RE: Re: Front ends was Open Air Cleaner and the Dodge warrantee

From: Jim Azeltine (jazeltine@westaff.com)
Date: Thu Mar 05 1998 - 19:02:38 EST


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I guess I must have lucked out, or it must be because I have a 4X4. I =
have about 12,000 miles on my '97 V8 CC, and the only tire wear problem =
I have is that the back tires wear out faster than the front, because I =
can't keep my foot out of it (gotta love that V8 power!). My truck came =
with 235/75R15 G/Y Wrangler RTS tires, and I do not see any uneven wear =
on the front tires. I did, however have this problem with my '86 Chevy =
Astro van, and I found that the OEM idler arm was a piece of junk. After =
I replaced it with a TRW part (at my own expense) it was MUCH better. =
The dealer stated that it was "within factory specs" when I had them =
check it out. Looks to me like they just adjust the specs to fit =
whatever they make.....

----------
From: Jerry Jackson
Sent: Thursday, March 05, 1998 3:12 PM
To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
Subject: DML: Re: Front ends was Open Air Cleaner and the Dodge =
warrantee

I have had this same question on the net recently. There are other
inputs too, if you have time to read the archives. Here's my =
experience:
On my new 97, I noticed bad tire wear after only 500 miles. =20
Took it in at about 800 and the dealer rotated and aligned the tires. =20
About 2000 miles later, I had it done again. Both times the alignment=20
"was within spec". After about 12000 miles I had to replace the tires=20
because the outside edges were worn to the metal belts. The rest of the =

tire looked okay for 12000 miles. The tires are being pushed through =
the
turns on their outside edge, and are being scuffed just driving in a
straight=20
line. You have probably noticed some "squealing" noises on turns. =20

I called several dealers about this, and only one professed to know
anything,=20
and all the others professed they had never seen the problem. Some of =
them

suggested I was the problem (must be too stupid to keep enough air in =
them,

or the alignment must be off, etc.) For some that I visited in person, =
I
got the=20
distinct impression that they were lying to me. I think Dodge knows =
there
is a=20
problem, and they are trying to hide it. Probably very expensive to =
fix.

Solutions. There may be a compromise fix. I live north of Dallas, and =
I
took=20
my 97 to the guy who claimed to have knowledge of the problem. His name =
is

Frank (service writer) and he works for Daniel's & Fry Motor Co. in=20
McKinney, Texas. Call him at 972 562-0000 and ask what settings they =
use.=20

I had them realign the front end, and then after realizig there was a
difference
in the behavior of the vehicle, I put new tires on. It has been about =
1000
miles=20
now, and so far everything looks good. The tire squeal is gone, but the =

bump-steer is worse and the front-end "floats" a little. For now, I =
will
take it
because I can at least drive it without having to put new tires on every
5000 miles.

When enough people report this problem, maybe Dodge will come clean. I =
am=20
asking everyone that has a problem like this to respond (again); a few =
have
but
I think there are more out there. With permission, I would use names =
and=20
vehicle IDs to confront Dodge. I worry about down the line costs after =
the

warranty expires. This might pay off for you. I really like my truck, =
and
this is
the only problem I have had, so I would like to keep it awhile. After
owning more
vehicles than I can remember, this is saying alot.

----------
> From: Nicholas McKinney <nickmckinn@mindspring.com>
> To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
> Subject: DML: Front ends was Open Air Cleaner and the Dodge warrantee
> Date: Sunday, March 01, 1998 8:33 PM
>=20
> >I've got to take my 97 Dak into the Dodge shop for a front end=20
> >alignment and front control arm replacement and have a=20
> >fluid leak ( oil or automatic transmission ).=20
>=20
> Hello Folks,
>=20
> I have had my Dak twice on the alignment rack and still am getting bad
wear
> on the tires. The second time the measurements were identical to the
first
> and completely in specs. Is anyone else having this problem? I have
found
> nothing loose underneath at all.
>=20
> BTW I have those crappy 215/75 15 Inslicktas. Another question, since
the
> rim is 7" wide has anyone else tried replacing them with wider tires =
like
a
> 235?
>=20
> Regards
>=20
> Nicholas

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