Andy,
Then I think you know what I mean when I live on a Hill. My house is
located on Hoffman Hill Road Extension, which is parallel to your Uncle's
road. I have lived here with my parents for the first part of my life and
then bought the house from them four years ago. They moved to a place that
we rebuilt on Sacandaga resevoir. Who is your Uncle? I know the Hiserts,
Hagan's and Sadie Becker on Toureuna Road. Thanks for all the great tips.
Scotia Motors has been very good to me. The only thing is that I took a
test drive with someone and he was not very interested in helping me resolve
my issues. He told me that when you go to pass a vehicle that "sometimes it
will give it to you and sometimes it will not", then he preceded to look out
the window the rest of our test drive. That day was when I think Bob Smith
was the person I ran into that told me about DML and said to see if you can
help with my concerns. The computer update to my truck did elevate the
ping. I have the V6 magnum. The shifting back and forth is around 40 mph
going up my Hill. The bang usually happens when I take off. One time it
jerk and shifted the truck back and forth as if the truck was hesitating
but, it was the transmission? I appreciate your time and thanks for the
tips below.
Talk with you soon.
Paul
Scotia, NY
1999 Solar Yellow Dakota
-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Levy <andylevy@yahoo.com>
To: dakota-truck-moderator@bent.twistedbits.net
<dakota-truck-moderator@bent.twistedbits.net>
Date: Saturday, December 29, 2001 5:56 PM
Subject: Re: DML: Hello Dakota Owners
Welcome to the list, Paul. We've got a couple (ok, 2, and I don't even
live around there anymore) people from the area on the list here. Bob
Smith has a 2000 SY 4x4 that he bought from Scotia Motors (talk about a
coincidence!) and I'm originally from the Albany area. You may live near
my uncle - do you know where Touareuna Road is?
Anyway, on to your questions. You didn't mention whether you've got the V6
or V8, but in either case, the computer update was likely related to the
TSB for the dreaded ping.
You say "the truck shifts", so I'll assume you've got an automatic. Mine
is prone to "hunting" sometimes (several up/down shift cycles closely
spaced) at some speeds (30-40 MPH) on hills. When this happens, I'll lock
out OD to help it decide. If it still does it, I kick down to 2nd.
When you say it "bangs" into the gears, do you mean every shift, or only
when you start from being parked? If it's the latter, that's considered
normal. See this article in our FAQ -
http://www.dakota-truck.net/faq/Transmission_and_Gears/reverse_clunk.html
This takes stress off the drive train and alleviates the problem.
Lack of downshifting is probably due to fluid pressure. You can adjust the
TV cable yourself (see http://www.jcj.net/dodgeram/trans_adjustment.htm).
The page linked here is for a Ram 360, but applies to our Daks as well.
When you get your truck back, reset the PCM
(http://www.dakota-truck.net/faq/Electronics/pcmreset.html) and get out for
a good drive as though you were breaking in a brand-new vehicle. Take a
run up to Lake George on the back roads (Rts 50, 9, etc.) with it.
Some of the issues you've had may have been due to the truck not moving for
6 months - especially if it wasn't properly prepped for storage. This NY
weather can be nasty. You may want to get the oil, transmission fluid
fully flushed & changed, as well as the cooling system, if those haven't
been done already. Your transmission should *not* need to be rebuilt at
18K - I'm at 43K and mine's running fine, after some mild abuse on occasion.
Hopefully Bob Smith will be along soon (he's offline right now, probably
out with the girls). I think he's been pretty happy with Scotia Motors, he
may have the name of someone you can talk to there.
Paul Brino wrote:
> I am writing you to tell you I own a 1999 Solar Yellow 4x4 Dakota. I
> purchased this vehicle from Scotia Motors, NY. The funny thing about the
> truck was that it was my neighbors. But, anyway, I am having trouble with
> the truck, specifically the transmission. Scotia Motors has had the truck
> for the fifth time and is rebuilding and reclutching the transmission.
> Should I be scared? I live on top of a very steep mountain plus, I drive
> to
> work everyday on the New York State Thruway. Here are my symptons:
> 1. The truck seems to bang into the gears.
> 2. Sometimes the truck shifts into overdrive and sometimes it dosn't.
> 3. When I try to pass a car the truck shifts into the passing gear and
> sometimes it doesn't. Happens alot when its cold.
> 4. When I am driving up a hill the truck will shift and then shift back
> very
> quickly? This has only happened four times.
>
> Scotia Motors has done the following:
>
> First Trip: Lubricated the shifter?
> Second Trip: The pump box was leaking. Refilled and sealed.
> Third Trip: There was a cooling system leak and the transmission was
> not shifting because of temperature.
> Fourth Trip: Electrical problem. Also, there was a computer update
> preformed.
> Fifth Trip: Rebuilding the transmission and re clutching.
>
> The truck only has 18,000 miles and was babied by the previous owner. The
> guy had a heartattack and didn't drive the truck for six months.
>
> Paul Brino
> Scotia, NY
-- -andy andylevy@yahoo.com Maintainer, DML FAQ - http://www.dakota-truck.net/faq/ http://home.twcny.rr.com/andylevy/dakota/ '99 CC 4x4 318 auto
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:03:44 EDT