2WD Durango Ball Joints
From : iman nassoul
Q: hi tom thank you very kindly for your info. it helps a lot!! i keep all of my vehicles in good condition and i have had to read the manual about four times now to begin to understand it. i know you said that deisels are not much different than gas other than the obvious of course but with the cold weather coming in now i am not sure about when i should use the block heater or just let the wait light go out. i know the manual says really not until below 20f and then definitely at 0f but i work nightshifts and it has begun to dip into the teens. i dont have a place to plug in at work. i was wondering if this is a worry also the manual has a hefty maintenance schedule for the truck at the mileage intervals some of which i dont understand. what do i definitely need to do like change the oil every 3 thousand and rotate the tires and now empty the water collector as well as the fuel filter. thank you for that by the way. i want and need my truck to last for a long time. and i love my truck!! thanks again john raul ------------------------------------ ram 3500 single rear 4x4 w/deisel. this is new for me and i am not up to par yet with the maintenance. aside form checking the water separator any other tips i should be aware of nothing much different than a gas engine. however try not to get on the engine too hard ie. wide-open throttle runs until you start to see the water temperature gauge needle come off the peg. one of the worst things you can do to a diesel is run it hard when its cold. similarly after working it hard allow it some time to cool down idle before shutting it off. your owners manual talks about this - essentially you want to allow the turbo time to cool down so that the oil thats left in it doesnt burn up creating ash that will hurt the bearings on the next start-up. at your first oil change also change your fuel filter left-over junk in the tank from manufacturing will be caught by the filter. after that every other oil change is a pretty good rule of thumb for fuel-filter changes. of course the quality of the fuel you get could greatly affect that interval - either for the better of worse. if you notice your fuel economy starting to drop off thats a pretty good indication that youve gone too long between fuel filter changes. on the subject of filters - if youre going to do the oil changes yourself dont use anything but fleetguard oil and fuel filters in the truck. you can get them from the dealership at a greatly inflated cost from a local cummins shop from napa or online from http//www.genosgarage.com. as for oil make sure it meets the correct specs refer to your owners manual but several good brands are valvoline premium blue shell rotella-t mobil delvac 1300 or chevron delo 400 - all in 15w40 weight. .
Replies:
From : moses horwitz moses
jason lynch wrote would be my first truck and am close to buying a dakota quad cab but i need a roof rack for my kayaks as the bed is way too small to just put them in. i want a roof rack not athe tower units for bed. the dealer looked in the mopar book and they do not show the actual gutters for an 05 but all the options say for 05s anyone know for sure as my deal breaker is them throwing in a installed rack for me i hope the rack will hold a kayak or 2 as ill have to have it way forward compared to my durango/jeeps did any ideas or links to other roof racks for 2005 dakota quads im totally not interested in the tower units for the bed. i cant find any info on them via he web help thanks yakima bolted through the fiber glass cap on the bed. jam .
From : ninebal310
i have a 2003 dodge 1 ton and we have had nothing but problems with it in cold weather. im not a stranger to owning diesel trucks. if the weather drops below 30 degrees it has to be parked in the shop or it will not start. it always has a ton of water in the fuel. i also have to keep fuel additive added to each tank or it will not start. we have bought our fuel different places and this is not the problem unless every station in sw mo. has a water problem with their fuel. the truck is in the shop more than it is at home and the warranty will be out in another 10000 miles. im anxious to see if anyone else has these same problems. i absolutely loved my 02 dodge shame my 03 doesnt even begin to compare. larry .
From : tbone
i have a 2003 dodge 1 ton and we have had nothing but problems with it in cold weather. im not a stranger to owning diesel trucks. if the weather drops below 30 degrees it has to be parked in the shop or it will not start. it always has a ton of water in the fuel. i also have to keep fuel additive added to each tank or it will not start. we have bought our fuel different places and this is not the problem unless every station in sw mo. has a water problem with their fuel. the truck is in the shop more than it is at home and the warranty will be out in another 10000 miles. im anxious to see if anyone else has these same problems. i absolutely loved my 02 dodge shame my 03 doesnt even begin to compare. larry .
From : jerry
craig i got the cord from the dodge dealer parts department it cost $39.10 freight tax and all. i discovered it is the same as my john deere tractor heater cord just a little longer. great now all i have to do is rig up a remote turn on so i can have the engine worm when i go out to drive cab heater will work right away hate the cold. bill p. craig@metronet.com wrote its very true. i installed the cord on my 2004 model this past weekend. get the cord from cummins its $35.00 cheaper than getting it from dodge. i had the cord shipped overnight and it cost $12.00. the access point is directly behind the oil filter. unscrew the protective cap plug in cord screw it down zip tie to the frame so that the plug is behind the passenger front bumper. needed tools large pliers zip ties beer. takes 30 minutes max ... and thats if youre an idiot. craig c. william. boyd wrote i understand that my new 04 5.9 ho has an engine block heater installed at the factory. to use this heater all i have to do is buy the connecting cord. some one said it is located behind the oil filter. how true is this information bill p. .
From : iman nassoul
iman nassoul wrote on wed 12 jan 2005 170048 -0600 iman nassoul rectal@orifice.org wrote i just got a letter from dc saying that my 2wd durango is covered for an extended time should the upper ball joints fail. 10 years 100000 miles for all 2000-2002 and 2003s built through 12/31/02. thats great considering i already had one fail at 15000 miles. is that just for you because you already had such a failure or do we think this covers all durangos listed above i just had my 2003 in the dealership on tuesday... for the d22 windshield wiper recall campaign. and i specifically asked about the ball joint situation. service advisor there told me it was only for 4wd... ran my vin thru his puter and verified it for me. shrug according to the letter it is good for all vehicles listed above. mine doesnt show up as recalled either. its a warranty extension. my daughters 2003 durango and her husbands 2004 ram both 4x4 received recalls for the ball joints to be replaced. they had theirs done last week but there was no mention about a extended warranty. jerry .
From : me
on thu 13 jan 2005 033337 -0500 eisboch erikssonr@bellsouthnot.net wrote i just picked up my 05 ram 1500 4x4 quad cab before christmas. love the truck as well as both of my previous ones but unfortunately for me its an automatic. my two previous rams were a 99 5.2l and an 02 4.7l both manual transmissions. i like the standard transmission and dont mind shifting at all. in order to get the hemi engine on this one i had to settle with the automatic boo hoo. either that or go to the 2500 which i dont need and dosent come with 20 wheels. i havent driven an automatic in many years and perhaps its just me but...ive noticed if im cruising around 70-80 k/hr 40-50 mph and then decide to punch the peddle about 3/4 down there seems to be as best as i can describe a kind of turbo lag sensation where theres no engine noise at all for about 1 second or so. seems to me as though its trying to figure what gear to go into or something. i find this irritating as im used to an immediate throttle response like my 2 previous rams had. i was concerned about this so i took it to the dealer. they told me this was normal and that the truck was still in its learning curve to my driving habits 900 kms on truck. can anyone advise if this is the norm for the newer automatics. i realize there is no throttle cable and everythings done electronically. thanks bjs i suspect what you are experiencing is the torque converter unlocking. it will do that everytime you ease up a bit on the pedal and then give it gas again. ive had three rams a 1500 and two 2500s and never noticed the torque converter unlocking but my new 04 durango with the hemi and 5 speed automatic transmission does it. it is frankly annoying and i wish there were a way to eliminate it. my only complaint with the durango is the transmission shifting. it seems to slide into the next gear rather than a nice crisp shift. i wonder if the transmission can be re-programmed for crisper more positive shifts when accelerating hard eisboch thanks. youre exactly right about the slide into gear thing. the last automatic i drove was a 76 cordoba so i expected the transmission to have a definite crisp shift like i remember. i asked the service manager about that and he said it was supposed to be that way. bjs .
From : tbone
yew b wrote on fri 07 jan 2005 145654 gmt jbob inner@outer.com wrote im looking for transfer case or transfercase housing for a 99 dodge dakota 4x4 v6. email jmullca@yahoo.com try http//www.car-part.com/ its what the salvage yards use thanks for the link .
From : iman nassoul
on tue 23 nov 2004 085900 -0500 r.t. skidooflyer@hotmail.com wrote hey group i have an 04 1500 hemi 4x4 and was wondering what mods work on the hemi. im just wondering if any one has any real world reports on chip programmers. i also would love to make the exhaust sound better. i have a local exhaust shop look at it and he said he couldnt do cat back duals without removing the spare tire. any thoughts would be appretiated. rt i just picked up my 05 ram 4x4 hemi with 20 wheels and had the exhaust done without any problems. i get all my trucks done with a stainless steel 2 chamber flowmaster 3 in and 2 - 2 1/2 out. the 2 1/2 will go through between the shock and the spare tire on the driver side with plenty of room to spare. take a look around at how many rams are out there with 20 wheels and duals and still have their spare mounted. i then put 31/2 x 18 polished stainless steel tips at the ends. the tips are both behind the rear wheels because i got tired of the red neck look i had with my 02 ram. i had the 02 ram 3 x 2 feet extension pipes on either side of the 20 spare with lots of clearance. the exhaust guy obviously doesnt know what hes talking about. go somewhere else. i live in london ontario canada and have always gone to meineke sp. this guy eyeballs everything no tape measures and always comes out with a perfect job. expect to pay over $700 canadian for an all stainless dual cat back system though. the results are awesome sound and terrific looks. i sold my 02 ram to my daughter and she converted her pipes behind the rear wheels as well. when they cut the end pieces off the pipes they were solid as hell after 3 years driving. same with the muffler - solid no rust. you can cheap out with regular pipes but expect to replace them after a few years. just my opinion. bjs .