Well, another round at Sam Dell Dodge. I took the Dak in this morning
and explained what the problem was, what had happened before, and what I
wanted done. I handed him a printout of TSB 18-48-98 and he asked me
"where did you get this?" as though it was data that I had somehow
smuggled out of the depths of Area 51. I told him it I got it online,
and he launched into a speech about how they only perform TSBs if
Chrysler says so, sounded like he was questioning whether the thing was
even legit. I pointed out right on the TSB that it applied to Dakotas
if they exhibited one or more of the listed symptoms. He said they'd
check to see if the TSB existed & applied.
Just before lunch, he left a message on my voicemail to say "I don't
know what the status of your truck is, I don't have any information to
give you, haven't seen the tech, don't even know if it's in the shop
yet." Well, gee, thanks...I never called to ask. I'll have to ask him
to call me at home on Sunday to tell me if there was any big activity on
the NYSE that day.
They picked me up at work at 5:15 and drove me to the dealer. After
finding my paperwork (it never made it to the front desk), the rep that
talked to me this morning explained what they did, and did have a tech
there to talk to me.
Checked the intake manifold for leaks again, and found none. They
checked the TSB and, shock of shocks, it actually applied! So they
rerouted the wires. However, in the process of performing the TSB, they
discovered that the cap terminals were corroded; a month ago they were
not (or they weren't checked; of course, the tech who did the work a
month ago, and missed this TSB and went right to the flash "no longer
works here"). In addition, the distributor was found to be out of sync
by 5 degrees. So they reset it to 0 degrees offset from the camshaft (I
think that's what it's synced with?), replaced the cap, rotor and
wires. The tech took it out for a spin (6 miles) and found no pinging.
Only 0.9 "units" (hours?) to do the work.
I asked about restoring the PCM, and was stonewalled. The truck ships
with program revision AB; they're up to AG right now (indicating anumber
of upgrades since my truck rolled off the line). They still cannot
explain what the flash does; I keep getting "Chrysler sends it down,
they wouldn't do it if made things worse, it's got to be an improvement
over what's there, they have to go through hoops with EPA, etc." Fine.
Can I get a new, clean PCM? "Nope. They all come with the latest
program."
At this point, I gave up. They brought it around and I popped the hood
after he walked away to make sure all my stuff was still there. My TB
was still there (was afraid they might replace it with a stock one), the
intake was stil there, but nearly falling off. Took off for home, and I
think things are improved. I'm not convinced it's fixed, but at this
point, I'm not talking to a dealer until a more trained ear that isn't
from the factory can listen to it (too bad I can't make it to Jon's
Saturday!). The rattling I heard on occasion on the way home was more
rhythmic than before, and needs more throttle to occur, so it may just
be something loose (maybe the intake is still a little loose).
So, I'm giving up on dealers, and will try the other self-help remedies
suggested 'round here. Pete Cutler suggested last night that I switch
to 89 octane, as that cured his problems; I'd like to avoid that if I
can. I still have the thermostat to swap, and do need to check the PCV
valve on that oily substance in the intake manifold.
-- -andyhttp://home.twcny.rr.com/andylevy/ --- andylevy@bigfoot.com ------------------------------------------------------------- "We like AMD. The enemy of our enemy is our friend." --- Jonathan Schwartz Sun senior vice president -------------------------------------------------------------
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