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Dodge Dakota: Problems & Solutions
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Comments
Is the transmission shifting okay?
If I learn more I'll message you.
Regards,
Dusty
Ron
Since the clearance from the cover to the frame-crossmember is very tight, It is VERY difficult to fill the front diff. You may consider this.
1)Drain the front diff using whatever your preference is (suck it out or, pull cover.)
2) To fill it, utilize the vent hose that plugs into the dif cover and terminates near the battery under the hood.
Just pull the white-plastic vent off the end of said hose and attach an approprate funnel. Add fluid thru that hose.
Check the fluid in the normal way by getting under the vehicle and pulling the rubber plug off of the diff cover. (Or fill it thru said hose with the rubber plug out until it starts to flow out.)
Best regards,
Dusty
I again hauled this trailer with the 4-wheelers in mid-January '04 on a 3 hour drive at +/- 55 mph. The engine rpm related vibration was even more pronounced after this trip but never bad enough to stop driving the truck. The '00 now has 57K on it, which was getting near the 60K plug replacement. The recent oil analysis indicated once again that all wear metals were normal but that there was an alarming amount of gasoline present. Combined with this new revelation, generally deteriorating gas mileage (1-2 mpg) and the improved performance I was now experiencing after changing out the Bosch +4's in our Saturn, I thought, "Could it be the spark plugs?".
I purchased cheap Autolites ($1.24 ea.) and just finished the job yesterday. That engine rpm related, non-spark plug like vibration is now gone.
I inspected and marked each Bosch plug's cylinder while replacing them. There was no obvious problems (all cocoa tan, no damaged or missing ground electrodes, the center electrodes are visibly still above the ceramic, no wetness or gasoline smell) with any of the plugs. I can only speculate on why all, some, or one of these plugs are apparently faulty and why that failure masquerades itself as an "off-balance" component failure, not the "classic" erratic misfire. In my mind, I've also ruled out the failure or any of the spark plug firing units since they looked OK and the new plugs apparently are being fired successfully with these same units.
I know that changing the 4.7L's plugs is a pain and time consuming but it appears to me that the older technology type plugs and/or shorter than 30K intervals are warranted for a restful night's sleep.
Your dedication is envious. I always thought I had good observations on my rigs but I have a long way to go to catch up to you!
Keep up the good work!
Bookitty
Ron
Springfield, VA
One other point I forgot to mention was that the oil pressure gauge has always read the same (at speed) since 0 miles. It does dip to 50% when idling at a light (can't remember if it did that way back at 0 miles). I didn't research the oil pump or pressure because it didn't seem to matter (always good pressure with no drift over time). I've assumed that low oil pressure would have gone hand-in-hand with high levels of wear metals. Not seeing either, I initially thought that the vibration was from a bent and/or out of balance component.
Ron
The oil pressure indication on the gauge is reflecting the bypass pressure. Because rotor-style pumps have high capacities at lower rpms, you see little or no fluncttuation from high speeds to idle, until the engine is warmed.
Best regards,
Dusty
Probably the most common scenario for misfire is at coast down. Modern engine management systems do not allow the throttle to return to the curb idle position during de-accelleration. This is done to reduce emissions. This represents an extremely lean condition. By nature the combustion effectiveness in an internal combustion engine is far more tolerant of rich mixtures. They don't like lean mixtures. At coast down misfires are inperceptible, but can load the cylinder with a lot of fuel that bypasses the rings.
Regards,
Dusty
Eric
I have a '97 club cab 4WD, and I put Monroe sensa-trak shocks on it at about 30K. The original front shocks were starting to get a bit sloppy. The Monroe's seem to be doing fine so far, and although they are a bit stiffer than the originals, they are not harsh. And, they sell for a reasonable price.
re: plugs
I replaced the original plugs on my 318V8 at about 25K. I used the Bosch platinum (single tip). My gas mileage went up slightly, and the engine continues to run butter smooth at 60K.
Thought I would pipe in with an FYI. Haven't posted in a while because the truck has been running like a top ('02 4.7L Auto 4x4 QC) It now has over 51,000 on the OD. Here's the FYI
Took it into the dealer this morning. Told them the front end was sloppy and popping (I knew what was wrong, but wanted documentation from the dealership). The service dept. called a couple hours later and told me they needed to replace both upper ball joints. I told them not to touch it. I immediately called the Chrysler customer service line. After waiting an excruciating eighteen minutes, Tony picked up the call. I explained the following to him;
1. The truck has been to the dealer twice prior for the same problem
2. First time the dealer replaced the lower control arms - covered under warranty (I assume the dealer replaced the old cheap one piece control arm/ball joint assembly made by TRW with the new design made by New Castle that allows the ball joints to be serviced without having to replace the control arm)
2. Second time the dealer replaced the ball joints - covered under warranty
3. Dealer now wants to charge me $296.00 to replace the upper ball joints since the truck is now out of warranty.
4. I told Tony that I researched the "Office of Defects Investigation" on the NHTSA website and found that NHTSA has cited that the ball joints are subject to premature wear and can cause unexpected collapse of the front end
With the above explained to him, I asked Tony "What can Chrysler do for me"? He asked me to hold while he called the dealership. After confirming the situation with the dealership, he offered the following;
1. The dealership would replace the ball joints and only charge me a $50.00 deductible as if I had a service contract (which I don't)
2. The replacement parts will have a 12 month unlimited mileage warrant
I had to do some quick calculations, but $50.00 compared to $296.00 seemed like a decent compromise. Although I am still greatly concerned that the ball joints are now considered routine maintains and need to be replaced ~ every 25k
I know some have posted similar problems in the past so I thought I would share. It seems that Chrysler is reasonable, and their customer service really is customer service (few are these days) but you have to have patients to wait for someone to pick up.
Gordon
faulty ball joints were discussed. With 749 complaints against Durango (compared to less than
15 from GM and Ford owners). Doesn't sound good at all,,,,,
Again, the dealer replaced upper and lower ball joints on my 2001 Quad at 35K miles. The popping/clunking was from day one. Just the ball joints were replaced not the control arms.
Now I'm into my extended warr.
Good luck to all,,,,,I'm a first time Dodge owner and still hope to keep my truck for 5 or 6 more years. I also know many Dakota owners that have come and gone to other brands. They say, "no more Dodge for me,,,," It's back to Toyota or Nissan!!!
Mick
We have known about the "ball joint issue" since the year 2000. It is not a new problem. A warantee may make one FEEL good, but if they continue to install the same junk, why bother?
Ron
Ron
Springfield, VA
Thanks, Tiltboy
It sounds like all of the damage was above the drive train. I wonder where well maintained 4.7L's end up after something like that?
Kind of interesting side story about farm rebate is that I was invited to all of the local farm meetings, banquets, etc. for the next two years. Also received a 20+ page questionnaire from an US government agency. They were very understanding when I told them that my "farm" was a 30' x 40' garden plot and that I have 100' dia. fish pond for bass, cats, and sunnies.
Might be an opportunity to go with the longer future life Ram. You might have only had bumper damage from that out of control Suburban.
I'm glad there were no serious injuries.
I don't know why but my local Dodge dealer does not have the Dakota inventory he usually has this time of the year. I was by last week and I'd say he had about sixteen or so on the lot. When I bought mine in October of 2002 they had fifty or better.
I perceive that there's been a slight change in the demographics of used stuff on his lot, too. They have eight used 2002 RAMs and about twelve or so older year RAMs. It use to be they had much more Ford and GM trade-ins (although they have two used Tundras now!). There's always been a fair amount of used Dakotas on this dealer's lot, a sign that there are Dakota repeat customers.
Oh, yeah. The latest Consumer Reports lists the 2002 Dakota as "Check Rated," meaning it was above average in reliability for that year truck.
Good luck,
Dusty
Has anyone else had this problem or heard of it?
Thanks,
Dennis
Tilt.....
Regards,
Dusty
I do have a question for anyone who has replaced the front OEM shocks with Edelbrock IAS. At the lower attachment, did you use the provided aluminum spacer between the IAS shock and the arm assembly? The spacer was in a separate bag (inside the box) with it's own assembly diagram, but it was not mentioned in the assembly instructions. I would guess that the spacer is used to provide additional clearance for the shock cylinder (to axle shaft?), but it seems that it would add addition stress to the bolt by increasing the distance between the point of downward force from the shock and the lower arm. Has anyone had a bolt break? Paranoid... yes
Gordon
02 4.7 Auto 4wd QC
That's the only two that I can think of. Every '02 I've looked at was identical to my '03. I haven't examined a 2004 yet.
Best regards,
Dusty
from a very brief look at the '04s the other day, I recall that the stainless exhaust looks a bit different now. The pipes now appear to be mandrel bent (from start to end) and a new resonator has been added after the muffler section. Also, the end of the tailpipe is now straight-cut as compared to the previous slash-cut. The other external change that I noticed is that the Sport model now comes standard with a bright grill. There could be other changes...but, need to examine further. Perhaps, this is only in Canada???
dataguru
I should probably head down to Midas/Meineke and get my suspicions confirmed. Advance Auto has Raybestos rotors, drums, and pads available. Anyone have any experience with their parts? Powerslot rotors would be nice, but are not in the budget right now.
My 2001 Ranger Supercab 4x4 has come to the end of it's lease, and has treated me reasonably well. The only issues I had were the check engine light twice, as well as an air bag light once. All of them involved censor changes under warranty. The dealer also replaced all 4 ball joints (with the a-arms) under warranty at about 50,000km, but there wasn't any looseness in the front end. With the 4.0 SOHC engine, manual transmission, 4.10 gears, I got about 16-17 USmpg in everyday mixed driving, with a high of 20mpg on one tank.
I have orders a 2004 Club Cab 4x4, 4.7L manual with 3.55 gears, loaded in Patriot Blue. Hopefully, the fuel econonmy won't be much different from what I was getting in my Ranger, as 80% of my driving is highway. Get to pick it up in 8 weeks!!!
Regards,
Dusty
Thanks