I am the owner of a '96 4x4 V8 extended cab 5-speed, sure grip 3.55 rear end
Dakota with 25,000 miles. Overall, I am very happy with the truck, but I have
had a few warrantee problems.
At around 8,000 miles, I had the transmission (NV-3500) throw-out bearing
replaced due to hard shifting, clutch vibration, and noise. Well, as it
turned out, the service department at my local dealer used the wrong gear
lube. Instead of the required Mopar lube for the NV-3500, they used another
synthetic lube. I didn't worry too much about this since they assured me that
is what they normally use and it's more expensive than the Mopar recommend
lube.
At around 18,000 miles, I was experiencing hard shifting, and the transmission
would sometimes pop out of 4th gear when going up hills. Well, I changed the
lube with recommended lube and it seem to clear up all the symptoms, except
the old lube and drain and fill plug magnets were full of metal shavings!
Last weekend, (at 25,000 miles) my rear brakes started binding so I left the
truck at the dealer with a note describing the brake problem, as well as, a
noise coming from the transmission and intermittent vehicle vibrations that
had developed. Anyway, the dealer is doing the right thing and replacing the
transmission with a new unit. Turns out there was extensive wear and
(thankfully) the most cost effective repair was to replace the unit under
warrantee. He hasn't addressed the brake problem yet, but I think it is
related to the anti-lock brakes.
I tow a 3500lb sailboat extensively. Although, I don't think that the towing
has anything to do with the demise of the transmission, I want to avoid
damaging the new unit. The truck is rated for significantly more than
3500lbs, but there is a lot of windage since the boat sits about 11 ft above
the road. The Dakota has towed from Connecticut to Burlington VT, South
Carolina, Annapolis Maryland, as well as numerous trips of around 100 miles in
New England. I typically tow in either 4th or 5th gear at speeds of 55 up to
75 MPH depending on traffic conditions.
I want to avoid damaging the new transmission. My previous tow vehicle was a
Dodge RAM Van (318,automatic) which I got rid of right as it started having
transmission trouble (60,000 miles). I knew that the automatic in this Van
was prone to problems, so I traded in on the Dakota.
Does anyone have experience with towing heavy trailers with a 5-speed Dakota?
Do you typically tow in 4th or 5th gear? Anyone have a similar transmission
problem?
Moise Solomon
msolomon@mitre.org
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