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Dodge Dakota - General Topic
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Comments
Right now, the tires are inflated 32 PSI front and 30 PSI rear. This is what I ran with the old Wranglers and the tires wore pretty evenly. This weekend I run them up to 35 PSI and see what happens. If things don't improve, I'll probably be looking for a new set of tires soon.
I hope you bump the 30PSI in the rear up when you are hauling a load. 30PSI is dangerously low for anything but an empty bed..
BTW: My owners manual (2000 Dak with the 31X10.5LT15 tires) says to run 40 PSI all the way around.
Regards,
Dusty
If it were me, I'd ask that the guy apologize to you and his boss in the presence of the sales and service staff.
Regards,
Dusty
Bookitty
I pulled another plug yesterday and it looks like these 4418s are running in the correct heat range The two plugs I've looked at have a light grey appearance on one half of the plug with a greenish haze on the other. All four ground conductors still have relatively sharp ends. The center insulator tip was just slightly brown or medium tan.
Although some say these are "100,000" mile plugs, I plan on changing them out at 50K, which is just a few thousand away. My 4.7 seems to be running fine with fuel consumption running average, especially considering that the air conditioning has been on a lot lately. My last ten tanks have averaged 16.38, down slightly from last year at this time, but I've increased my city driving and also use of the air conditioning.
How's everyone else doing on plugs? Any recommendations for another type? I'm not necessarily locked into Boschs.
Regards,
Dusty
I found that despite the hype the new style Silverado only rides marginally better than my '03 Dak. Except for engine noise, this Silverado sample was quiet and rattle free, something of a first in my experience for a Chevy truck. It was also completely absent the wind noise that I hear so many Chevy-GMC owners complaining about. It did have a slight and low vibration which apparently the dealer can not track down.
The big thing worth commenting on is that this 5.3 motor was a complete dog. I mean a real dog. In a side-by-side contest (on a closed circuit track, of course!) my Dak launched about twelve feet ahead of the Silverado off the line and by the time I was up to sixty the Silverado was filling my rear full mirror. Where the lack of performance really was apparent was on hills and overtaking cars at expressway speeds.
The transmission shifts were often, pronounced, and inconsistent. For the 600 plus miles my son put on this truck he never got over 15 MPG, and his average was 12.8. I hated the radio and thought the "Odometer" message in the instrument cluster was distracting and nonsensical. This Chevy still had noticeable body shake reminiscent of older versions, but not as bad.
Regards,
Dusty
Which rear end ratio did that Silverado have? I suspect it was the 3.42, which is the standard ratio. That might explain the poor performance.
Bests,
Dusty
Then again, I'll be *106 in the fall....
Bests,
Dusty
*P.S. Just kidding.
Bookitty
My Dak... the right plastic bumper-cover fell off. No other damage at all. Not even a scratch on the bumper.
Dusty
Yep. Dakota's are tough.
Studying at length the carriage my '05, I believe it will be even tougher.
thought he might be able to fix it!! That didn't happen, but I sure loved that truck - enough to buy another although the new 05's aren't as 'sporty' as the older body style. Much more refined in my opinion, but it's a Mopar and as more aftermarket stuff comes online it WILL be more agressive.
The 4.7 seemed a little slower off the line compared to my 4x2 Club Cab, but this truck also outweighed mine by about 900 pounds. My son says he's getting about 17 MPG in around town driving, which surprises me.
The seats are softer than my '03 and quite comfortable. The driving position seems a tad lower than the previous generation. Handling was excellent and with a noticeably lighter steering effort than my '03. The brakes seemed lighter and more positive.
Although I liked the white-faced instrumentation, it still disturbs me that Dodge left out the oil pressure and voltmeter gauges. The interior is nicely done, but seemed a little too Germanic and understated despite the wood-toned center escutheon surrounding the radio and climate controls. I did not like the more slender center console, but I can see that this is what allowed for the nicer (ie: wider) seats.
I was very impressed that this truck was still perfectly screwed together at 21,000 miles, with absolutely zero interior assembly defects, squeaks, buzzes or rattles. The platform seems extremely stiff and the cabin gives the feeling of being encassed in a solid block of steel.
It is difficult for me to compare the ride of this Quad Cab to the previous generation since I have only ever driven one of the earlier design. However, the ride of this 2005 Quad 4x4 was judged to be identical to my 2003 Club Cab at 53K. I think that means the ride might have been improved in the Quad, but I'll let other owners of the last generation to weigh in on this.
I have always found the new generation of the Dakota to be contemporally handsome and good looking except for the front end. I'm finding that the frontal appearance isn't offending my eyes quite as much as it first did, and since I was able to spend some time behind the wheel looking outward I can say that there is so much to like about the new Dak that I could forgive the jutty appearance of the front end. In truth, the only new truck design that I find has a more appealing front end design is the new F150. the Tundra, Titan, and Silverado are even uglier to my aging eye.
Bests,
Dusty
Just took a closer look at my niece's 05'Tundra and wouldn't trade my DAK for two of the Tundra's
Thanks, Chris
Going to look at a '94 club cab 4x4 w/ slt package today. It's got auto, a/c and power everything. It's a private sale and the price seems right for the mileage (144k). What should I be on the lookout for.
This will be used as a 3rd vehicle with part-time commuting duties (20 mile each way).
TIA,
Peeter
At that age and mileage, if they haven't been replaced recently you could be looking at replacing the belts,hoses etc as well as possibly universal joints, carrier bearing etc. Also could be overdue for tranny flush and filter.
Guess what I am trying to say is to make sure proper maint. has been done or it could nickel and dime you to death.....
Look for more questions as I find time to tinker with it.
Peeter
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