My Dakota has always registered what I consider to be low oil pressure
on the gauge, esp. at hot idle, which reads just above the white line at
the left (minimum) side of the gauge. I did replace the sensor myself,
and there was no change.
In the last 2-4 weeks the engine has developed a rattle sound... like a
few marbles being swished around in an empty coffee can, or a bowling
ball with a chip rolling down the lane... it's not a rod-knock or
anything I've heard w/ other failed engines, but it's enough that a
friend w/ a 98 5.2 Dakota said "WTF is that noise??" the other day...
It's not the A/C compressor, which was my first thought, though I
haven't pulled the belt to check if it's some other pump/pulley.
My brakes have also become harder (both the pedal itself and the ability
to stop)... which makes me wonder if I have low vaccum...
It seems like I could have a failing engine (I'm weeks away from 100k
miles, but I bought the truck at an auction with 89k, so I have no idea
what type of abuse it received...)
I know it's always worthwhile to try to pre-empt a problem like this...
So does anyone know an honest mechanic south or west of Boston that I
could bring this to for diagnosis? I've only found dead beats around
here that overcharge and either don't find problems (that are real) or
find non-existant ones...
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Sep 01 2004 - 00:53:42 EDT