The truck is fixed, or so the dealership says. They cleaned the sludge out
of the bottom of the pan, and the oil pressure is back to normal. The truck
just hasn't been right since I bought it. The truck never stays aligned,
and wanders. I have tried numerous things, but end up with the same result.
I tracked down the owner and asked him about any accidents, because nothing
showed up on carfax, and he said he ditched it The whole one side of the
truck had to be rebuilt. I am now wondering about frame damage, and if that
could be causing the truck to wander, and not stay in alignment.
The truck also sucks through gas like a chocolate malted. I have had tune
ups done, and it still burns through gas like crazy. It's also very
sluggish, and lacks power. For the first year, I've owned it for 3 now, the
truck had tons of pick up, and was quite peppy. I was also getting between
17 and 20 mpg with it. Now I am lucky to see 12 to 14 mpg, and it is very
logy. It is almost as though the truck is working harder than it should.
The only thing that is working right is the tr4ansmission, and I had that
replaced two years ago. I just think I got stuck with another man's
headache, and it's time to get a brand new truck. One with zero miles, and
not mistreated by anyone. Lets face it, you put that much power under the
hood of a truck the size of the Dak, and most guys will use it and abuse
it. Then they'll send it down the road, and not care who has to deal with
their abuse of it. That is why I think it's time to get a brand new truck.
This way if something does go wrong, it will be the dealer's problem, not
mine. ;-)
Brian
At 09:11 AM 1/14/2004, you wrote:
>Nothing sounds reasonable at all about that. First,
>was your valve train clattering? second, what has
>happened since? Are you still running it, and if so
>is the pressure low? Have you checked the sending unit? It can get plugged
>up. If you changed
>both the oil and filter regularly, and the engine is
>kept in tune "dino" oil works just fine, for a hell of a
>lot more than 3000 miles. Think of it this way. Where is the sludge? In the
>bottom of the pan. What happens when you drop the drain plug? Any
>sludge down there is forced out by the oil on top of
>it. If the engine is running good now, try changing
>the sending unit first, or check the electrical output
>and the wire all the way. Another trick is to put in a
>mechanical gauge and see just what pressure you
>have.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Brian Mingle" <bsm11@cornell.edu>
>To: <dakota-truck@dakota-truck.net>;
><dakota-truck-moderator@bent.twistedbits.net>
>Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 5:16 AM
>Subject: DML: Oil Pressure Problem
>
>
> >
> > Hi All,
> >
> > Yesterday on my way to work, I lost all oil pressure. It was running
> > between 40 and the pegged mark on the gauge. I took the truck back to the
> > dealership where I purchased it, it was on my way to work, and they said I
> > had sludge on the bottom of the oil pan, and it was clogging the oil
>sender
> > in the bottom of the pan. Sounds like a reasonable thing to me. My
>question
> > is; what causes this? and how can I prevent it from happening in the
> > future? Should I change the oil sooner than every 3,000 miles, like I am
> > doing now? Is there another explanation as to why I had such a build up?
> >
> > Any help would be greatly appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Brian S. Mingle
> > 1998 Dakota Club Cab Sport 4x4
> > 5.2 Magnum V8
> > Emerald Green Pearl
> >
> >
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Feb 01 2004 - 16:29:49 EST