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The noise persists. It is most noticeable when driving up the curvey, steep hill to my house, and when my wheels are turning to the left. I could live with it if I knew it wasn't parts wearing away.
I'd appreciate any advice on how to troubleshoot this problem.
I have a "93" Dodge Dakota, 4x4, 5 sp Tran, For some time I was heard this pounding noise( sometimes light some heavy) The sound was heard mostly during a right turn.
skip..
You all need to check for loose, worn or damage Trans, mounts or/and mounting bracket.
Due to worn mounts and broken bracket bolts
My Trans,ad shifted over causing the U=Joints to make the noise.
My tire/wheel dealership (Les Schwab) road tested the vehicle, they actually had a guy ride in the bed with the canopy on, they rode up the (steep) hill that leads to my house. He said he could definitely hear the noise coming from the right rear. I took those findings to the Dodge dealership that replaced the rear end (including housing, axles, wheel bearings). They didn't want to deal with the issue any more, used petty reasons ("we never got paid by the maintenance contract company for all the work we did," "it must not be a bad problem if it only does it when going up the hill to your house," "you should take the truck back to {the dealer you purchased it from]."
I purchased the Dakota "as is" with no warranty, the [repair] dealership knows that. I only know once the repair dealer replaced the rear end, I have to deal with him, or I'm not going to get any followup results. The service contractor supplied the original rear end, so I can't see involving him any more. And, I'd have trouble getting another repair facility to get involved. It's not my fault if the dealer wasn't fully paid for their rear end work, and they shouldn't try to use that as fodder for failing to check out the repair work they did less than six months ago. I recall asking the service manager if they were reimbursed for their work, and he told me they were, so go figure.
I managed to get the dealer to agree to test drive the vehicle in early January. I know I have to use diplomacy if I hope to get them to check the vehicle out again. I haven't had to go over the head of the service department so far, and I'm willing to negotiate the cost of any additional repairs (I did take some time to report the continuing problem) IF THEY CAN JUST FIX THE NOISE!
To be continued... whine
Sorry this is a 2 wheel drive truck
We (finally) replaced the transmission, flushed the lines out, and got everything hooked back up- at first, we had all gears working, but then a few minutes into the "test-run" down the street- all we have is 4-Low on the transfer case...so- rather than risk chewing up another transmission- it's back in my driveway...
About the truck-
'94 Dakota 4x4 with the 318 (or 5.2L) throttle-body fuel-injected engine
Automatic transmission (apparently the only transmissions that fit in this truck are the 94-95 year transmissions.
The previous owner obviously didnt maintain the vehicle to standard because there was about an inch of nastiness in the tranny-pan when we changed the fluid & filter two weeks before the transmission totally went out.
There was some grinding noises when driving and shifting when he pulled into the driveway- first thing I did was drop the tranny-pan- sure enough black fluid, disgusting filter, and about an inch of sludge in the tranny-pan...got a new filter, new fluid, cleaned out the old nastiness, installed the new- grinding was gone- truck ran fine. Two weeks later, it started again- and then all of a sudden we only had 1st gear and Reverse (though it grinded like crazy)...then after limping it around- we had no gears at all. Get it back home- drop the tranny-pan, and the NEW (two week old) filter was totally SHREDDED- nothing left to it at all...new fluid totally black and disgusting. So began the search for another transmission. Finally found one (one of two in the state of Colorado)- a rebuilt number from a 95 Dakota. Came with a torque converter and a one-year warranty.
After much cussing and sore knuckles, old tranny & torque converter out, new tranny/T.C. installed....flushed the lines out, added fluid (has brand new filter in it)- went for test run. Fail.
Here's the current issue:
When hooking back up the linkage between the transfer case and the shifter, the little bracket that holds the linkage rod in place snapped. In an effort to just get his truck driving in 2WD, we haven't connected the linkage from the transfer case to the shifter (or the short drive-shaft from the T-case to the front diff. Seeing as how we might be dropping the transfer case out tomorrow ANYWAY, at this point, I'm not seeing a point to hooking that particular peice back in yet-
When initially backing out of the driveway, all gears worked (forward and backwards)...however, upon trying to go forward down the street for the test-run, it seemed we were stuck in 4-Low...we reversed back to the driveway, put it in drive to pull back in- no longer had any gear but 1st and reverse- and the truck stalled and died. We got it back on and limped back into the driveway in 1st gear and immediately shut her down.
My questions are:
Would the t-case "jump" in or out of gear since that linkage isn't connected?
Could the old tranny that was shot to crap have also taken the t-case with it when it went to hell?
If a new t-case is needed, is it just as year-model specific as the transmission or are there other options? (Another buddy of mine with a newer model Dakota was able to pull an automatic transmission from a durango and use in his dakota- but the 94-95 years are very specific)
Since the transmission & torque-converter are from a 95, does the transfer case need to also be from a 95? If so, does that mean that newer drive-shafts would be needed?
He's supposed to leave for Montana in a couple of days, and I'm packing up to move to TX in the middle of the month, so time & funding are NOT on our side with this one. I'm open to advice & suggestions...
Seven-One-Nine. 434. 007-Zero. Text messages are awesome- since I'll probably be spending most of the day away from the computer (and under a truck)...
Side-note: The wife's truck is the same truck- only manual transmission...and if something major like this ever goes wrong with it- I'm trailering that thing to the shop, throwing some cash their way- and sayin: "here- have fun"....LOVE LOVE Dodge/MOPAR....don't want to work on another 94 Dakota for a LONG time...glad I drive a Ram.
Got the truck towed home and then it sat it driveway for an entire day.
Today, I started the truck up to have someone listen to the sounds I was hearing and the truck went into drive, park and reverse just fine with no abnormal noises or issues.
Would like opinions on next step on what I should do or if its best to just start looking for a new tranny
If it's still just slipping (no grinding yet) you MIGHT be able to save it- drop the transmission pan and filter (fairly easy- 14-15 bolts on the pan on the bottom of the transmission)....you'll want a new filter & gasket kit (about 12 bucks at O'Reilly's) and you'll need new transmission fluid....since its slipping so badly, I would recommend draining ALL the fluid out of it, so to refill it, you'll need a lot (probably about 15 quarts of ATF+4)... To get ALL the fluid out- once you drop the trannypan and filter out (and get the inevitable red shower that you'll get), turn the truck ON, and cycle it through the gears (move the selector from Park all the way down to low)...when you get into reverse, allow the truck to move a couple of inches...when you get into the driving gears (D,2,L, etc) allow the truck to move back that few inches. This is called "rocking the truck" and it allows the +/- 10 quarts of old fluid to drain out of the Torque Converter....Once it's all drained out- follow the instructions in the Chilton or Haynes for adjusting the Transmission Bands (located in the same place you just pulled the trannypan and filter from)....if your transmission isnt already chewed up, then this SHOULD save you....once you're done, put new filter in place, new gasket on trannypan, and put trannypan back where you got it- be sure to put ALL THE BOLTS BACK and tighten them down across from each other like you would when changing a tire...so as not to have any leaks. When adding new fluid- turn the truck ON...ad about 4 quarts at a time, cycle the gears, add more fluid....it'll take 10+ just to fill the Torque Converter....and the transmission pan holds about 4 quarts... The advantage of doing it yourself rather than taking it in- is a lot of transmission places dont fully do the work- they instead just suck the fluid out of the dipstick, refill it through there, and then charge you 130 bucks for nothing...if you dont adjust the bands and change the filter- then you're just asking to spend a few thousand in transmission...Good luck. If you happen to be near the Austin, TX area, message me back on here and we'll swap contact info- and I'll come fix it.
Again- best advice that I can give to ANYBODY about a vehicle problem- consult the almighty Chilton or Haynes...thats the ultimate tool for whatever vehicle you have... When the transmission was rebuilt- did they put the gear-oil or fluid it in? Manual Transmissions- while they don't have fluid that you check and add like an automatic, they DO have their own fluid/oil inside them that allows them to operate...there should be two plugs- one that sits a little higher than the other- and both on the same side of the transmission...they're probably a hex-head plug- and they're probably a pain in the [non-permissible content removed] to loosen up...find those two plugs, and find the one that sits HIGHER than the other one...the higher one is the one you loosen up and remove to check your fluid level in there- much like checking the gear oil in a differential box...stick your finger in and feel for it...you should feel the fluid just at the bottom of that hole...if you do- then thats not the problem, consult the chilton/haynes again.....if you dont- then remove the bottom plug (because you might as well drain out whatever nastiness remains of the old stuff since its low or non-existant...drain it- put bottom plug back in- fill from top plug-hole...then put top-plug back... Hope that helps- again- I'm not 100% on that- it just seems logical based on the transmissions i HAVE worked on....best of luck!
If the retaining clip is missing- the next question is it somewhere INSIDE the transmission case? Hopefully not, or I would be worried about the quality of the rebuild done by the shop. Did the shop offer any warranty on their work? If so- I'd take it back to them...but I'd first check the ammount of fluid in the transmission. When re-filling it, you'll have to fill it, close it- run it and cycle it through the gears (as best as possible) and then shut it off and repeat the process over and over again until that torque converter is filled up... good luck!
If this is typical of Dodge design they deserve to be shot! $370.00 to buy parts alone This was a 2002 2 wd with 125,000 km