Hi:
My co-worker who owns the '92 Dakota with the whining rear end is really having
problems getting his truck repaired. Last time on "As the Pinion Turns", my
coworker (Doak) had taken his truck to a "truck shop" to have them repair the
whining that the Dodge dealership could not fixed. The truck shop said the r&p
gear were not aligned correctly (after some recent u-joint work at the Dodge
dealership). This agreed with the diagnosis that Kukukooter had mailed to me.
The solution seemed pretty simple: order the correct shim kit and have the
truck shop adjust the gears using the correct shims. But here's the bad part:
The truck shop can't find the correct shims. They checked with the Dodge
dealership and the Dodge dealership can't find them either. When the Dodge
service boys try to look up the shim kit for the '92 Dakota with 8 1/4" inch
pumpkin, they come up with this part number: 3723530. Doak found out that this
part number is *not correct*.
Sooo, the Dodge dealership can't order the right shim kit because they don't
know what part number to ask for.
This is getting a little too hairy. Does anyone have any advice on how Doak
can get the correct shim kit for his truck? Would a new set of r&p gears from
Dodge *include* the shims we are looking for?
Doak said that he needs "Pinion shims for between the pinion bearing cup (race)
and the rear end housing. There is an assortment that contains .005, .010, 015
and higher. Or he needs shims in front of the bearing cup starting at .035 and
going up from there. The shop mentioned something about using a #24 spacer in
the whole works." [I am repeating what Doak told me from his latest
conversations with the truck shop and the Dodge service dept. Please correct
me if I have typed something that is mechically incorrect. I am *not* a
pumpkin expert.]
Doak also wanted me to ask if anyone on the Dakota list had heard of mismatched r&p
gears being installed at the factory. I thought I had read a few messages that
mentioned *incorrect gear ratios* but I didn't remember any thing that
discussed mis-matched gears.
This problem is getting ugly. He is thinking of giving up on the Pentagram and
switching over to the Bowtie.
Thanks in advance for any help with Doak's problem. I think he would be
willing to offer some monetary compensation to anyone who can help him locate
the right shims for his truck so he can get it back on the road.
-Scott Vieth http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~scottv
'68 Camaro RS, 327/PG
'97 Dakota Sport 4x4 Club Cab, 5.2L/5-spd (on order)
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