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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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The real question here seems to be how often do you change the oil? If your filter is on your vehicle for 5,000+ miles, yeah I can see maybe gettting a 'higher quality' WIX filter, however, what about those us us that change every 3,000 miles? I have used the Fram oil filters for nearly 10 years and have not had a problem, however, I do change every 3,000 miles using Castrol GTX or Quaker State. First vehicle, '78 F-100, totaled at over 220,000 miles, using the Castrol and Motorcraft filter, ran great too much damage to mess with. Second vehicle, 1991 Dodge Shadow, used Fram PH-16 filter and QS oil, sold with over 180,000 miles on the clock and the second owner took it to over 200,000 miles. Third vehicle, 2000 Jeep Cherokee w/ 83,000 miles, Fram oil filter w/ QS oil, runs great, and the Final vehicle which put me on this board, 91 Dodge Dakota 124,000 miles Castrol GTX w/ Fram PH-16 filter. All vehicles ran/run great and never had sludging nor filter failure, however, changed oil every 3,000 miles. The longer you leave the oil in and the dirtier it gets, so this is what I would consider when selecting a oil filter. Just my 2 cents worth. |
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| I spent 21 years working on fleet vehicles (Police Cars)we changed oil and filter every 3000 miles used Fram Filters never lost an Engine due to oil contamination. | |
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Since the first of the year I've run across two high mileage Dakotas worth noting. A '97 extended cab with a 318, 216,000 miles. This engine was super quiet. I asked about repairs and he said that he had the intake manifold gasket problem, but everything else was untouched (except for ignition parts and filters). Said the transmission was "rebuilt" at 190K, but NEVER changed the fluid or the filter. The other one had just turned 100K, but it's notable because this is the first 4.7 I know of to get this far. This owner hasn't touched a thing except for plugs. I think this was a '00 or '01. He is a line inspector for the local utility company. Regards, Dusty |
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| I agree with Mike. My daily driver is an '89 Mitsubishi with over 223,000 miles. The engine has never been opened. The valve cover was off one time to change the seal. Fram filters and Quaker State oil with changes at 3,000 miles. I am using Mobil 1 with Purolator PureONE filters on my 01 Dak 4.7 and changing at 6,000 miles. The auto transmission on the Mitsubishi has never been opened either. The Service Manual for it does not give a service interval. Having been built in Japan it has a drain plug and I occasionally change the oil. | |
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Well, my dealer finally got around to fixing my 02 4.7 QC's intermittent screeching following a cold start. I had to leave the truck at the dealer for 10 days. They finally determined that the fan clutch was the culprit. They replaced the water pump last fall, but the problem didn't go away. The problem has not occurred in the last 8 cold starts since the fan clutch was replaced. I also pulled the oil filler tube baffle to check for "snot" the other day. There was only a thin film of emulsion on the baffle. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be given the cold weather of the past month. |
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There were a few times in January when temperatures were -20 F or lower when I heard a faint sound similar to a belt squeal. It went away after about 10 minutes of driving. Since the belts look like they're still in excellent shape, I wonder? Was there somebody else in here that reported a fan clutch noise problem? I can't remember. Regards, Dusty |
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The noise I had sounded was a loud screech that sounded like a bad bearing, not the squeal that you would get with a bad belt. The dealer's technician applied some belt dressing while the noise was occurring, and it didn't change in frequency or intensity. At that point they suspected the fan clutch. The noise was temperature and RPM dependent. It would usually go away after 2-3 miles of driving. The head tech at my dealer claimed to never hear anything like this from a fan clutch before. |
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My 2000 Dak (4.7L) has done this every winter since new. In my case, it definately sounds as if the power-steering pump is moaning for about 10 seconds. The steering is VERY stiff for several minutes too. If one does not concensensly wiggle the steering wheel back and forth for about 2 minutes before moving, there will be NO steering. (so stiff that a muscleman could not steer it) Of course, we all know that DC changed over to using SYNTHETIC PS fluid in 2001. So many of you may not encounter this problem. I am STRONGLY considering changing over to SYNTHETIC PS fluid this summer. |
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my 2003 is not a cold weather friendly truck, synthetics or not, as I have discovered over the last month or so. I couldn't believe how hard the steering was, and still is, on cold mornings or after it's been sitting for awhile. Also, sometimes (like when you forget to plug in the block heater or the power goes out for the night) the truck doesn't want to move without putting your foot halfway to the floor (at which point you still can't steer it easily... yikes). Feels like the brake is on, but it isn't. The transmission takes what seems like forever (well, at least 20 minutes of highway driving, usually more) to reach that operating temperature where it will shift like it should, before it will shift up past 3rd gear (2800 rpm vs 1600 on the highway). ...and to be picky, the defrost location in the centre of the windshield wasn't the best idea either. |
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I haven't had the sensation of increased steering effort when cold on my 2003. When we had temps down to -30F my 545RFE took about 5-6 miles of driving before it went into the normal shift pattern with overdrive and lock-up. I don't warm it up before driving, either. I'd say that the temperature sensor in your transmission is faulty if it took that long. As the the defroster air flow, yeah, I think I agree with you. Since my drive to work is only 5.5 miles (normally) my Dakota isn't driven long enough to purge moisture out of the cab. This is especially acute with my short trips and getting snow and slush on the carpets from getting in. This past weekend I put the most on the Dakota in one straight line since about the day before Christmas. With the heat on high for about 15 miles I think I lowered the moisture back to normal level...for a while. Best regards, Dusty |
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