So as always my 93 318 Dakota has a few issues. These are as far as I can tell the few remaining issues that were ignored by the "Mechanic" I bought it from.
I have a pretty good idea on what is wrong in these areas but suggestions are very welcome.

Issue with the Starter.
Sometimes when I turn the key I just hear a click, nothing tries to turn over its just a click and my sirius and radio both lose power. This sometimes goes for a few times then I get a good fire. Other times the truck fires like its factory fresh.
What I think is wrong, the Battery cables to the starter are corroded, loose or my contacts are bad. I'm hoping it isn't the entire starter honestly, I was told to replace the solenoid but I've since been told the solenoid and starter on my 93 are a single unit.
Of course when I brought this issue up with my favorite parts store (Not the guys I usually deal with. I try to avoid this guy since he always pitches the worst case scenario and the most expensive parts) Fyi he immediately tried to send me out the door with a 200$ Starter lol.

Issue with my 4x4
I can't shift into 4lo. I can get into 4 high and neutral but when I try to go into 4lo I either get a grinding sound or I get into it and get the mother of all grinding sounds.
This I'm pretty sure is the gear is stripped or my chain is loose. Either way I smell a nice bag of expensive parts for this fix.

The last few things are obvious and easy fixes.
Valve cover gaskets.
And my water pump sounds like its on its last legs sometimes.
I can hear it rattlin while the trucks warmin up.

 

Starter - Sounds like a prime example of the solenoid going bad. That happened with mine. Got bad enough that sometimes I'd have to try 10 or more times to get a start.

4x4 - Well, for 4LO, here is the procedure to shift: "(4Hi to 4 Lo, or 4Lo to 4Hi), slow vehicle to under 3MPH, shift auto trans to Neutral or press clutch on manual trans. Shift transfer case lever without hesitation to the desired mode. Pausing in transfer case neutral may require shutting the engine off to avoid gear clash. Do not attempt to shift to or from 4L with transmission in gear."
I was never really able to shift into 4Lo without gear clash. Even on a new, rebuilt transfer case. It could also be that the adjustment of the shift rods isn't quite correct.

 

I know the way to shift into 4lo
I always go to a complete stop and swap to neutral and then go 4hi the 4lo.

As for the solenoid.
If thats the case. (SOB) I don't want to buy a hole new starter if its all one unit.
That brings up the question. Is it one unit? Or is the solenoid replaceable.

 

I didn't really bother looking at the old starter to see.

 

Well from the looks of my Haynes manual you can at least take it apart. Maybe if i replace the guts of the solenoid I can make some progress.

 

Actually for 4hi to 4 low or 4low to 4hi the vehicle needs to be stoped, not in motion. My 4 wheel drive works flawless, and I have 175k + miles on the truck, never once have I heard gear clash... Hope you get these problems worked out, sounds frustrating...

 

For 4low it can be a slow movement 1-2MPH or dead stop. A slow movement will help getting the mesh of the gears faster.

Here is a copy and paste from the Owners Manual.

Here is a copy and paste from the Owners Manual.

NV-231 Transfer Case
The NV-231 transfer case offers 4 mode positions. Use the appropriate mode for the conditions described below:

2H
Rear wheel drive high range - Normal street and highway driving.

4H
Four-wheel drive high range - When driving conditions require more traction than two-wheel drive provides.

N
Neutral - Disengages both driving axles. To be used for towing only. See towing instructions for more information.

4L
Four-wheel drive low range - When maximum pulling power is require. Do not exceed 25mph (40kph).

Shifting Procedure

2H to 4H or 4H to 2H
Shifts between 2H and 4H can be done with the vehicle stopped or in motion. With vehicle in motion, the transfer case will engage/disengage faster if you momentarily release the accelerator pedal after making the shift.

4H to 4L or 4L to 4H

 

Hmm, on the back of my visor, there is directions, for 4L and it says with the vehicle stopped, and I just looked in the owners manual and it say's to shift to 4L with the vehicle stopped. But that's good to know. I'll give it a shot, next time I'm off road getting dirty!

 

Yea my issue doesn't have anything to do with steering. Somethings messed down there so one of these days I'll fix it but its not a big rush for me.

As an FYI
Did my Valve cover gaskets today. They were stupidly loose on the engine which made me and my old man when he came poking around lol at yet another fantastic repair by the "Salesman Mechanic"

Anyways they're nice n tight with these rediculous blue gaskets so thats one more problem off the list!

 

Hopefully not to tight or else you can bend the valve covers and cause more leaks.