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Dodge Durango Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • kimosmkimosm Member Posts: 7
    Dodge will pay for the PCM , Computer for the oil leakage problem . They will not pay for the wire harness for the Durango 2000 , 4.7 l. Does any one have a solution for the oil that is in the wires now ??
  • aray2aray2 Member Posts: 15
    I had the same problem and wrote about it in this forum. The power steering switch goes bad, leaking fluid through the ground wire which is a common wire going to the o2 sensor. When fluid goes down the ground in the o2, it gets shorted out.(reason for raw gas) The dealership does sell a wiring harnes bypass for $66.00 that runs seperate wires from the ground to the pcm. You still need to change the steering pressure switch. It's very difficult to get the fluid out of the ground wire going all the way down to the o2. Reaon for new harness bypass. I called bosh and they told me the ground wire color is white on the o2. Match that up to the wire on the other side of the connector, cut that wire and run a new wire to a ground, eleminating the old ground to the o2. Do not cut the wires on the o2. Cut the wire on the back side of the connector. I think mine was a black with a blue stripe, but i cant be sure now. Just match the two connectors to determine the one that corresponds with the white wire. Worked for me. Good luck
  • stevem614stevem614 Member Posts: 2
    Hello all...

    I have a 2001 Dodge Durango SLT. For a while now, I've noticed the blower for the air conditioner is not very strong. My wife's Ford Windstar on a setting of 3 out of 4 is faster than mine at full blast. Not much air seems to be coming out of it when at full, and all the other settings seem to be pretty slow too. Anyone run into this? Anyone know what the problem could be?
  • shelmurphshelmurph Member Posts: 2
    OK - I was just clicking around for a bit and found this site then after about 20 minutes of reading, I became seriously concerned. I absolutely love my 2001 Durango. It's an SLT with a 4.7L. I'm getting awesome gas mileage right now. 18 city 22 hwy (don't know why but I'm not complaining). I just hit 75k miles and I have not had any problems until yesterday. I was on my way home from work and I had the A/C on max. It suddenly went off. I stopped at a light and turned it off then on again. Now it only works on MAX. low and medium settings do not work. the blower will not come on. When I put it on max it works just fine. Nice cold air but nothing at all on low or medium.

    Please - if anyone has some words of wisdom to help I would appreciate it.
  • back2caliback2cali Member Posts: 1
    ok - has anyone ever heard a noise coming from the dash when the AC is on reg or max that sounds similar to when you blow accross a beer bottle? it is a loud, low toned, vibrating sound that i can't purposely reproduce based on outside temp or humidity, fan speed, vehicle speed or anything that is remotely trackable.

    dealership says nothing is wrong with AC, and i can't get it to reproduce when i'm there anyway.
  • kimosmkimosm Member Posts: 7
    my durango is still eating gas . I've had power steering switch , O2 sensors , TPS, PCM changed . I still have the black exhaust coming out the tailpipe and it still looks like a diesel going down rode. This vechile is getting ready to go to the big junk yard in the sky. Any suggestions ????
  • kimosmkimosm Member Posts: 7
    I will be getting rid of my Durango 2001 4.7 . I was told by the dealership that it was not worth fixing.
  • aray2aray2 Member Posts: 15
    Is your check engine light still on? If it is, is the code for the o2? The connector may be full of power steering fluid causing the ground on the o2 to short out. Chrysler does sell a bypass harness for this. Cost is $66.00.
  • 2001durango2001durango Member Posts: 2
    I am having the same problem with my ac. Only having the maximum setting available. Mine happened about a few days ago. Not sure what is causing this. If you have any ideas about what it could be please let me know. Thanks
  • durangofandurangofan Member Posts: 21
    What state do you live in? If we are close, I can assist you on the service on your Durango for little charge. ...And if the 2000 and 2001 Durangos are designed the same - in regards to the wiring.

    I replaced all 4 wires going to the front O2 sensor, bypassing the factory connections. All connections were completed by the air cleaner box.

    If the wires are full of power steering fluid - one must replace all 4 wires.

    I look forward to your response.
  • kimosmkimosm Member Posts: 7
    I have ran out of time , patience , and money . We did have the PCM changed and they said they cleaned the wires and connectors. Also they cleaned out the o2 sensors. The check engine light has came back on .I am a mother of three small children and school is starting up soon . The fumes are coming up inside the Durango . The black exhaust comes up over the the back of the car really bad while ilding . (very embrassing) . Thank you for all your help . This forum got some of the mechanics pointed in right direction . It took 2 months before anyone would touch it.
  • durangofandurangofan Member Posts: 21
    Do you still have the Durango or did you trade it in on something else? What state do you live in?
  • billyk3billyk3 Member Posts: 1
    There is a resistor pack under the blower motor under the passenger side dashboard.One plug and 2 screws takes it out.The part costs 12.00 at the dealer.
  • rjprincerjprince Member Posts: 1
    Today I replaced the power steering pressure switch (diagnostic code after check engine light came on indicated I should do this) and there was ps fluid in the connection. I blew it out. Am I to understand that I should anticipate an O2 sensor problem down the road? I just hit 135K on my 2000 4.7 Durango Sport. Can anyone around Michigan help? Do I need to buy a bypass wire or does someone know what needs to be done exactly? Anyone know what's in the bypass kit?
  • kimosmkimosm Member Posts: 7
    I live in a Lower South Eastern State . I have took it to a mechanic friend of my dad's and he is going to pay it off and try to fix . I gave him all of information that was given to me in this forum. About the $66 bypass. I asked the dealership about this bypass and they said it wouldn't be a good idea because it would cause the computer to get a bad reading from something else. I think they just didn't want the responiblty of fixing it or wanted me to buy the whole wiring harness for $1400 .
  • windkistwindkist Member Posts: 4
    We finally replaced the computer in our 99 Dodge Durango. We had previously replaced the crank sensor and it was still randomly stalling. The computer replacement has seemed to fix the problems (knock on wood) Amazing that Dodge put a 8 year 80,000 mile warrenty on this defective part when in fact it should just have been a recall. Pretty sad!

    L
  • invstgtr1invstgtr1 Member Posts: 1
    We have a 2001 and had pretty much the same problem. We put a new gas cap on it and no longer had check engine light come on. Gas cap was bad and leaking air into fuel system.
  • hotpony67hotpony67 Member Posts: 2
    Can any one tell me what the soulation is for the over heating problem.
  • aray2aray2 Member Posts: 15
    I have written about this in this forum. The dealership does sell a o2 wiring bypass for about $66.00. This bypass connects to your o2 connector and will reroute the wires to the pcm module. Make sure you clean out the o2 connector with electrical spray before reconnecting. The reason is that the ground wire from the ps switch is a common ground with the o2 ground and the fluid travels through this ground to the o2 sensor. I just replaced the "ground wire on the harness side" with a "new ground wire run seperate from anything else".
    DO NOT CUT THE WIRES ON THE o2. If you have a bosh o2, the "white wire" should be the ground. Match the white wire at the connector to whatever color wire that is on the harness side, cut that wire. Solder a new ground from that wire to a ground. The color on the harness side of my onnector was black with a blue stripe i believe. Check yours to be sure. Good luck
  • tidestertidester Member Posts: 10,059
    Can any one tell me what the soulation is for the over heating problem.

    The solution will depend on what's causing the problem. It could be as simple as your radiator cap not holding pressure adequately or your thermostat not functioning properly. Have you checked your radiator coolant level? You may have a leak somewhere in your system.

    tidester, host
  • barnyardmonkbarnyardmonk Member Posts: 1
    Hello,

    First time posting here but had a problem hopefully someone can help me with.

    Have a 99 Dodge Durango 5.9 4WD that recently has been having these stalling problems i've read about on here.
    It will run just fine,but out of the blue it will die on me at different times.sometimes idling,or even sometimes driving it will just quit.but will usually start back up right after.

    The check engine light has been on since i've had it,but thats been 1.5 years ago and the vehicle was used.
    I tried to fire it up today and it ran just fine idling in the driveway with no problems.the main problems happened last week in the 95-100 Degree weather.

    If anyone may know what i should start with on this,i'd appreaciate any info.

    Thanks.
  • shelmurphshelmurph Member Posts: 2
    I received some info on the forum about the AC blower resistor which is found under the passenger side dashboard. The part cost $12 from the dealer so I am going to pick one up tomorrow and try it out. I will email again to let you know if it works.
  • jonanddaciajonanddacia Member Posts: 1
    :cry: We have had some issues with the radio shutting down in the past but it
    always comes back on. Then on sunday we were on our way back from cali
    and I jumped a bump a bump nothing seemed to happen -why would it this
    is an suv right? Then about an hour later the radio (which is stock)
    shut down, then the int lights stopped working, then when we took the
    keys out the car still dings. so we checked the fuses and the relays
    the int fuse was blown and when we replace it it pops instantly. The
    relays are fine except the int relay is making a clicking noise when
    you turn the headlights on. So I drove the car to the store and it ran
    fine (just no radio or int lights) the next morning when I went to go
    to work it wouldn't start!!! so after checking all fuses the starter fuse was also blown! A friend came over and my car is now in a million pieces they have taken the whole inside apart and unplugged everything and it is still blowing the int fuse. Has this happened to anyone? HELP!!!
  • hotpony67hotpony67 Member Posts: 2
    Problem solved. I had the radiator flushed and the thermostat changed and it seems to be fine now.
  • justinhefleyjustinhefley Member Posts: 2
    You're postings have helped a tremendous amount and I plan to rewire my dakota tonight. Same problem with the power steering switch leaking and fouling the o2 sensor. I have a new sensor and switch that I will be installing, but had a couple questions on the wiring. Is the O2 sensor failing inside the sensor itself and not the wiring connector/plug to harness? I mean the fluid flows down into the sensor body and fouls it's circuitry? I would like to just take the O2 sensor, cut the 4 wires and splice in about a foot of new wire, soldering the connections and sealing around the soldered connection, which would isolate the sensor from the vehicles wiring and not allow oil into the sensor, but my concern is that the short is in the plug to the harness?
    Thank you so much for any help. This will be the third sensor.
    Justin
  • aray2aray2 Member Posts: 15
    Justin,
    If you have a new o2 sensor, just cut the ground wire on the harness side of the o2 connector and run a new ground wire. The ground wire is whats at fault. Unless you buy a new "Bypass o2"harness from the dealership, which will have instructions on where to connect the other three wires, I dont recommend cutting all the wires. The dealership bypass for the o2 cost around $66.00. A piece of wire to replace just the ground wire will cost you about $2.00, and you dont have to worry about the other three wires.The ground wire from the p/s switch and o2 share a common ground. Hense the problem. Good luck
  • durangofandurangofan Member Posts: 21
    Justin,

    I see that the recommendation is to just replace the ground wire for the O2 sensor. If this works, congratulations.

    If it doesn't, such as mine, I cut all 4 wires above the factory front O2 harness (vehicle side) and ran all 4 wires in a new harness. The location that they all tie into is by the air cleaner box.

    I unsoldered the factory pins that are inside the plug, and soldered my new wires to the existing pins. I would recommend going to the factory to see if the individual pins can be purchased. (I didn't - as the day I was doing this was Sunday).

    At the time, I put in a new O2 sensor, although the old sensor may be good. Insert & see.

    About 2 weeks after I cured the front O2 sensor, the back O2 sensor brought on the check engine light. To date (about a month), I have not corrected the wiring for the second sensor. The ground wire for the 2 sensors and power steering switch are all coupled together.

    I hope the ground wire takes care of the problem. If not - let us know. Good luck.
  • gutmangutman Member Posts: 3
    i have the p/s, o2 problem too and all your help has been great but not beeing a savey machanic i dont know which "thing" on the fender well to splice into, since cant follow the wt wire from sensor all the way up. thanx for any help
  • aray2aray2 Member Posts: 15
    What white wire are you talking about? I called bosh, the manufacturers of my o2 to find out what wire was the o2 ground. The white wire from the o2 to the connector is the ground wire. On the opposite side of the connector, the wire will be a different color. That is the wire you cut, run a new ground up next to the pcm module. Not to the pcm but next to it. On the fender well next to the pcm, you will see a few wires that come from the pcm to this ground. This is where I ran the o2 ground to for my connection. It's a ground. The two black wires on the o2 are for the o2 heater. The other wire is the hot wire or signal wire for the o2.
  • gutmangutman Member Posts: 3
    thanx for the help aray2, i will give this a shot and let you know what happens!
  • gutmangutman Member Posts: 3
    I think I'm getting closer to resolving the problem but still have a couple of little questions. Is there any chance that I could phone you and talk in person? I'm in Vancouver and it's Pacific Standard Time. Thanks.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    If you make your email public in your profile, other members will be able to reach you. Please don't post it online (or your phone number either) - spammers are set up to automatically grab email addresses from the forum (the profiles are a bit harder for the spambots to reach).

    Or set up your CarSpace.com page and use the CarSpace email system.
  • soundssounds Member Posts: 7
    1999 Durango 5.2 4X4. When in cruise mode the engine has frequent RPM surges. I checked for vacuum leaks,checked plugs, plug wires,coil,cruise control module,changed speed control sensor on trans. If anyone can relate to this or have a possible solution, please forward. Thanks. Ralph
  • eagleman603eagleman603 Member Posts: 3
    The RPM surge was one of the many symptoms I had when I had a cracked power control module. I don't recall if I had the RPM surge when in cruise mode, but I know I had it when I did not have cruise control engaged.
  • soundssounds Member Posts: 7
    Thanks for responding, I forgot to mention that the surge also occurs when I have the throttle at a steady pace. The surge is slight but I notice my tach going up a little then back down to normal. By the way, where is the power module located?
  • eagleman603eagleman603 Member Posts: 3
    Yeah - the same thing happened to me when I had a cracked PCM. My engine surged when I accelerated, when I was at a steady pace, even when I was decelerating. I don't know for sure where it's located, but it seems to me they had to remove the dashboard to replace it. (Whereupon they forgot to reattach my cruise control, but that's another story).
  • justinhefleyjustinhefley Member Posts: 2
    Here's what I did. Since I was cutting the Ground wire I decided to cut the harness plug completely off, about 1 1/2 inch from the plug. I cleaned the plug and wires with carb cleaner and blew it out. Then I soldered 4 new wires about 6 inches long onto the plug, carefully filling the wiring with solder and then used heat shrink tubing to seal each wire, this way it should keep any residual fluid from getting past the new connections and fouling the plug again. I then used crimp butt splices to reconnect the plug and wires to the harness and sealed the open ends of the crimps with rtv sealant. I changed the O2 sensor and P/S hp switch. I've put about 350 miles on it and everything is still running strong, hopefully everything will work fine. I also checked the harness on the rear O2 sensor and everything is dry, it also looks like it is a separate wiring run that may not have been as fouled. Thanks for the help.
    Justin
  • odette67odette67 Member Posts: 1
    I am in serious need for some advise. My durango started having problems a week ago. It started with dash board lights flickering and then headlights going off and on, then they stopped working all together. The keyless entry stopped working as well as the radio controls from the steering wheel. The interior locks no longer work. The iceing on the cake.. It won't start at all today. Anyone have any ideas, so I can at least seem like I know what is going on if I take it in to a shop, HELP, and thank you.
  • sdowningsdowning Member Posts: 3
    I had almost the same problem with my '01. I know this sounds weird, but try removing the fuse for the windshield wipers. If everything now works except the windshield wipers then the same solution might work, replacing the "delay" module that had gone bad which controls the delay on the headlights and interior lights shutting off if you turn off the engine before shutting off the headlights. The interior auto-doorlocks are also on the delay and, surprisingly, the steering wheel radio controls. I'm still having a problem with the keyless entry, but I suspect that the "delay" module I got may not be quite the right one and I'm still waiting on that but the major problems are fixed.
  • cableguy822cableguy822 Member Posts: 4
    If you are having the problem with the PS switch and the o2 sensor shorting out check you engine oil level. I noticed after about 100 mile of driving with the truck running rich my oil level is high. I suspect excess fuel is washing down the cylinder walls. Just dont want anyone to spin a bearing then you are talking big bucks
  • xjetmechxjetmech Member Posts: 1
    We have a 2000 that we just bought and now when you put it in gear it shuts off as if someone turned the ign. switch off. What could this be?
  • 2005durango2005durango Member Posts: 1
    I am due for my 30,000 mile front/rear axle and transfer case oil/grease change. I found what appears to be the drain and fill hole for the transfer case, but the axles only appear to have a rubber stopper type plug (assuming this is fill hole) with no drain plugs visible...am I missing something? Can anyone please help..Thanks.
  • cjmorriscjmorris Member Posts: 2
    Didn't know about all these problems until after purchase of used 2000 Durango. Agghhh...this one okay except for ball joints of course and...arrived home yesterday and went to leave about an hour later and the Durange was DEAD. Battery tested okay. Engine wouldn't even turn over. Finally got enough power to roll windows up before the rain. Still won't even turn over. Just clicks. Anyone have any suggestions??? Thanks.
  • nelsoncnelsonc Member Posts: 1
    I have a 99 5.2ltr v8. I have had the stalling and the NOBUS come up in the odometer and all the gauge needles go down to zero for the last two months. It has stalled about 30 to 40 times.
    I have read in other forums about wiggling the connections to the pcm. I have done that and have found that by pulling up on the last connection(the black one to the rear)after a stall. You are able to hear the fuses "come on". And all the needles on the gauge come up again. After a stall you must turn the key in the off position and turn it back to the on position, the no bus will reappear in the odometer. then try wiggling the connection.
    What I did was to bolt a bracket over the pcm. There is a hole underneath the hood where i bolted the bracket. I then took a 4" hose clamp and put it underneath the connection and put it around the bracket. As i tightend the hose clamp it pulled the connection up and in to the pcm.
    It has now been 2 weeks without a stall. the 2 days before this fix I had stalled 7 times. the hose clamp cost me under two dollars and bracket and bolt I found in my basement.
    If this helps anyone out, please let everyone know.....thanks
  • cjmorriscjmorris Member Posts: 2
    Thanks...will give it a try and see what happens. Will let everyone know.
  • soundssounds Member Posts: 7
    Wanted to rotate my tires and I happened to round off one of the lug nuts, due to the fact that it was installed so tight that my 4 way pulled of the chrome cap. Any tool out there or secret to remove this rounded off nut?
  • cableguy822cableguy822 Member Posts: 4
    check your local auto parts the do make a socket that has left hand threads inside that you can use it works on the same principal as an easy out. Good luck I had the same problem I borrowed one from my company mechanic but still did not work. Ended up drilling out the stud and replacing it. The next day I bought all new lug nuts for the truck cost about 25 dollars cheap insurance against not being able to get the nut off along the road with a flat. Once the chrome caps start to fall off the others are not far behind. Check your local tire shop they should be roughly a buck a piece
  • gnphgnph Member Posts: 1
    You betcha, we have 130K on our 2000. Dealership couldn't fix it. I cleaned the throttlebody with a $2.00 bottle of throttle body cleaner, which took care of the problem for a few weeks. Then began happening again. I took it to a garage friend who put a voltmeter on the throttle position sensor and found a bad spot in it. We changed that and it works fine again.
  • traveller2006traveller2006 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2001 Durango and I recently noticed that the vinyl on the dash is peeling off. I do not smoke and I have never used any chemicals that could have caused the vinyl to come separate from the dash. Any idea what caused the problem and what should I do about it? Chrysler has refused to help because the vehicle is out of warranty.
  • kickboxerkickboxer Member Posts: 4
    My 2001 is having the same exact symptoms, erratic idle, rpms varying up and down, and gears slipping and engaging at the wrong times...did you figure out the problem?
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