I have come to the conclusion that Crash (my 92 Dakota LE, 4x2, 5.2, auto; old and falling apart faster then I can afford to put her back together) hates me. Not only did she try to kill me a couple weeks ago with a complete failure of the brakes. Now she decided today that it would be a very good idea to go ahead and blow the radiator. Im already 3000+ miles overdue for an oil change due to financial struggle, which I was planning to do today. and now I have to put it off further because the rad is blown, leaking like a siv. It got really hot on the way home from work today (I mean really hot, on the H. Im fortunate I didn't blow a gasket). Im gonna end up with rod knock if I keep putting the damn oil change off, but I am a mininum wage Taco Bell employee and I can only afford one thing at a time. Another two weeks until she gets an oil change...


Sad thing is, I already suspect it has rod knock. Sometimes I hear this rapid tapping sound at lower RPMs when I am driving. But only sometimes, and when I notice it, a quick nudge of the throttle will silence it. What is that?

 

i would have the trans checked...the blown radiator is how mine went out.

 

I always suspected the transmission would go out sooner or later, at which time I would swap in a manual. But I am not ready to do that yet, my finances are entirely to unstable for that.