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sneilan
Dodge Dakota
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5/01/2007
08:33:00

Subject: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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ok, so i used to own a 1995 Chevy S10, 2wd, 5 spd, 4.3 non-vortech. your very very basic pickup. i beat the ever living piss out of this thing. i went off roading and made up for 2wd with speed, never any problems. sold it with 236,000 miles and still runing strong, only replaced routine maintenance and the water pump twice and it was only on its second clutch.
i take my 1998 Dakota CC 4x4 5.2 out on the same trail that i took my S10 on all the time, and every time i've taken my Dak out, something in that horribly weak front end gives out or wears out or just doesn't feel right. i've taken it on the trail maybe a total of 5 or 6 times, and those 5 or 6 times have now me 4 ball joints, inner tie rods twice, and 2 wheel bearings, not to mention hydrolocking twice. and what i don't understand is that i go slow in the dak! i got 4wd, i don't need to go fast, so i don't! but it's like you drive over one rock over 4 inches high and your boots are ripped to hell and you go through one puddle over 6 inches deep and you suck in a gallon of water. i love my dak, it looks cool as hell and i love the v8, but i'm sick of worrying about breaking something every time i drive it on a bloody dirt road! and that is why i'm selling my dodge for a chevy.

Sean



Kowalski
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5/01/2007
16:47:19

RE: why I sold my chevy for a toyota
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I had a K10 pick up that was a total dog with their 305. Bought brand new, first time I parked it it wouldn't start for a couple hours, never did find the reason. Developed a clunk in the transfer case, one dealer said it wasn't bad enough to warranty, while another wouldn't take it in trade unless it was fixed. Decided if I was going to run a dog, it was going to be a reliable, more fuel efficient Toyota. Years ago I got tired of the tinny, no power feel; and got my nice peppy Dakota. Gone full circle, back to mopar again like my first and several other rides. Don't understand your problem, mine is terrific on dirt roads. Good luck.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way

sneilan
Dodge Dakota
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5/01/2007
17:14:06

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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i don't know, maybe mine is a lemon. i bought it with 48,000 miles on it in december of 2005 and it's a 98, so maybe it just sat to long. buton top of all that i'm really getting sick of the whole 13-14 mpg on the highway deal. maybe i'll really turn pussy and buy a honda.

Sean



Epyon
Dodge Dakota
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5/01/2007
23:18:27

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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Ya man i know what u mean I had a really nice chevy with a 350 in it and that thing would go anywhere without anyproblems. Hills, mud pits, rivers. And i never once broke a single thing in the front end. Then it got totaled by some stupid little @ss high on meth. Now i have this dodge and ive been gentle on it and only gone offroad 3 or 4 times and ive broken something every time Balljoints, steering box, brake caliper on and on the list goes. Plus this thing gets the same MPG and its a gutless 1997 V6 5 speed



GraphiteDak
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5/02/2007
00:21:40

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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13 to 14 MPG HIGHWAY? WTF? SOmething has got to be wrong there. Maybe the ebrake is on? LOL!

I think I still get close to 18MPG with the 4.56 gears.


Here's some blasts form the past.

Been about 2 years since I did these stunts. The Dak is still holding together :)


Doing about 50 MPH in the dried up section of Lake Pleasant diving through a few feet of water and mud in the Dak. Copy and paste--->
http://www.paysonarizona.net/Home%20Videos/081504_DakThruWash.mpg





Same area, getting up to speed and doing a broadie of some sorts--->
http://www.paysonarizona.net/Home%20Videos/081504_Short_01_Sideways.mpg




Here my Dak got stuck in a few feet of mud in the dried up lake area. Had a 2+ foot deep mud pit that surprised me as I tried to get onto the dry bank! --->
http://www.paysonarizona.net/Home%20Videos/081504_DakStuckBad.mpg


You can't even tell what color my Dak is supposed to be after I've romped it.

Now at 50k miles I don't romp it much anymore.
I really hated washing the mud out of everything. :(








Super bee
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5/02/2007
00:35:23

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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but graphite what were you getting without any mods
no Super chips, no cams, no exhaust
and remember he has a 318
mine gets 14 mpg mixed driving, ive gotten 16 mpg before on all highway, but i have mods as well

1990 sport RC SB, 1995 318drivetrain, 3.92 gears (came with truck) Powertrax "traction system", 95 dash/steering wheel, hearthrob exhaust, headers, cutout after y-pipe, necessary electric fan add-a-leafs, 30x9.5 mud tires, cranked T-bars, AR 39 15x8 rims, grill guard, roll bars

sneilan
Dodge Dakota
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5/02/2007
10:47:31

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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the best i've ever done on gas was a back in march when i went to vermont and got an average of 15.47 mpg. the only mod i have is a K&N CAI.

Sean



little jer
Dodge Dakota
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5/02/2007
16:10:12

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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Frankly I've never had any major problems with any of the Chevy trucks I've owned, all 4X4's except a 454 Suburban. Only real problems were like broken power window regulators. I've had more problems with my Dak with only 43,000 miles than all the chevys put together. Thank Fod for extended warranties. lol



Joe.C
Dodge Dakota
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5/02/2007
17:21:46

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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Well it’s like this folks! You even get a good one a one that sucks out of the word sucks!!!


Those S-10's aren’t worth crap off road unless you get a aftermarket suspension. Check out the independent wheel travel; not much at all. Now I will admit (unlike other Mopar fans) that Dodge has drove trucks off the assembly line that tons of defects. And sure, there are lemons’ out there. But you know the rule. Make sure you truck or car was not built on Monday or Friday.




alashaman
Dodge Dakota
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5/02/2007
17:41:20

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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Something you should know about

1998 - 2003 Dakota's and Durangos have very well documented front end issues. Most of this is related to the upper ball joints failing.

My wife has a 2002 Durango and I drive a 2004 Dakota, this difference in the front end is very noticable.

My wifes Durango went in this morning because the upper ball joints are failing. I learned something very nice (mainly because I know the service manager and dealership owner)

The warranty on the upper ball joins has been extended to 100,000 miles and the 4x4's have a recall on them. If you have < 100,000 miles on your 1998-2003 get it into the shop and get them fixed before this extended warranty expires. It does not appear they will offer a recall on the 2x4's but the extended warranty helps a ton.





sneilan
Dodge Dakota
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5/03/2007
18:52:54

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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that would have been nice to know about a week ago since i just put in all 4 new ball joints on saturday. oh well.

Sean



mddak
Dodge Dakota
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5/03/2007
19:21:28

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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alashaman
said ---

The warranty on the upper ball joins has been extended to 100,000 miles and the 4x4's have a recall on them. If you have < 100,000 miles on your 1998-2003 get it into the shop and get them fixed before this extended warranty expires

do you have a site or number to tell the dealer



Trev1
Dodge Dakota
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5/03/2007
19:37:08

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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If you are going offroading and having fun, beating the *ell out of it shouldnt you expect to break something? If you dont want to break something every time buy a HUMMER.. MY Dak might be tired and look like a POS, but I drive it to work 45 miles one way every day, and use it on the farm, go 4wheelin while fishing. No front end probs here. Pushed snow with the front bumper in 2002 and had to goto the car wash to melt it out of the engine bay.... It never quit. I havnt had to pulled out yet. Wouldnt give it up for a Chevy.. Ive even pulled the father-in-laws Ford...home for him...HA HA HA...
You have got to have a LEMON..




STS
Dodge Dakota
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5/04/2007
17:34:50

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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Wells its to bad it dosn't extend to 94.

I can hear mine pop every now and then.



GraphiteDak
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5/04/2007
18:46:55

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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100,000 miles and the 4X4 for the new recall as well huh?

I replaced mine myself a year or so ago just past my 36k warranty. They said that my year and model wasn't included in the recall!!!!

I did drive the sh*t out of it for a while tho, as shown in the videos I linked to in my last post.




You can have good luck and bad luck with all makes. You can go get a Chevy if you want. One bad thing is Chevy's don't have near the front end integrity as Dodge's do or expecially Ford's do.

Pull the front fender off of a new Chevy. You will be looking right at the exposed motor, with NO metal there for strength!
Dodge has a little more metal. And Ford has a full boxed area welded together behind their fenders. If I ever got something other than a Dodge, it would be a Ford not a Chevy.
Chevy gets good MPG because they are building like Honda's. Less metal = lighter vehicles.


Oh yeah. To answer SuperBee. Before mods I got the normal rated MPG which is 14 city 18 highway. Close to the same to this day. The city maybe could be better with the current gears if I drove it easy.



Jeff-B
Dodge Dakota
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5/05/2007
08:19:37

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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I haven't had my Dakota long and I'm still working out issues('93 Sport, 3.9, 2wd, 5 speed), but the best truck I've owned was a '90 Jeep Comanche Eliminator(4.0 straight 6, 4wd, 5 speed). It would easily walk through snow up to the headlights(gotta love Central NY winters), or haul 1800 pounds of concrete mix without skipping a beat. Considering that Jeep was a Chrysler product by that time, I wonder if a 4.0 HO would fit into my Dakota?



JImmy9190
Dodge Dakota
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5/05/2007
21:57:17

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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sneilan and others who have replaced or paid a shop to replace their ball joints, maybe you can call DC and get reimbursed for the repairs. I know GM has a policy in place to compensate vehicle owners for repair charges paid on recalled conditions, I bet DC does too. It's worth a call or email to DC to find out. The worst that could happen is they'd turn you down.

Jimmy



Flippy
Dodge Dakota
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5/06/2007
06:03:17

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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Graphite is right about the chevy no metal front end thing, i bought a 2007 gmc sierra 1500 and the only thing in front of the rad is a cheap plastic lower valance held in with a couple of bumper push pin clips otherwise nothing to protect your rad or vital front end parts, i also have a 2000 dak quad cab with a 3.9 and i must say at least the front end is protected better than the chevy, and also that thing runs like a tank with no probs i have 190,000 km's and have only replaced the heater core, damn good truck.



jayb
Dodge Dakota
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5/06/2007
16:28:50

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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they may not make much out of their front ends, but from what it seems like, there is a decent crash test rating on it. ive never even heard of a common problem with the new chevys.
it doesnt have to be bullet proof, weigh 10k lbs, and tow 20k lbs to be a good truck. ill be keeping my dodge for a few years more hopefully.



SteveRT
Dodge Dakota
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5/09/2007
13:26:33

RE: why i am selling my dodge for a chevy
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You're better off (assuming you have the cash) replacing those ball joints with aftermarkets that have an actual grease fitting. Part of the problem with stocks is ya can't grease the things, so they wear out and fall off.

Going to the dealer and getting them replaced via recall just gets you the same thing as stock, so eventually you'll run into the exact same problems.



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