Journal

15 February 2003

I bought the truck today. I will bring it home Wednesday, as they have to do a ‘safety check' before they can turn it loose. I figure the easiest way to do that is to take a Greyhound bus down there, as it's quite a drive for someone else to make. Although I may ask my neighbor.

I had a list of what I wanted in a truck when I got it,
1988-1992
Dodge Dakota
3.9 V6
5-speed
2WD
Regular cab
Short bed
Preferably under 180,000 miles
About $2,500

With this truck I had a little trade-off. The truck has an extended cab, which isn't a bad thing in of itself, but I would have preferred the short wheelbase of a regular cab, as well as being a few hundred pounds lighter.

HOWEVER, the rig has only 87,000 miles on it. This is such a big plus, it makes the truck almost new compared to the Ford. I had been looking at trucks with 160-180,000 miles and had expected that to be about normal for my price range.

What is wrong with it:

The only operational thing I noticed was the tachometer cut out at times, everything else I used seemed to work fine, even the radio. Cosmetically is another story. The paint is peeling in several places, and there is a couple rust spots. There is a scrape in the tailgate. The side molding on the driver's door is missing. The interior is wet and musty, and there is probably rust underneath the carpet and tool bins. It will be a priority to strip the interior when I get the truck home.
 
 

22 February 2003

The Tuesday after I bought the truck I got a call from Lee, the salesman, offering to deliver the truck or give me a ride to the dealership to pick it up. I thought that was a kind offer and gladly accepted the second alternative.

While there he got a jack for me out of another Dakota on the lot and told me the oil was changed and the brakes were at 80% or so. Good. Two things I don't have to worry about.

When I got home I took a look around the truck and removed plenty of fir needles from under the hood, and I noticed some additional wiring. It was done neatly, and I think it was for the camper jack in the bed, but I will have to look at it further.

The truck also came with the owner's manuals and warranty information, still in its plastic pouch.

I have begun stripping out the interior, and as expected there is rust under the smelly, wet, molding carpet. I will strip the floors bare and coat them with POR-15 before install the new carpet. The POR-15 Super Starter Kit is only $14 (+ shipping) and should be enough to do the job.

I have found a couple sites on the internet that sell pre-formed carpet for the truck at about $110 (+$17 shipping), but I will try to find something locally before I order.
 
 

27 February 2003

I got all the interior trim stripped out of the cab.

I also removed the instrument cluster and got the tach working by scraping some corrosion off of the connection between the small circuit board on top and the main board. Unfortunately, I noticed the plastic parts of the odometer are falling apart, so that may stop working for all I know. Having fiddled with the speedo on Suzette, I'm sure I could replace the thing if only I could find one. I doubt that will be easy.

I went and got some Penetrol at Lowe's and began applying it to the area behind the instrument cluster.

I also ordered the POR-15 and the carpet.
 
 

3 March 2003

I have cleaned the dash and put it nearly all back together. I will put a little more Penetrol on the underside of the steering column, then out the cover back in place. With all that cleaning, the moldy smell is nearly gone from the truck.

Unfortunately, I have found the source of the water is the seal on the rear window leaks, so I will have to clean it off really good and caulk it. there's also a very small leak in the front, but I expect that to go away when I remove the cowl and take all the fir needles out of there.

I also was the winning bidder on a cd manual that is suppose to come with all of the wiring diagrams. I had the only bid! :-D Hopefully it will be all it is claimed, but for $28 it's cheaper than the factory manual.
 
 

11 March 2003

I've caulked the corners of the seal and that appears to have stopped the leak from that area. HOWEVER there appears to be a leak coming from BEHIND a piece of metal below the window. Since I lifted the window seal inside and found it to be dry, I think it must be from the piece of trim between the roof and the side panel above the window. I will have to wait until it dries out before I try to caulk that.

I received the POR-15 last week and the new carpet today. I would be working on stripping the floors now if I didn't have to deal with these leaks.

And I got all the needles cleaned out of the cowl. Had to use the shop vac with a piece of PVC pipe to do it. I followed up with a good hosing of the drain channels. Now I can see the ground underneath like I'm suppose to.

Also, I priced windshield replacement at $260 locally at one place; I will call a few more first.

I found a Class III receiver on the internet for $50 + $20 shipping! Here in town they're $150 or more. I haven't decided to get it yet, but I probably will.
 
 

21 March 2003

KILLER! I caulked the trim pieces and now the truck is dry! Even after a few downpours, so I know for sure that's taken care of.

I got the back part of the floor coated with POR-15 today, and maybe if it is not raining in the next few days I can do the front areas.

I took the body tag off because there was rust underneath. I think I will scan it in and put it in the gallery.

I ordered that hitch, should be here in a week or so. I probably won't install it right away.

I got the Shop Manual CD off eBay. I was encouraged by someone's complaint that it was "just a bunch of pdf's" as that was what I was hoping for, and it is! 50 megs of them! Including the wiring diagrams! I paid $28 for it including shipping, but I had to wait a couple weeks for it as the seller didn't send it until I reminded him a week later.

I got the parking brake assembly removed after some fiddling, and coated it with Penetrol. I will probably have to loosen the adjusting nut all the way to put it back in.

I've called other windshield places and there's one for $175 that is mobile service so I won't have to take the truck someplace. I think I will do that one after the next round of POR-15. I should probably call back and ask if the price includes a seal or other parts and free wiper blades. But their warranty is the same as other places, so I figure it's probably good.
 
 

29 March 2003

I've finished the POR-15 coating and touching up minor rust with Penetrol. After that I installed the parking brake and wiring that goes under the carpet.

And I had the mobile service windshield replacement. Looks great, but then I had to buy new wipers so's it doesn't get fucked up.

I have also installed the new carpet, and unfortunately it is not as nice as I had thought. It doesn't want to lay flat in the front footwells, although the fit under the seats and in the back is good. Maybe the weight of mats and summer heat will help it to settle in, but I will let the seller know of my dissatisfaction.

After I did that I started putting the interior back together, cleaning and repairing as I went. I made quite a bit of progress recently and hopefully I will be done in a few days. I bought some ‘professional strength' upholstery cleaner and deodorizer to take care of things. So far it's worked pretty well, has that industrial smell to it.
 
 

2 April 2003

Got it pretty much done!

As I was putting it back together, I decided to leave out the folding rear seats since I doubt I will ever be hauling any people back there. More room, and it makes it easier to get to the tool boxes.

Putting the seats back in did help the carpet a little, and when my neighbor looked at it he agreed that weight and time will help it settle.

I also put some screen in front of the radiator, after I vacuumed most of the bugs out. It really needs to be hosed out good, but that can wait until I do a coolant change. I took the liberty of removing the restrictor plate off the front of the intake hose, and put a screen over that as well.

I'll get some more pictures into the gallery eventually...
 
 

10 April 2003

Truck works good. I like it!

I went to the Lummi (Indian) junkyard and got a spare wheel since my truck didn't come with one. $20. The guy aired it up, but I found out later it leaked. Fortunately I got it fixed for free at the Les Schwab a few blocks from my house!

I've been getting to the lubrication. I lubed the door and window hardware when I had the doors apart. Yesterday I took the tailgate apart and greased that. Today I got a flexible hose for my grease gun and squirted some grease into the suspension and steering joints. That should take care of things for a while.

My next project is either going to be de-rusting and priming a few small rust spots on the body or applying undercoating to the underbody outside the frame (where crud gets caked on the most).

I found out a local shop started carrying POR-15 recently, so I know where to go if I ever need some more.

I have a few more pictures in the gallery and will post another tech tip shortly.
 
 

7 May 2003

The truck is running great!

I'm getting about 20 miles per gallon, which I think is pretty good for a 3,500 pound truck. My sister has a Ranger and she's complaining that she is getting about 16.

I got a set of floor mats for about $20 from Wal-Mart. They're gray, to match the interior. They seem okay, but I'm thinking about years down the road when the driver's one is worn out and all the others are pretty nice. Hopefully I can buy just one that's a close enough match.

I applied Penetrol to the inside of the rear bumper to forestall more rust.

I've also gone ahead and got a couple rust spots on the body. Sanded them off, treated them with Metal Ready, and primed with sandable primer. Maybe one day I'll get around to painting the thing.
 
 

19 June 2003

Last weekend I was going out to my garage and I see the window on my truck is down. Then I take a closer look and find no, it's not down, IT'S BROKEN!

SOMEBODY VANDALIZED MY TRUCK! SONS OF BITCHEEEES!! DIIIIILLDOOOES!!

Then my neighbor comes over and tells me they got his Durango. Back window hammered and glass bits all the way up on the front dash. BUT someone left a tip as to who the guy was, so when the police get there they have something to go on. As I'm talking with the cop, I see my garage window is broken too, and the neighbors trash can lying underneath it. Great.

Took me over an hour with the shop vac to get most of the glass up (I still find pieces occasionally). Then I call junk yards to see if they have a window. Nobody has one except one place says they can get me one in a couple days for $75.

Meanwhile, the cop tells me to get a couple estimates as they got the guy and are working a deal since he is a first offender and can afford to pay for damages. So I get a few estimates and figure a reasonable cost, then add $30 for a clean up fee. Since one of the places has the glass for $81, I decide to buy the glass and install it myself, pocketing the labor money.

The kid shows up all embarrassed and apologetic. Full moon. Friday the 13th. Too many beers. But he pays in cash. I shake his hand and tell him he did the honorable thing. Hopefully it will make an impression on him.

Then I go and get the glass and get it in place. It isn't as easy as the Haynes manual makes it sound, but it's pretty straightforward. The next day I tweak it and put all the trim back on. I might write it up and put it in the tech tips section.

The garage can wait as I have a few other cracked panes that need to be replaced, too.
 
 

29 June 2003

More problems.

So I went to visit my sister and it's pissing down rain and as I get into her town the truck sputters and stalls. I fire it up and goose the gas. I have to do that at every light/stop sign to keep it from dying. I get to my sister's and park it, thinking it's soggy inside and drying it out will fix it. A few horus later the rain is gone and I look under the hood. the engine heat has nearly dried it out and when I fire it up it runs better.

But when I arrive home after a pleasant sunny drive it does the same thing in my town, and idles like crap. Not wet after all.

The next day I take a look at it. Start with the basics first. I pull a spark plug wire off and it breaks. Not a good sign. the plug is rusty on the outside and worn on the inside. It's looking like the 60,000 mile service wasn't done on the truck.

I replace plugs, wires, cap, rotor and air cleaner. No change.

I look in the Haynes and see that these symptoms could be caused by a bad EGR valve. I perform the test and it isn't moving. I note that it should have been replaced at 60,000 miles as well, so I replace it. Still no change.

I am at a loss as I doubt it could be a fuel delivery problem as higher rpm gives much better performance, and all the ignition components are new and working well (I later had a spark plug hanging out and it was sparking without being grounded).

So I give up and take it in to a local mechanic with a good reputation, conveniently a couple blocks from my house.

I describe the problem and what I had done and the woman said I had done a lot more than most people would have to try and fix it.

Turns out it was the EGR solenoid. I was close. $100 labor, $30 parts + tax. A fair price. Thank you John Kole Automotive Repair.

This was the third time in my life I had to take a vehicle in because I couldn't fix it, and the first time in over ten years. Which really isn't so bad.
 
 

22 July 2003

Truck's running great!

Noticed the washer fluid gage on the dash and thought it odd since I hardly ever use the washer. Looked at the tank and it was mostly full. Light still on.

Cleaned the contacts for the sensor and the light went off, but then came on again later.

Took it apart to find it was PLUGGED WITH GOO. Apparently the dealership I bought the truck from just put plain water in there and the summer sun made the scum grow.

I took the tank out and rinsed it out as best I could, then reinstalled it and cleaned off the sensor and put it back in. I filled it up with washer fluid as it should have been. No more light. Works fine.
 
 

17 August 2003

I finally got around to taking care of the rust spots on the roof. The paint was so crappy I decided to strip it all off before I sanded off the rust. I spot-primed the bare metal, wet-sanded it, then put a few more coats of primer over the whole roof. Eventually I will paint it. There are a few pics in the gallery.

Other than that the truck has been running great and hasn't given me any problems.
 
 

29 September 2003

Nothing to report, really...

Haven't done anything to the truck and it's been running fine and not giving me any problems.
 
 

10 November 2003

Not much going on with the truck. It's running well. I changed the oil and filter after eight months/ 2,100 miles. Vacuumed it out. No news is good news, I guess. I did finally sell the Beast, though...
 
 

3 December 2003

I was on my way to my mother's house for Thnaksgiving and the odometer rolled over 90000. And quit. I didn't notice at first. In fact I didn't notice until I was on the way back and it was still 90000. But later I notice it had 90020. It continued to work. That was odd, I just got about 45 nonexistant miles.

Then Sunday I was leaving Fred Meyer and my headlights wouldn't work! Fuck! The marker lights worked okay, so I figured I'd just drive home and hope the cops wouldn't stop me.

The next day I started troubleshooting, looking at the ‘power distribution center' (Dodge's fancy name for the fuse box under the hood) where the headlight fuse is. No, that was fine. Next the switch. The switch looked funky. Corroded and charred, with a little plastic melt on the connector. Okay, this is probably the culprit. Jumpered a few terminals in the connector to test, lights came on.

So I called around to get a replacement switch. Amazingly enough, the dealership had them for $17.50 + tax. About seven bucks cheaper than the next highest, and half of the top price. Only thing was I had to wait a day for it to arrive. That was fine, I'd just jumper the connector again to have lights on the way home from work

I got the switch the following day and put it in. Works fine. I even have the dome light. It had never worked from the switch before. I took a couple pics and will post them eventually.
 
 

19 February 2004

Hard to believe I've had the truck for a whole year now. But then again I spent the first couple months cleaning up the interior.

I've been putting a few miles on it lately, far more than usual. Almost time for another oil change.
 
 

27 March 2004

Truck is running good. Changed the oil recently. Needs a good cleaning. Thinking about redoing the hood as there are a couple rust spots ready to poke through the primer.
 
 

3 May 2004

Finally got around to giving the interior a good cleaning. Now that I’m back at work I won’t be driving around as much.
 
 

2 June 2004

The truck hasn’t been driven much since I went back to work. I got a tank of gas a few weeks ago and it’s still 2/3 full. But it’s ready to go when I need it.
 
 

16 July 2004

The truck is hardly being driving at all now that it’s summer and I am busy at work. I usually drive it only once or twice a week. I haven’t got gas for it in over two months now.
 
 

14 August 2004

I’ve used the truck so little that at one point the battery lost enough juice I had to jump start it with the MGB! But I took the non-use as an opportunity to flush and replace the engine coolant. I put a few pointers up in the Tech Tips section.
 
 

13 October 2004

Been using the truck a little more with the return of cooler weather. Got into a little oopsie. Oh, well. Something to do over the winter.
 
 

18 December 2004

I changed the oil in the truck and checked the other fluids. Everything is fine. The truck sits and waits faithfully for whenever I need it. It’s a good rig. I have broken the $5,000 mark. I paid $2,500 for the truck and now everything else has added up to double that.
 
 

27 February 2005

I finally got around to repairing my little oopsie... I got the replacement tail light off of eBay for $25 including shipping, less than half of what the dealer wanted. The body shop wanted $1,185 to fix it. I did it for $50 in parts and supplies. There are pics in the gallery.
 
 

7 April 2005

Been doing a little hauling with the truck lately. Performs quite well. There’s still a little leak in the firewall somewhere. I’ll have to figure out where it is sometime when it’s dry.
 
 

5 June 2005

The exhaust pipe broke. This was not unexpected, as it is the original and therefore 14 years old. Maybe sometime this week I will take it into a muffler shop and have it replaced.
 
 

27 June 2005

Had the exhaust replaced at the local Riteway. Even the dealership recommended them. Cost about $300. I also did a thorough vacuuming of the interior and rinsed off the exterior, including the crud that has been accumulating in the bed.
 
 

5 August 2005

Haven’t been using the truck much, but I drove it to MG 2005 and it gets 22 MPG on the freeway.
 
 

16 September 2005

Nothing to report. Truck is running well and gets good milage. Missed the spike in gas prices.
 
 

3 November 2005

I got a flat tire. This is the first time it’s happened with the truck. I took the wheel off and fixed it with one of those rubber plug kits. Seems to be fine.
 
 

20 January 2006

One of the license plate lights burnt out. I replaced it. Other than that the truck has been running fine.
 
 

4 March 2006

There was a cold spell recently which brought out the worst in the almost eight year old battery so I replaced it. Also changed the oil. Truck runs fine and is always ready to go.
 
 

10 June 2006

I’ve notice the battery will drain when the truck sits for a while. Today I traced the problem to a slow electrical leak between the horn circuit and the lights circuit. I suspect there is a corrosion short somewhere in the steering column wiring, as that is the only place there is wiring for both.
 
 

15 September 2006

Nothing to say... The truck is running well and it’s almost time for an oil change.
 
 

9 November 2006

Truck runs fine and is ready to go. Boring, but that is as it should be. I updated the Links section.
 
 

17 January 2007

Truck runs fine and is ready to go. Boring, but that is as it should be. Time for an oil change.
 
 

16 February 2007

I changed the oil. And the brake fluid. I also replaced the spare, which had a split sidewall.
 
 

31 March 2007

Nothing to report. Truck is fine and ready to go.
 
 

1 October 2007

Grrrrrind screeee thunk! FUCK! The water pump self-destructed on the way back from work. I had thought the intermittent grinding I had heard was the throwout bearing, but with a cloud of steam and losing power steering and alternator proved different. Only $40 for a new pump and a gallon of coolant, but a few hours to replace as the water pump is mounted behind all the other accessory brackets. There's a photo in the gallery.