Dodge Dakota Question Dipstick

From : redneck tookover hellbudd cochran

Q: 1966 belvedere ii 2-dr-ht bench yes me!! how much and where roy since it has a bench seat youd be ok in that department!!!!! bg ill start watching reality tv shows when i can vote people off the planet. .

Replies:

From : hattmakrhattmakrbudd cochran

trey treydog90spam@hotmail.com writes thats a very good point. how crisp do the shifts feel though and why is it that the dodge transmissions die so quickly yet for and chevy dont really seem to go through them. ford and chevy have their share of tranny problems also. anybody trying to tell you anything different is blowing some serious smoke. aw .

From : budd cochran

two things are guaranteed to make people do weird things to vehicles nearly all the time divorces and repossessions. imho in either case its stupid to do them. yes someone could have stuck a longer dipstick in it but not necessarily out of malicious intent . . just good old fashioned lack of knowledge that not all dipsticks like people are the same. or is the pan caved in unfortunately unless you can prove malicious intent on the part of the previous owner in a court of law youre stuck with the repairs because you probably bought it without any warranty that is as-is. -- budd cochran in tribute to the united states of america and the state of israel two bastions of strength in a world filled with strife and terrorism. ------ okay this is kind of a weird one. bought my daughter an 88 dakota. neat little truck never had one before and i like it. usually as soon as i get a new vehicle all my new are used ; i change/inspect all fluids and filters. i didnt get a chance this time as i had to drive thirty miles to town to exchange the brake drums i bought for another car for the ones that fit it...on the way back the dakota sounded like it had a hot engine - gauges are squirrelly intermittant so cant say anything useful there - i shut it down checked everything had already checked oil transmission fluid coolant etc did it again. all is well. tried to start it - aack!! shut it down! sounded like a threshing machine - i just knew it had thrown a rod which indeed was the case. okay for the reason - evidently someone has put in the wrong dipstick it slid neatly along the bottom of the oilpan and measured the oil as full even though it wasnt. ive had other older vehicles with the wrong dipstick but either it was too short or it really caused grief going in so you noticed it. this was neither slid right in like it belonged there. these previous wrong dipsticks are part of why i do the fluids and filters bit right away - but unless they were obviously binding badly it was always a case of too short rather than too long. question - anyone ever encountered such a thing this truck was the child of a bankruptcy settelment - i wonder if someone found a dipstick painted to match but the wrong length and purposly sabatoged the thing might be an engine swap - anyone know if the dipsticks for the 3.9 and whatever the other one was match maybe somebody was just stupid rather than malicious. i want my shop back! this having no shop in michigan weather is getting expensive! .

From : cricket

i have a fibeglass 2-door on my 02 ram like the one shown here http//www.fiberglasslids.com/butterfly.htm the only thing i dont like about it is the support bracket going along the rear of the cover. it seems to get in the way alot of times. hi folks i was wondering if i could get some advice/feedback/opinions on which tonneau cover is best for a dodge ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 short box. there are 3 choices as far as i can see fabric cover just doesnt do it for me 1. fibreglass cover - one large piece 2. fibreglass cover - 3-door large rear door and two small flaps on either side of cab 3. folding aluminum cover. assuming money was no object which is the best of the three in terms of functionality which is the best what are the pros and cons of each id love to hear some honest opinions based on experience and what other truck owners have said. each of the above is a big investment and yet all three are quite different. thanks for all your opinions in advance. best regards the dr. .

From : budd cochran

two things are guaranteed to make people do weird things to vehicles nearly all the time divorces and repossessions. imho in either case its stupid to do them. no chit - had a subaru once $40 car so no biggy that the previous owners ex dumped a quart of gravel into the engine. that one spun a bearing eventually but i got my moneys worth out of it. sounds like they knocked a hole in the oil filter paper as well. saw a 66 dart at a dealership many years back getting a new engine slant six. the previous owner was going to have it repoed so he blew up the engine. he finally had to drain 4 quarts out of the engine run it to maximum speed in high then jerk the shifter 904 auto into low range just to toss one rod. yes someone could have stuck a longer dipstick in it but not necessarily out of malicious intent . . just good old fashioned lack of knowledge that not all dipsticks like people are the same. or is the pan caved in pan is a thing of beauty. i did wonder if the different two size engines that truck was available with wouldnt have swapped dipsticks - in which case could be an honest mistake. nope for the model year both the 318 5.2l and the 360 5.9l used the same dipstick iirc. unfortunately unless you can prove malicious intent on the part of the previous owner in a court of law youre stuck with the repairs because you probably bought it without any warranty that is as-is. had the devils own time getting the title straightened out...aint going there again! anyway if we have to throw a $400 engine into a $400 truck that is otherwise a dream im not going to bitch too much. only other real problem it has is some squirrely electronics course if it didnt ive had a gauge to tell me i was in trouble! and thats no biggy if i can get a day loose to play under the dash - this one doesnt look like its got the dash from hell like my blazers. blazers had those kind of dashes brand new. i installed a cb in a 76 chevy and it drove me nuts before i got it done and collected my money in the mid 70s i installed cbs and sound systems. never did another chevy . . . .. -- budd cochran in tribute to the united states of america and the state of israel two bastions of strength in a world filled with strife and terrorism. ------ .

From : cricket

two things are guaranteed to make people do weird things to vehicles nearly all the time divorces and repossessions. imho in either case its stupid to do them. no chit - had a subaru once $40 car so no biggy that the previous owners ex dumped a quart of gravel into the engine. that one spun a bearing eventually but i got my moneys worth out of it. sounds like they knocked a hole in the oil filter paper as well. saw a 66 dart at a dealership many years back getting a new engine slant six. the previous owner was going to have it repoed so he blew up the engine. he finally had to drain 4 quarts out of the engine run it to maximum speed in high then jerk the shifter 904 auto into low range just to toss one rod. the guy that trashed the subaru got the gravel out of one of those barrels the road commission sets out - so there was a lot of salt in it too - bet that just added insult to injury. yes someone could have stuck a longer dipstick in it but not necessarily out of malicious intent . . just good old fashioned lack of knowledge that not all dipsticks like people are the same. or is the pan caved in pan is a thing of beauty. i did wonder if the different two size engines that truck was available with wouldnt have swapped dipsticks - in which case could be an honest mistake. nope for the model year both the 318 5.2l and the 360 5.9l used the same dipstick iirc. makes a mistake look a little less likely im thinking. unfortunately unless you can prove malicious intent on the part of the previous owner in a court of law youre stuck with the repairs because you probably bought it without any warranty that is as-is. had the devils own time getting the title straightened out...aint going there again! anyway if we have to throw a $400 engine into a $400 truck that is otherwise a dream im not going to bitch too much. only other real problem it has is some squirrely electronics course if it didnt ive had a gauge to tell me i was in trouble! and thats no biggy if i can get a day loose to play under the dash - this one doesnt look like its got the dash from hell like my blazers. blazers had those kind of dashes brand new. i installed a cb in a 76 chevy and it drove me nuts before i got it done and collected my money in the mid 70s i installed cbs and sound systems. never did another chevy . . .. try doing a heater core outside in the dark day before thanksgiving when you have to drive 150 miles that night so you can get up with the sun and cook thanksgiving dinner at deer camp. in a s-10 which doesnt give even a short shit like me much room to manuveur. theres parts of that dash that are still in a box in the back room two years later. i soldered up the old heater core god only knows why itll be a cold day in hell when i lose my mind sufficiently to do another one! . -- budd cochran in tribute to the united states of america and the state of israel two bastions of strength in a world filled with strife and terrorism. ------ .

From : budd cochran

sounds like they knocked a hole in the oil filter paper as well. saw a 66 dart at a dealership many years back getting a new engine slant six. the previous owner was going to have it repoed so he blew up the engine. he finally had to drain 4 quarts out of the engine run it to maximum speed in high then jerk the shifter 904 auto into low range just to toss one rod. the guy that trashed the subaru got the gravel out of one of those barrels the road commission sets out - so there was a lot of salt in it too - bet that just added insult to injury. salt wont dissolve in oil but if there was any water in the pan . . . . i had my road runner repoed after a lengthy illness but i washed and waxed it tuned it up etc. and when it hit the auction block even with about 7k miles on it i owed only equivalent of the interest from the day of purchase about $320. it was rather funny the repo man made a comment about it looking good but the engine had to be blown or the trans shot with my mom witnessing i told him to back out in the street and punch it if he had the guts but hed have to buy it if he blew it up. when it snaked down the street and made him fill his shorts he shut up with the trash talk. nope for the model year both the 318 5.2l and the 360 5.9l used the same dipstick iirc. makes a mistake look a little less likely im thinking. not really. most oem sticks are sourced out and a gm or ford stick may look the same to the untrained eye. the original may have been lost or even stolen so they grabbed one from another engine somewhere without knowing it could be different. . try doing a heater core outside in the dark day before thanksgiving when you have to drive 150 miles that night so you can get up with the sun and cook thanksgiving dinner at deer camp. in a s-10 which doesnt give even a short shit like me much room to manuveur. theres parts of that dash that are still in a box in the back room two years later. i soldered up the old heater core god only knows why itll be a cold day in hell when i lose my mind sufficiently to do another one! groan my condolences. worst thing i ever had like that was the r&r of the heater core on my friends olds 442 with air. now that i think about it my gm owner friends are always trying to get me to fix their junk . . . could it be a case of. if you cant beat em torture em. -- budd cochran in tribute to the united states of america and the state of israel two bastions of strength in a world filled with strife and terrorism. ------ .

From : mac davis

on thu 4 dec 2003 115634 -0500 cricket ccole@quixnet.net wrote im not sure just how much different the reading would be but ive been told here that there are so many different pan setups in the dakota 2wd 4wd sport etc that its almost impossible to get the right dipstick... the common suggestion here has been to drain and refill the engine & filter with factory specified amount of oil let sit read the dipstick and file your own full mark on it... okay this is kind of a weird one. bought my daughter an 88 dakota. neat little truck never had one before and i like it. usually as soon as i get a new vehicle all my new are used ; i change/inspect all fluids and filters. i didnt get a chance this time as i had to drive thirty miles to town to exchange the brake drums i bought for another car for the ones that fit it...on the way back the dakota sounded like it had a hot engine - gauges are squirrelly intermittant so cant say anything useful there - i shut it down checked everything had already checked oil transmission fluid coolant etc did it again. all is well. tried to start it - aack!! shut it down! sounded like a threshing machine - i just knew it had thrown a rod which indeed was the case. okay for the reason - evidently someone has put in the wrong dipstick it slid neatly along the bottom of the oilpan and measured the oil as full even though it wasnt. ive had other older vehicles with the wrong dipstick but either it was too short or it really caused grief going in so you noticed it. this was neither slid right in like it belonged there. these previous wrong dipsticks are part of why i do the fluids and filters bit right away - but unless they were obviously binding badly it was always a case of too short rather than too long. question - anyone ever encountered such a thing this truck was the child of a bankruptcy settelment - i wonder if someone found a dipstick painted to match but the wrong length and purposly sabatoged the thing might be an engine swap - anyone know if the dipsticks for the 3.9 and whatever the other one was match maybe somebody was just stupid rather than malicious. i want my shop back! this having no shop in michigan weather is getting expensive! .

From : cricket

on thu 4 dec 2003 115634 -0500 cricket ccole@quixnet.net wrote im not sure just how much different the reading would be but ive been told here that there are so many different pan setups in the dakota 2wd 4wd sport etc that its almost impossible to get the right dipstick... the common suggestion here has been to drain and refill the engine & filter with factory specified amount of oil let sit read the dipstick and file your own full mark on it... been there done that - have cut off several inches of one or two for all that. but not this time. and the truly infuriating thing is that i usually do that first thing - not so much to check the dip stick though that has occasionally been the result - more that i know how i am and im more likely to get it in gear and do all the routine maintainence when the relatively new is still on t - if i hadnt had to drive it to pick up the brake drums to replace the ones the idjit at autozone gave me wrong size. okay this is kind of a weird one. bought my daughter an 88 dakota. neat little truck never had one before and i like it. usually as soon as i get a new vehicle all my new are used ; i change/inspect all fluids and filters. i didnt get a chance this time as i had to drive thirty miles to town to exchange the brake drums i bought for another car for the ones that fit it...on the way back the dakota sounded like it had a hot engine - gauges are squirrelly intermittant so cant say anything useful there - i shut it down checked everything had already checked oil transmission fluid coolant etc did it again. all is well. tried to start it - aack!! shut it down! sounded like a threshing machine - i just knew it had thrown a rod which indeed was the case. okay for the reason - evidently someone has put in the wrong dipstick it slid neatly along the bottom of the oilpan and measured the oil as full even though it wasnt. ive had other older vehicles with the wrong dipstick but either it was too short or it really caused grief going in so you noticed it. this was neither slid right in like it belonged there. these previous wrong dipsticks are part of why i do the fluids and filters bit right away - but unless they were obviously binding badly it was always a case of too short rather than too long. question - anyone ever encountered such a thing this truck was the child of a bankruptcy settelment - i wonder if someone found a dipstick painted to match but the wrong length and purposly sabatoged the thing might be an engine swap - anyone know if the dipsticks for the 3.9 and whatever the other one was match maybe somebody was just stupid rather than malicious. i want my shop back! this having no shop in michigan weather is getting expensive! .

From : cricket

so there was a lot of salt in it too - bet that just added insult to injury. i thought that was called rubbing salt in the wound that too. im still pissed. theres about six people besides my own fool self that are in good part to blame for this mess and ive chewed them all new orifices - and im *still* pissed!!! maybe ill got out and kick the truck...; ill start watching reality tv shows when i can vote people off the planet. .

From : redneck tookover hell

so there was a lot of salt in it too - bet that just added insult to injury. i thought that was called rubbing salt in the wound ill start watching reality tv shows when i can vote people off the planet. .

From : chas stokes

says... i had a vehicle repoed also once. i had no intention on blowing it up before they took it. i am the one that fell behind in the payments why would i blow it up i dont understand people sometimes. chas .

From : budd cochran

me neither. i knew a guy back before i got the road runner that let his car roll down a hill into a pond just before it was repoed. he paid full price for the car the fees to haul it out of the pond the cost of checking it over to see if it could be salvaged it couldnt and court fees when gm hauled him into court. the problem with doing this kind of idiocy is that if the car hits the auction block you end up paying the difference between book value and the winning bid anyway so why make it worse than it already is in my case the car sold for $3275 new and the winning bid with 7k on the odometer was $3350. total loan interest for the ownership period was $410.58 with $100 in late / repo fees included. i paid $310.58 and 7 years later had the repo removed from my credit report. chrysler credit discounted $25 because i paid in cash out of my separation money from basic / ait training only 2 years later and because they didnt have to drag me into court to force it out of me. how do i know this the chryco credit office manager in indy was so surprised to see the money he blabbed it. see even money can make people do funny things . . . . -- budd cochran in tribute to the united states of america and the state of israel two bastions of strength in a world filled with strife and terrorism. ------ says... i had a vehicle repoed also once. i had no intention on blowing it up before they took it. i am the one that fell behind in the payments why would i blow it up i dont understand people sometimes. chas .