Welcome to the list.
1) on a 98, you have a viscous clutch fan. They can be noisy (roar) at
times. It is typical that this will occur on a cold startup. At least you
know its working.
2) this is a common problem. There is a TSB on this. But since its out of
warranty, you'll have to pay to get it fixed if you want. More of an
annoyance as opposed to a problem.
3) I'm not sure about an aftermarket fob. You can get a replacement from
the dealer (shouldn't be too expensive), and they can set it to work for
your truck. If they want an arm and a leg, come back here. I'm sure
someone has figured a way around this.
TonyC
-----Original Message-----
From: Brian Gonzales <gonzales@thuntek.net>
To: dakota-truck@dakota-truck.net <dakota-truck@dakota-truck.net>
Date: Thursday, April 04, 2002 12:43 AM
Subject: DML: Newbie
>
>Hey guys, first post here.
>
>I bought my Dakota a few weeks ago and joined the list last week. Nice
>list, but entirely too much traffic for my taste :).
>
>I'm not a Dodge guy per se, but I had great luck with my '96 Ram, so I
>figured buying a '98 Dakota wold be a good thing (it has been). I used
>to be a fast car guy (Chevy IROC, and '86 Buick Grand National), but
>I've matured into trucks. I also used to be a serious tinkerer, but the
>Grand National cured my wallet of that habit. :)
>
>My Ram was exquisite, but I messed up and got a regular cab, so this
>time I opted for an extended cab Dakota (great choice). The Dakota is
>fully loaded 360, 4x4, SLT, 36,000 miles with the towing package and
>superb factory 6 speaker stereo.
>
>I have only a few questions to ask:
>
>1. I have a loud, rather obnoxiously loud cooling fan. Is this normal
>for a factory towing equipped truck? I'd like to disable it or adjust
>the threshold at which it switches off. Currently it seems to shut off
>at 40mph, maybe adjusting it to ~20mpg would be quieter. I only pull a
>trailer 10 times a year...
>
>2. I have a extremely light clicking noise on the steering column. I
>traced it down to a collapsible linkage between 2 universal joints. Is
>this common? I'm the only one that seems to notice. It looks like a
>pretty simple replacement. I wonder if Autozone has a
>
>3. Acording to the window sticker, my truck is equipped with keyless
>entry. Can I buy an aftermarket replacement remote, or is Dodge the only
>source?
>
>That's about it.
>
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