} First let me vent about Consumer Distorts. They've had a hard-on for
} Chrysler for a long time, but never report anything bad about their
} favorites like Honda or Toyota.
}
} There's a front differential, transfer case and another drive shaft on the
} 4x4. I've got 80k miles on my '92 3.9, 4x4 and have not had any trouble
} with any of the 4x4 gear, and a lot less trouble with the rest of the
} vehicle than Consumer Distorts would have people believe.
}
} A guy at work has a Ranger that took at least 6 mo to get the brakes fixed
} so that it would stop reliably, the Ranger is a 94 or 95. Now I don't
} know about you, but I like my vehicles to stop when I want them to stop.
I have heard several folks hear with 4x4s tell of having to replace the
rubber boots over the front CV joints, thats the only problem I remember
hearing more than once. The early RAMS did have a few problems with
steering columns and whatnot, but they are a different beast, and the
Dakota has been around long enough to work out most of the bugs.
As for Consumer Distorts, they aren't fit for use as toilet paper. I
read their comparo test with the Dakota, S-10 and some other trucks.
Their description of how the brakes worked on the S-10 was positively
scary, and the front of the bed bent when they loaded in a motorcycle.
There worst complaint about the Dakota seemed to be that the handling
was "sluggish" in the slalom test. Well I didn't buy it to do autocross
racing, and when I'm towing a 3500 pound trailer on the freeway on a
windy day the last thing I need is go-kart quick steering. Sluggish =
Stable and thats a GOOD thing. So in their overall ratings they rate
the S-10 higher than the Dak, and of course they don't tell you how they
come up with the final ratings-they never do. They also complained
about the Dak gas mileage, but then again this truck had the biggest
engine and the biggest size and the most weight, but that point seemed
to be lost on them.
Frank Ball 1UR-M frankb@sr.hp.com (707) 794-4168 work
Hewlett Packard (707) 794-3038 fax (707) 538-3693 home
1212 Valley House Drive Kawi KDX200, Yamaha XT350 YZF600R Seca 750
Rohnert Park CA 94928-4999 '95 Dakota SLT Club Cab V8 5-Speed 2WD
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