O.K. I promised myself and others that I would not bring up my truck`s
problems anymore.Well,I need to.If anyone has answers for any symptom
listed below,please post or directly e-mail me.I`ve had this truck to
two dealerships,and either my truck does not have the problems I`m
seeing,or they don`t see the problems I`m having.I drove it a couple
hundred miles today,and it did nothing but utterly tee me off,and yes,I
am aware that those are strong words.We are talking about a 99 Dakota
Sport,automatic 3.9 4x4 RC with 3.92 gears.8500 miles.Problems are
listed in order of frustration level unless otherwise noted: 1)Power
loss.Usually when it really runs bad,you can feel the pulsations in the
body of the truck,almost like you`re running over a bumpy road.Feels
like the engine loses power from one or more cylinders
intermittently.Seems to be engine,not transmission related.It also seems
like a rough section of road makes the problem get better or worse,like
something is loose.And the engine surges wildly driving up a gravel
driveway.RRRrrrRRRrrrRRRrrrRRR.Tach goes up and down several hundred
rpm. 2)Pings.Had the intake plenum pan gasket replaced about a month
ago after a severe bout of pinging,and it seemed to take care of 95% of
it.Now it`s back as bad as ever,most noticeable in overdrive with very
light throttle.Have not replaced the thermostat with a 180 deg. because
I have seen it ping badly with the engine not fully hot,about 170 deg.or
so.Also,the belly pan thing confuses me too.If the gasket fixed the
problem for a month,I have to assume it`s bad again,right?
3)Cat smells bad.I`ve been told it`s normal.No way.And I can`t see it
being the converter`s fault either.Seems like only an engine problem
could cause one to fail at low miles.
4)Truck BANGS into reverse,even at idle.Does this about 50% of the
time.Parked on level ground,not due to torque loading the transmission.
5)When brakes are wet,I about go through the windshield if I barely
touch `em.I would assume that a cheap set of pads will cure this?Happens
usually after sitting overnight in the rain or snow.
Help me out,folks!! Thanks!! Steve P.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:52:53 EDT