When using cruise control on my 02 Durango R/T, it is very unsteady but will maintain the speed. You can see the RPM's fluctuating by 1-3k RPM's and it feels a little jerky. I can turn the cruise off and it drives just fine. It started doing it about a year ago but is getting worse. Thoughts?

Also, I bought the truck new back in 02 and the transmission has always made a noise in the rear end. Just for general knowledge, it's an AWD. Sometimes (not always), while driving at low speed when the transmission is about to shift from 2nd to 3rd, if I let off the gas, you will hear a "clank" in the rear end. I have taken it to 2 dealerships and they say they hear it, but it is ok. The last dealership told me that the Durango transmissions have always had a "pressure buildup" problem but it won't cause any damage to the truck. According to the dealership, as the transmission builds up pressure to change from 2nd to 3rd and you let off the gas, the pressure will cause a clank sound. Is this guy just making stuff up?

Thanks for your help!

 

Ihave a 00 Durango R/T and I fixed the cruise control idling issue by replacing the throttle position sensor. A quick 5 minute change when engine is cold. Cost is around $36 at NAPA auto parts. As far as your tranny goes, I think it is normal as my tranny does the same thing. Between 1st and 2nd gear or 2nd and 3rd gear, when I let off the gas, you hear a clang. This noise is coming from the transfer case, not the rear end. At least on mine. And this is normal according to Dodge. I can make this noise also when you put the Durango in reverse, you will hear a clang also. Wished they can come up with a quick fix to the clang issue on the transfer case! Really makes me nervous everything I throw it in reverse or let off the gas pedal.

I remember my Toyota 4WD truck did the same thing and that was only a part time 4WD. But when I had it engaged in 4WD mode, when I throw it in reverse, it sometimes clang and sometimes between gears also. This truck is a 85 model. So that was 15 years ago compared to my 00 R/T. So based on this, I have to take the dealer's word for it for the clange noise being normal. I am finally approaching 60k miles so I will go ahead and change out the gear oil on the transfer case to see if I can quiet down the clanging noise.

 

Thanks for the response. Why does the engine need to be cold to replace the TPS? Is it a straight part swap or do I need to do anything special, i.e. disconnect the battery for 5 minutes, etc..

BTW, changing the transmission fluid/filter and the cleaning out the rear end and replacing the fluid helps to quieten the clank.

Thanks.

 

It is much easier to change out the TPS with a cold engine vs. a HOT engine. you an change it while it is still hot if you like. I just don't want to get burned or scorched when it is scorching hot outside already in Tx.