& >We went down to the dealer, finalized the paperwork, then took it for a
& >test drive. Everything is great.. 'except' what the h*** is up with
& ChryCo
& >and their driveline/suspension components?!?! There was a fine layer of
& >surface rust/corrosion on the leaf springs, the rear diff, the rear hubs
& >the metal brake lines (going into the rear wheels) the driveshaft and even
& >a bit on the front 4by x-fer case? We checked other Dak's on the lot and
& >they all looked to have the same 'problem' The new RAMs did not.
&
& Every Dakota I've looked at, either out in the real world, or on the lot has
& had this same problem... The first day I got mine, most of the areas you
& spoke of, as well as the front brake calipers, had the same rusty
& appearance. I'm not sure how much the wirebrushing/grease will help, but
Mine too, and all others I've seen. I just did my first tire rotation
(6000 miles) today, and one of the lug bolts was rusty enough that the
lug nut wouldn't spin off (it did come off but I had to turn the wrench
all the way off). The shop manual emphasized that the lugs shouldn't be
greased-but I greased them anyways (I grew up on the east coast and I've
seen rusted seized lugs, and I've always greased the wheel lugs on
everything I've owned without problems). I've thought about spraying
down the leaf springs with motorcycle chain lube.
& review of the Dakota in Consumer Reports (they didn't like it, but then
& again they don't like most cars, except econoboxes), and even they had
& referenced the undercarriage rust.
I hate Consumer Reports. I read it when I'm at my Dad's house. In their
pickup comparision they got the biggest engine available in every truck
except the Dakota, then bitched because the Dakota was underpowered.
Their description of the handling and braking caracteristics of the
Chevy was scary just to read, but they rated it better than the Dakota!
They refuse to supply any raw data or explain their rating systems to
come up with overall rating performance. They pissed on the Dakota
because the steeriing was "sluggish", well I call the Dakota steering
"stable". It doesn't steer like a go-kart, but thats the last thing I
need when I'm towing a trailer at 65mph on a windy day. The Chevy is
a just a station wagon with the top cut off, it isn't a truck (likewise
for the Toyota, the Ranger isn't a bad truck).
________________________________________________________________________
Frank Ball 1UR-M frankb@sr.hp.com (707) 794-4168 work
Hewlett Packard (707) 794-4848 fax (707) 538-3693 home
1212 Valley House Drive Dodge Dakota Yamaha IT175 XT350 YZF600 Seca750
Rohnert Park CA 94928-4999 KC6WUG, AMA, DoD #7566, NMLRA, I'm the NRA.
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