search to find what you are looking for, even then you may not find it. This results in a lot of posts with duplicate info and people asking the same questions repeatedly.
I own a Nissan 300zx and am/was a member of www.twinturbo.net. This was a GREAT forum for sharing information, but as the group grew in size the admin duties became too much and the site was shut down. That site had one discussion list for all subjects. There was a great search tool, but newbies and veterans alike didn't use it as much as they should have. This resulted in the same questions being posted over and over; people got tired of it and started flaming. Then admin had to come in and clean up and they were fed up with it. It is terrible that it had to happen that way.
I really like www.f150online.com because their subjects are divided out. If you want to ask a question about exaust (or whatever topic) you go to that topic. Then you can more easily see the posts that relate to you question(s) and people who read that post won't have to read through subjects they are not interested to find what they are looking for.
This is planning ahead, but If we can design the forum well, it will be much more easier to use and to admin, plus it should last much longer.
Here's to an awesome Dakota Owner's Forum !!!!
GREAT idea on the owners' forum databases for P&A and TSBs!
How many times have I doubled back and skimmed over hundreds of posts to find one in particular that had info I wanted/needed (Example: link to site for extended warranty coverage).
I've kept a handwritten "log" of pertinent info, but it's cumbersome, and I invariably miss things when away from the forum for a period of time.
The DB has my vote!!
Headliner color - my SLT with Power overhead and Agate (pronounced A got ta) has a grey headliner, in bright line or darkness
Dual exhaust - has anyone installed dual exhaust on a 4x4, 4.7L, with Tire and handling package. My dealer's service department said dual exhaust out the rear would not clear the spare tire correctly.
Alarm System - my dealer is ordering a new dash module to correct the NO Security light on the dash. He stated there a 4 different modules for the QC.
As far as general guidelines, that's pretty much it for now. We'll be blending in the spreadsheets & other more 'complicated' stuff as we go. I'm still waiting for a_j to go to work (where his free e:mail access resides - cheap canucks), so he can correspond about certain things we need to do for ya'll. Note: You people are so nice it's gonna give truckers a 'bad' name. Take a walk on the wild side!
For now lets just make sure that we stick to the topics, I'll arrange for a picture posting 101 session to be put into the pictures section - macguy may be best for that as his knowledge of all things technical is some what greater than mine - I only know one line of html!!!! (but it foes post a picture).
In my estimation;
limited slip differential is worth its weight in gold, as it helps prevent a 2WD or 4WD vehicle from being a no WD. If the two wheels on one side are on surfaces that would prompt spinning, then without LSD you are doomed to stay there until you can create tractive effort. With LSD, after the wheel(s) starts to spin, the clutch pack in the LSD causes the wheels on the other side to turn, thus gaining purchase and allowing the vehicle to move. You did not mention whether your Intense Blue beauty was equipped with 2WD or 4WD. Either way, LSD is a worthwhile option. If you don't have it, you will manage to live, as it is not critical to the operation of a vehicle in most conditions. But, it does come in handy!
Good luck with your truck.
Bookitty