Let`s make sure we`re all on the same page.My Dak is
the one that has had the bad hesitation for 10 months
or so,and has not been fixed yet by any Dodge
dealer.My sister`s boyfriend is a good mechanic,and he
checked it out.He said the O2 sensor after the cat
read near .8 volts constantly,and that it and the
converter were probably bad.Set up another appointment
at the Dodge place,and basically told them to keep it
until it`s fixed,but just give me a front-wheel drive
or 4x4 to use in the meantime.I also told them what I
was told was wrong with my truck.I took my Dak to
them,rode around in it with the service manager for a
while,and he took me to Enterprise car rental.They
gave me a 2001 Ram Quad Cab with a 360 to drive around
in!!!(I know I said in an earlier post that it was a
Ram 2500 with a 318.Not so.Don`t know where I got
that.)I would have been happy with an old 4x4 Dak,as
long as it ran! My impressions of the 5.9L brute? The
first thing I noticed was the starter.It has a very
high rpm starter,sounds funny.Not at all like the
Dak.Do all 5.9s use that starter? The Ram rides
good,but just feels massive.The transmission seems to
shift very early and very softly.You take off at light
throttle,and it downshifts unexpectedly at a certain
speed,like 30mph or so,then winds out and upshifts
again.I test-drove a 99 318 Dak that shifted just like
it.My V6 Dak shifts seemingly late and harsh by
comparison.Especially harsh when it loses
power.Another thing with the Ram,I was driving it
today and heard a woooooooooo sound at highway speed.I
asked my wife to get the window sticker out of the
glovebox,and tell me what the axle ratio was.Sure
enough,it has 3.55s in it.This truck has only 9000
miles on it,BTW.The Ram seems to accelerate well,but
not as much as I would expect.Probably compares to a
3.9 Dak as far as power-to-weight ratio.That`s just a
guess,but I`m sure a 318 or 287 Dak would blow the
doors off it.I don`t think the gearing and the tranny
throttle cable adjustment are fully optimized for such
a big vehicle.Anyway,I called to check on my Dak
today,and guess what was on order for it? A new
cat,and O2 sensor!! I might be able to get it
tomorrow.I`m going to miss the spaciousness of the
Ram,but I`m missing MY truck even more! Steve P.
=====
1999 Dakota Sport 3.9V6,4x4,3.92 Anti-spin,42RE auto,Intense Blue,regular cab.
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