Will, I commend you on the care of your truck. I wish I had the Time &
discipline to keep such good care of mine. I am very picky, but I just dont
have the time to do it the way I want to all the time. I do agree with David
on some points. I take it easy on mine too, mostly to conserve fuel, but I
dont baby it to that extreme. I dont race or hot rod, but if I need to get
on the gas to pass, I do. I have seen too many in my day that were babied so
much that they died an early death. About the oil condensation problem. If
you haven't had the dealer put the mod on it, I would recommend it. I didn't
have any problem til about 24k & then it got Very bad.Thought I had a blown
head gasket or something. took it to the dealer & let them put the Cap &
baffle mod in it. When I saw it I thought, what a cheap POS bandaid to hide
the problem, but I kept an eye on it & it doesn't just hide the gunk, but
prevents it from forming.
As for the other problems, I hear a clunk now & then & just got a ball joint
& control arm replaced, but other than that I havent had any other problems.
turned over 36000 miles yesterday. This is my first Dodge & first 4x4 &
since it was a brand new line (QC) I figured I'd have to deal with a few
bugs. I love it so far. My last truck was a GMC Sonoma sold with 171k on her
& was in the shop once at 10k to replace a noisy alternator. Otherwise I did
most of the maint myself, & just followed the 3000 mile oil change. No
synthetic, no fancy additives. Used no oil, no leaks, everything still
worked like new.
Only time will tell how our trucks will last , so just go with your
instincts & a lot of good advise from this list . I think they develop
personalities by the way we drive them , so don't treat it like a cream puff
or it may perform like one!
----- Original Message -----
From: Will Coughlin <willcoughlin@hotmail.com>
To: <dakota-truck@buffnet.net>
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2001 1:57 PM
Subject: Re: DML: oil filter, Attn: Will
> Well, David everytime I get in my truck, it feels older! The transmission
is
> really erratic.Sometimes it shifts great, then sometimes it won't shift
> hardly at all.The engine seems to be getting looser as time goes on.It
just
> doesn't feel the same as it did.<snip>
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