Re: Ping resolved...maybe (longish)

From: Chris Lang (langerdak@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri Oct 20 2000 - 09:52:38 EDT


Andy I know you dont live in Albany anymore but I had a great expierence at
Albany Doge with service. I had my 93 in to fix my steering problems a few
months ago and they fixed it very quickly. When I went to pick up the truck
the tech was asking me about my mods and I told him what I had done. He
asked me if the truck was pinging at all and I said no. He then told me
about how alot of the gen III dakotas were being brought in for pinging
problems. He said they go the normal route and check the intake for leaks
and reroute the spark plugs and how it usually doesn't help. He also said
the they flash the computers, but in his opinion that just screws things up
even more. He said they dont have any idea on what the flash does and that
they just get it from dodge and are told to use it to fix the pinging
problem. I never got the techs name but if you ever back in town here and
need some service I'd say bring your truck over there since they seem to
have a clue as to whats going on and were very helpful to me.

Chris

>From: Andy Levy <andylevy@bigfoot.com>
>Reply-To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
>To: "dakota-truck@buffnet.net" <dakota-truck@buffnet.net>
>Subject: DML: Ping resolved...maybe (longish)
>Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2000 20:21:55 -0400
>
>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.
>
>--
>-andy
>
>http://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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