You do have to remove the carrier, so the axles also have to come out, and yes, you need a press to remove the bearing on the pinion shaft.

 

It is the pinion bearing. Took it to a mechanic today. He said he's seen a lot of Dakotas with the same issue. I'm so sick of dumping money into this thing.

 

Think about this tho. New vehicle = payments eventually you will have to put money into it just like your dakota. If I didnt need a bigger truck I would of put the money into my dakota cause other than the tranny, it was solid.

 

I agree keep it with this messed up economy a new truck and payments could be a disaster in the making.

The EU is on the edge of complete collapse all hell is about to be set loose on the world.

You truck looks nice hang in there.

 

I agree with the above posts too. It might cost you some money and/or time, maybe a few busted knuckles if you did have a place to fix it yourself, but in the long run it is much better to fix it every now and then rather than pay some bank, credit union or finance company a big fat payment every single month on a new or new-to-you used truck.

I say fix it and keep on driving it till the wheels fall off. That's just how I see it.

Jimmy

 

I know what you guys mean but I've been spending a lot more money repairing this thing than I would be if I were to buy a newer vehicle. Trust me, I'm not one to buy a new vehicle every couple years. I have nowhere to work on my truck since I moved into an apartment so I'm going to have to pay to fix everything.

The truck just hasn't be reliable. I love the size, appearance, and features of the truck but I've had so many problems.

Rear end needs all new bearings
PS pump
2 seized calibers
all new ball joints twice (first time was replaced under recall with the stock ones, next time I did it with MOOGs)
CTM failure
control arm bushings had to be replaced
all 4 shocks
sway bar bushings and end links
speed sensor twice
front drive shaft
cv half shaft
rotted out muffler

That's all the stuff I can think of and it only has 146k miles on it.

My father's F-150 has 150 something thousand on it and he's replaced brakes and one coil & spark plug... that's it, I'm not even kidding.

 

Do you want me to write up a list of my truck? and I only owned it from 73k-95k.

 

You will probably get better MPG brakes and a number of other upgrades the 2-nd gen Dakotas are rather old technology so much has changed in the last 8 years on cars some good some bad like lots of plastic parts cars are so much plastic now to save weight. I bet the HVAC is better now in new cars/trucks. Dakota HVAC is wonky at best.

I have been lucky just two problems HVAC and clutch other than that my Dakota has been a dependable problem free Truck for me.

4X4 are money pits in old age but if you need 4X4 you need it.

 

i got rid of the my dak b.c of its never ending problems and never looked back.

 

any vehicle is a money pit specially w age ...... you have had some bad luck tho .... hopefully it doesnt kill your pocket to much and for the most part with all the money you have put into ur kota it will pay off in the long run most likely.... when i 1st got my kota with 120xxx within the 1st 6 months i had to pay for a new starter, crankshaft sensor, battery, passenger side bushings and front shocks but since then its olny been oil changes and regular maintenance and its now at 155xxx and the 3.9l is still running strong.... so eventho i was starting to regret buying a used truck in the long run i have saved a bunch of money when compared to buying a brand new truck