Well, I've been having loads of fun taking my '95 back and forth between
work and two dealers in order to get a rear end growl fixed under 3/36
warranty. Figured I'd ping this august group to see if anyone else had the
same problem.
About 3 months ago, I started noticing a bizarre growl coming from the
rear of the Dakota (thought it was a low-flying airplane at first ;).
I admit it's not very loud, but it is most pronounced while coasting around
40 mph, and has the unmistakable characteristics of a failing bearing.
Since I absolutely despise taking any of my beloved vehicles to anyone
else for work, I did everything I could think of to isolate the noise and
convince myself it was time for warranty repair (change tire pressure,
rotate tires, see if noise is affected by turns, etc.). Finally decided
it was the rear end after I put it up on jack stands, cranked it up to
60 mph, and ran under the truck while coasting (OK, not the safest procedure,
but I was careful). Noise definitely coming from input pinion shaft
or U-joint yoke area. FSM leads me to believe it's the front bearing at
fault (loudest while coasting, though it is starting to happen while
under power). Noise not affected by turns at all, so I doubt it's the
differential, and it doesn't sound like gear noise anyway.
The service dudes crack me up. I've driven with one, who agreed there
was a noise, but next week when they supposedly put it up on the rack,
claimed there wasn't any problem. Squirted a tube of friction modifier
in there to shut me up, as if that would have any effect on a bearing
noise (it didn't). Another dealer tried to blame it on tire noise, let
alone the fact I explained my debugging procedure in detail. Mind you,
each of these little visits requires a 60 mile round trip (two so far,
third on the way).
Anyway, I know a couple of you have experienced rear end problems (careful
there, I'm talking about your Dakota ;), particularly Sam P. Could you
explain what happened, so I have a better idea of what failure I'm potentially
facing? I'm getting real tired of watching service tech eyes glaze over
when I try to explain my diagnosis.
This is a '95 CC 5.2 5-speed with the 3.55 limited slip differential.
No obvious TSBs in Alldata.
Once again, I am left convinced that dealer service techs are the worst
mechanics in existence. Strike that; they aren't mechanics, they're patsies
for the dealers' corporation. All that ASE-and-factory-certified crap they
jam down your throat is marketing, and nothing more.
Ron "Trying To Be A Nice Guy, But Quickly Losing Patience" Rader
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