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Pickups Dodge Dakota Dodge Dakota Owners-Archived Discussions Dodge Dakota: Problems & Solutions 
4362 messages, Last post on Oct 18, 2006 at 8:06 PM
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Replying to: airborne82 (Mar 18, 2006 7:14 am) |
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Am I correct in thinking that the thermostat is not opening enough in my 1995 Dodge Dakota if the temperature gauge rises to the maximum safe level (not over to the hot mark yet) at higher rates of speed (55-65mph) and not at slower speeds? It didn't rise to that temperature before. Someone said that it could be the water pump. Should I change the thermostat, it is the original one. eric
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Replying to: erictl (Aug 02, 2006 6:47 pm) The cooling system is more heavilly loaded with stop-n-go, slow traffic due to little airflow thru radiator and low engine speeds (waterpump is slow). Given the above, you need to ascertain WHY the temp is going up when the cooling system has the LOWEST load on it. Given the age of your Dak, there are several things that should be checked out. **)Are the radiator fins intact and not corroded? **)Is coolant up to proper level? **)Is there buildup of crud plugging the system? **)Is waterpump moving the coolant? (check belt tension) **)Does thermostat function? (soak in hot water with thermomator and observe operation)
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Replying to: bpeebles (Aug 03, 2006 11:43 am) Since the system was opened you need to make sure that the radiator has sufficient coolant. Regards, Dusty |
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| 2001 Dodge Dakota, 5.9L. This was the message from engine diag. tool. Loss in power and sounds like it's blowing air. | |
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Hello again. I posted a history of a problem with a 1990 Dodge Dakota on June 5th. It is posting #4227. I was in the US all of July and had a look at the pickup at my sister's house in Minneapolis and all seemed OK, but I am certainly no expert on auto electrics. I am back in Ireland now, and my daughter and son have driven from Minneapolis to Bismarck with no problems until Saturday when they stopped in a parking lot and went to a grocery store. When they got back, the engine would not turn-over from the ignition key. However, when they tried the "jumper" trick described in #4227, the engine turned over fine and started and the problem hasn't repeated (as of today, Monday). While in Minneapolis, I spoke with my nephew who had the pickup for 3 years and also with the neighbor down the street who showed the nephew how to start the car. The technique is to take a piece of what looks like 14 gauge insulated copper wire like the kind used to wire outlets in the house, strip about 3/4 inch of insulation from either end and use that as the jumper. Then, near the battery, there is a push-in connector that, as I remember, has a red wire on the male half of the plug leading toward the firewall and maybe the ignition switch, and on the female side another red wire leading toward the battery. The technique is to pull the connection plug apart, stick one of the bare copper ends of the jumper into one of the two connector sockets on the female half and then turn the ignition switch to "on" and then touch the positive pole of the battery with the other bare copper end of the jumper. That engages the starter and starts the engine. My nephew says it was foolproof. This pickup has been to two or three garages and one of them replaced the ignition switch and some wiring that runs along the steering column. The other two garages charged big bucks for changing every electrical part possible connected with the ignition system except for the solenoid and the starter. The most recent garage is convinced the headlights were left on and the battery was run-down, and that was why the engine wouldn't start. The neighbor thinks it is a starter problem and thinks the garages were wrong for dismissing that possibility. He said when he checked for voltage at a time when the engine wouldn't start from the ignition switch (after the switch and wiring had been replaced, and after the pickup had been starting well for several months) he found voltage up to the plug I mentioned above, but nothing at all beyond it, even the dashboard lights not working. On this episode of Saturday, my son and daughter said the lights on the dashboard worked fine. We would all be very grateful for any ideas that anyone might have of what is happening. |
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Replying to: colbates (Jul 10, 2000 10:33 pm) anway.. bla bla bla isall i hear from my self so i'll shut up...lol |
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Hey, i'm new.. i have a 1999 dodge dakota.. sport.. 2wd, 3.9 6cyl.. anyway here is my problem.. i just had the tensioner replaced. .. was charged 181 bucks for the part i realize this is too much.. anyway.. so not after paying the stupid bill...i'm stuck with a fan the is roaring like a woken bear. what is going on.. i checked the fan.. and it is actually loose to the touch.. it.. moves front to back.actually feels loose..was it the mechanic's fault for not tight'n properlly .. or is this a comcon problem the just has to be fixed every once in a blue moon???? |
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A national newspaper is looking to interview consumers who have decided to hold on to their current pickup truck, rather than purchasing a new one. Please send an e-mail to ctalati edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, August 9, 2006 by 2:30 PM PT/5:30 PM ET containing your daytime contact information and what pickup truck you currently own.
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HERE'S THE HISTORY: I have a 2000 dakota and wrote in a while ago about it running rough and backfiring. After COMPLETE tune-up, still running rough. I changed the throttle position sensor and it seemed to run fine for about a week. THEN...the check engine light came on and it began to run rough again. Took it to Autozone to check the code and it coded for a loose gas cap. (of all things). Just to be sure that it was a bad cap and not just loose, I had them reset the light and I ran it around for another week. It still ran rough and was back up to it's old pre-TPS replacement behavior. Check engine light came on again and again it coded for a loose gas cap. I replaced the gas cap yesterday and so far it is running better. HERE'S THE QUESTION: Will the bad gas cap effect the way the truck runs? I am perplexed because this rough running and backfiring thing had been going on ever since I bought this thing and neither I nor the mechanic can figure it out. I am getting really frustrated with it and any other help would be greatly appreciated. 
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