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Comments
There is no dipstick for the transfer case and it takes the same ATF as the transmission. there are two plugs on the back, One high and one low, remove those for draining/filling. Fill to the fluild just starts coming out of the top hole, when the truck is on a level surface.
The easiest and least messy way I have found to change the diff. fluids is a small, inexpensive transfer pump. Most auto parts stores will have them, but the one I found that works best is from a marina, it'll screw onto the quart bottles and have a long enough tube to reach into the diff as you pump in the fluid. As with the transfer case, both diffs should be filled to the point were the fluid just starts running out, when on a level surface. On the rear, if you have the limited-slip, be sure to include the additive available from the dealer. You will need 5oz, and of course the bottles are 4oz each. What planning Mopar had.
Thanks,
Robert
When I suggested that the 4418 was not for the 1960's based engines... I was trying to say that the 4418 is not the best choice for the 1960s based engines.... not that it was not a suitable plug.
I trust that misunderstanding is now cleared up.
The BOSH 4418 is the best choice for the 4.7LV8 hemi. (unless you can afford the New iridium spark plugs at $8-$10 each)
Not only have the 4418 plugs shown to be excellent performers in the 4.7L. They are BOSCH plugs. This means that they have nickle plating on the threads, better insulator composition and long-life platinum tip. All of these add up to match the design-phelosiphy of the 4.7L engine.
(long operating life)
The 4418 sparkplugs will STILL BE PERFORMING LIKE NEW when lesser plugs will need to be replaced. If you have ever dealt with aluminum heads before... you will appreceate the nickle plated threads when it comes time to REMOVE your BOSCH sparkplugs. (I have had lesser sparkplugs break off in the head during removal... it was not a fun time telling my wife that her car had suddenly become a boat-ancher)
My idea of a good sparkplug is one with a long life with little performance degradation that is REMOVABLE when the time comes. (I DO NOT WANT TO BE REPLACING PLUGS NOR THE HEADS ANYTIME SOON)
Front diff: 1.75 qt.
Rear diff: 2.5 Qt
Man trans: 2.5 Qt
Transfer case: 1.25
At least when the dakota breaks, it will respond to repair (usually!)
With women, well, they don't always respond to repair. Sometimes they just don't respond!
SO focus on the dakota. WHen its paid off, then look for a woman I HAVE THE TITLE as of August 2000, so now what, any advice? sorry to be repeatous :-) or... Presently I am a bus driver, driving the Metro bus's in Houston TX and its only 3.6 miles to work....
James
Dunno, I'd get a hobby if I were you.
Based on your input I think you must have the 5.9L V8. The trans for the 5.9 is old technology. The transmission others are quoting the maintenance schedule is for is the 4.7L HiTech transmission which has very expensive drain intervals on shorter schedule, don't remember if A or B is the shorter and I don't have access to the manual right now. Another reason I got the 5 speed manual. Rick
Good luck.
Robert
Surprisingly my computer is accurate to within .2mpg every time. I still check my numbers manually but the computers is almost always dead on.
Wish me luck.
Robert
I don't think there is a fix for this. Anybody know?
I thought that the rear required 90wt and the front was like 85wt.
Blue.
Robert
If anyone can answer tonight or early in the morning I can get it at the store tomorrow before the wife leaves with her car as my truck isnt drivable in the pieces its in
Thanks,
Robert
I might be wrong, but I would bet those drain plugs are metric now.
Thanks,
Robert
Mobil1 is not "that much" better than any of the other brand-name synthetics. Just puck one and stick with it.
No experience with Amsoil other than it is REALLY expensive and is unlikely to be THAT much better than the others that run about $4/qt
Robert
Thanks for the vent.
Robert
Next, is the mysterious clank in the front end then happens each time I use the brakes. I am getting the feeling that DC does not want us to use the brakes which is why they made 'em so cheap in the first place.
I looked into my crystal ball and came to the conclusion that I do not have deep enough pockets to fix this truck once the warranty runs out.
I feel for ya.....all in all, its been quite frustrating to say the least.
Oh well, I did a blue book estimate courtesy of Edmunds and all I need to do next is call the bank and find out what the payoff is and see just how far apart I am. Then the for sale sign goes up if the numbers are close and I think I'll just get a used vehicle of some sort and do away with monthly payments. Yes, it may give me problems but at least I will have the title and NO payments.
Sad to say the last two years with this vehicle have been pretty onery. I expected more, a lot more than what I got. Too bad DC just can't seem to get its act together. There really are some nice features on the Dak. Its just a shame I cannot have the truck for a long enough stretch to enjoy it.
Good luck.
So if you are having brake pad issues, I would inquire about it to your service manager.
Good luck,
Robert
I wish you were wrong, but you have been right on target. I echo your sentiments about Dodge failing my expectations.
Less than a year ownership my odometer at 26K. I also am contemplating giving it up.
My wife refuses to drive my vechicle, hates the brakes!!
Sad part is having to tell everyone that asks (How do you like your truck?) I tell them with all honesty I don't. I pull out all the repair orders and the shock that comes from everyone is not good for D/C.
I belong to a large hunt club with everyone a 4x4 truck owner. Each trip to the woods my guys want to know what new problem my Dodge is having.
I just received another survey from D/C hoping my Dodge is meeting my expectations and how is my service department or lack of service.
I sent them my dissertation and asked for an invitation to their next stockholders meeting. I would love to speak to them. But unfortunately I have come to the conclusion that profits supersede quality.
Do I know trucks? You betcha! Work for a large Federal agency and we order thousands every year. Every State and every County were located and we are in the field and we know what are the good, bad and ugly. I do not know how to fix them but I sure have driven everything that is out there.
Anyway, your posts are appreciated.
Yes, I wish I was wrong too. Boy do I wish I was wrong on this. But alas, its true.
Going on a week now and still no Dak....Funny, I thought buying a new truck was supposed to cut down on the number of days in the shop. How wrong I was!
People have complimented the truck everywhere I go. THey ask would I recommend one. I don't say yes or no, I just recite the list of problems and let the individual decide for him/herself....yes, a couple of women stopped me one day and wanted to know ALL about the truck.
They were driving a Honda and I expect they will continue to do so after what I told them....sad part I never got a date for my pains! ha ha.
Edmunds TMV indicates my rig is worth $16,181 as it sits. I printed out the ready made for sale sign, I will pencil in some contact information and tomorrow, I will take them down to the dealer and tape them to the windows so I can advertise when I drive.....uh oh! There's the catch....I actually have to be DRIVING it in order for others to see the for sale sign! Given the recent events, that might be tricky.
I don't really care if I owe more than its worth at this point I want to be rid of it and move on to something else.
As I said, all the work so far has been on DC's tab and believe me, it is well over 1500 bucks if a person had to pay out of his pocket. I shudder to think what will happen at 40k, 50k, 60K etc.
Bpeebles mentions the cost to service the tranny and the 30K intervals on that. I am sure its not cheap so cost of ownership, based on past track record is surely to rise beyond my desire to pay for it.
Robert
Good luck.
Robert
Have a great day everyone.
Robert
Anyway, coolnant was changed, tires rotated, and the motor got 6 quarts of Mobil 1 5W30 + an NAPA (aka WIX) filter.
Good news is they finally fixed two vexing issues, one the slam shift of the 45RFE (a flash to the TCM did the trick, it no longer slams on the 2-3 upshift whether I accelerate hard or gently) and the clunk in the front end is gone. Issue there was (or so I am told) that the bolt hole threads for the caliper bolts had been stripped out somehow. Not too certain if it was done on the line or at the dealer in the past when they replaced rotors etc...........so they drilled out the hole(s), slapped a heli coil in there and now the front end is a quiet as a church mouse. There is SOME warpage to the rotors, I am not at all surprised, it's been about 7,500 since the last go around on that. Now that I have tax check (gee thanks uncle same for giving back some of MY money!) in hand, I will secure aftermarket units and be done with that part once and for all.
So far so good........BTW I owe more on the thing that I can get for it on the open market so for now I will have to trudge along and keep fingers crossed that nothing else breaks.
Just my .02
Robert
Drive Safe,
Joe
Robert
#632 of 635 Tundra driveline "thump" by arkie6 Feb 26, 2002 (09:35 pm)
On the vast majority of Tundras that experience the thump or bump in the rear when you come to an abrupt stop, it is due to binding in the driveshaft slip yoke. When you come to an abrupt stop, the rear of the truck rises up and elongates the driveshaft (via the slip yoke) in the process. Once you come to a stop, the back of the truck settles back down and the driveshaft compresses. If the truck is in gear, there will be some rotational torque applied to the driveshaft even when stopped. This rotational torque tends to increase the sliding friction in the slip yoke. If the slip yoke is not really well lubricated or the machining is not perfect, the slip yoke will tend to bind up and not compress. Then after you come to a stop, the transmission will downshift. During the downshift, the torque on the driveshaft is released which reduces the friction in the slip yoke and it will compress rather abruptly. This is the "thump" or "bump in the rear" that you are likely feeling. As a test to comfirm, shift the transmission to nuetral before coming to an abrupt stop. If you don't get the "thump" when you do this, but you do get it when the transmission is in drive, then it is very likely binding in the slip yoke.
Ok, now that you have determined that it is binding in the slip yoke, you can either fix it yourself or convince your dealer to do it. Dealers don't make much money on warranty repairs unless parts are replaced, so they often may opt to replace the entire driveshaft assembly, which is fine as long as they hand lube the slip yoke with some good quality grease. But replacement of the driveshaft is typically not necessary. The slip yoke just needs to be greased properly, particulary on the 4x4s. 4x4s have the slip yoke at the back of the driveshaft where it connects to the rear end pinion shaft. The 4x4 driveshaft uses 4-bolt flanges at the rear end as well as at the transfer case output shaft. The 4x2 on the other hand has the slip yoke in the tailshaft of the transmission and as far as I know (I have a 4x4) is lubricated by the transmission fluid. I have heard of 4x2s with the thump, but most problems are with the 4x4s. The 4x2s may benefit from had greasing the slip yoke splines, but I have not confirmed this.
The 4x4 driveshaft slip yoke has a zerk fitting for adding grease; however, it is not very effective at getting grease at the point where the friction is taking place. There is a large void under the zerk fitting and it may take 30-40 pumps on a grease gun to actually get any grease on the splines, depending on how much if any grease was in there to begin with. The splines and seal are very tight and you may encounter significant resistance on the grease gun while grease is migrating along the splines. I've had my driveshaft apart examining the slip yoke and you have two options to properly grease the splines. One is to drop the rear driveshaft where it attaches to the rear end via the 4 bolts (always match-mark the two flanges to ensure you put them back in the same position - also, turn the bolts, not the nuts since the nuts have a high friction base flange to resist turning) and pull the slip yoke apart (again, match mark both halves of the slip yoke to ensure they go back together in the same relative position - the splines do have a wide spline to prevent mismatch; however, it is hard to see which one it is especially with grease on them and it's a pain trying to find just the right spot where they will slip together - match-marking the two halves before disassembly makes this much easier). Once the slip yoke is apart is then readily apparent why putting 5 or 10 shots of grease in the zerk fitting won't do any good. You can then hand lube the splines with a good quality grease. I would clean out as much of the existing grease as possible, but as long as you use a lithum base grease there should be no compatibility problems. Toyota recommends a lithium base NLGI#2 chassis grease for this. I recommend a lithium base molybdenum disulfide (moly) NLGI#2 chassis grease for this, the same grease that Toyota recommends for the double cardon joint. Once you've got everything greased up good, slide the yoke halves back together using the match marks to guide you then put the both flanges together, again using the match marks as a guide, install the bolts and nuts and torque. I think the torque is about 40 ft-lbs, but I don't have my manual handy at the moment. Torque from the bolt head, not the nut since the nut has a high friction base. After it is all together, shoot about 5-10 strokes of grease in the zerk fitting for "reserve", but you do not want it completely full as this will limit compression of the slip yoke.
If all that is a little more than you want to tackle, here is an easier way that is probably just about as effective. Take your grease gun loaded with lithum base moly chassis grease and start pumping grease in the slip yoke zerk fitting. At some point you will encounter significant resistance on the grease gun handle and will likely note that the slip yoke is expanding. Slowly add grease at this point. You will likely see the slip yoke expand on each pump of the handle and then slowly contract. Continue adding grease for about 5-10 more strokes unless you see grease coming around the seal, then stop. Now get on the rear bumper and bounce it up and down a few times. This will tend to compress the slip yoke and force more grease along the splines. Now take a wrench and remove the zerk fitting to allow excess grease to escape. Once the zerk is removed, if a tablespoon or so of grease doesn't come out, then gently bounce on the bumper again to give it a little help. Once the excess grease is out, re-install the zerk, clean up the mess, and you are good to go.
This was known as the "arkie6 fix" over at Tundrasolutions and it resolved many of the "thump" problems people were experiencing, mine included. I initially used the straight lithum base chassis grease on the slip yoke and I started getting a hint of "thump" after about 5,000 miles. I subsequently put in the lithium base moly (an extreme pressure additive) grease and haven't had any hint of "thump" in 15,000+ miles. My truck (2000 Tundra 4x4) now has 28,000+ miles and is "thump" free.
Alan
SOmetimes, like with my 45RFE, a flash is done to enhance shifting of the xmission or to rectify a problem.
So, it depends on what is needed. I had to literally print out the TSB on the 45RFE and take it to the dealer to have them update the TCM so now I don't get the "slam" on the 2-3 upshift.
Personally, I'd rather go back to a 727 which needed neither a computer to tell it how to shift nor some expensive fluid and filter change to keep it going. ANd it was a bulletproof design.
I talked to two different local dealers about this and got two different stories naturally. Dealer #1 says they use ATF+4 in all 45RFE transmissions now, regardless of model year. BUT, they do not do a complete transmission flush because the pressure required to perform the flush is much higher than normal operating pressures and can damage the torque converter. So, they only drain what is in the pan (about half of total in the tranny?), change the two filters, and top it off with ATF+4. They do not recommend extending the interval to anything greater than the original 30,000 miles stated in the owner’s manual for the ’00 trucks. Not what I wanted to hear.
Dealer #2 says that they do not want to mix ATF+3 and ATF+4 together- they would prefer to stay with whatever was in there from the factory. Also, they won’t do the complete system flush either. But there reasoning is that they don’t want to “disturb” the particles that have settled out in the torque converter, but would rather just leave them alone. Is this a bunch of BS or what?
What do you think?
Thanks in advance.
As far as the transmission flush is concerned, I really can't say. I've only had one done once (and at 120K+ miles at that). It hasn't caused any noticable problems. My own philosophy would be to do it at the first service interval and then at every other service interval after that, unless you are doing some serious towing or other severe duty usage.
Just my take on it...
http://dodgeram.org/tech/tsb/2001/21-006-01.htm
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.