Admittedly a little tenative about making the switch (have not sold my old truck yet). Bought a 2003 Dakota, Quad cab 4wd 4.7L V8 with 107K on the ticker this week. Nice looking and driving truck, although I will have to get used to warming it up every morning, as it acts super cold (even at 60 degrees) and a little sluggish until the thermostat starts to move.

A couple of questions for the experts; Right at 100 miles give or take after driving it off the dealer lot the engine light came on, folks at advanced auto say it is a small evaporation leak, granted they had no clue what that meant, but I would like to fix it. Also is it common for these to feel very affirmative when shifting from drive to reverse or park, almost a clunky feel?

OR, should i just get rid of it and go back to the old faithful '95 Silverado with a 350 in it sitting in the driveway?

 

Small evap leak can be anything from a cracked vacuum hose to a loose gas cap or a bad charcoal canister (normally its just a hose running to this canister).

I had that same problem and my gas cap was shot, replaced it and no problems since.

Mine has always had a very hard clunk into R and D too, checked my tranny mounts and shift linkage and all is normal so I've learned to live with it.

Welcome to the forums.

 

It shouldn't act cold, maybe a bad temp sensor (for the PCM) or a kinda crapped out MAP sensor. My money would be on a temp sensor that's telling the PCM that the engine is warm when it isn't. When it warms up, the PCM is then all happy and warm.

Your evap canister code could be related to the cold blooded issue--I'd check out the vacuum lines first, and do a detailed visual inspection of the canister itself. As these things rarely fail, I'd probably look for one at a junque yard.

 

It sounds like we pretty much bought the same truck except I bought mine a year ago.
Mines an 03 QC 4WD Auto 4.7 SLT and had 107K on the clock (112K now).

Have you done a tuneup? Do your typical tuneup and remove and clean the throttle body and IAC. It really shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.

If by sluggish you mean it makes a ton of noise when you first start it and for the first mile or so it is supposed to do that. THere is both and electric fan and an engine driven fan. When they are both on they make a ton of noise and pull a LOT of air. I;m not really sure if it is because the engine fan comes on and then goes off or the other way around.

Mine kinda clunks going into reverse too but double check all the u-joints and axle CV joints.

P4210671_zps46d88719.jpg

 

No tuneup yet, just picked it up Thursday

Thanks for the suggestions so far, i did put gas in it, i will check the gas cap. What do ya'll suggest for a 100K tuneup on these (assuming none of that has been done yet)?

Will say I am kinda shocked at the truck's giddy up when warmed up, will turn tires on dry pavement with the kind of accelerator pressure my old Chevy needed just to get out in traffic!

Mine Is all silver, very similar to the above with matching Apollo cap and rhino liner in the bed

THANKS!

 

Just your standard tuneup items. Plugs, Air cleaner, Oil etc. Seriously try removing the throttle body and cleaning it very well as well as cleaning the IAC. These trucks are known to get a lot of carbon build up around the IAC pintle and it really makes a difference to keep the TB and IAC clean.

You said yours is "sluggish" until it warms up? Do you mean it stumbles, misses, stalls etc.? How does it act? Just need a little more info on that one.

The front end, in my opinion, is the weakest part of this truck. They did what they considered a "maintenance free" front suspension. Basically it means a non-serviceable front end I.E. no grease fittings on anything. Upper and Lower Ball Joints just don't last long when you can't grease them. The same with tie rod ends and pittman arms and even sway bar bushings and end links.

 

Thanks for the replies fellas, going to go through and redo all the evap lines that look old, and tune her up his weekend, I think it is just the noise from the fans that is making me think it is cold blooded

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum!

+1 on all the above

Find out how your truck left the lot by clicking here. Have the last 8 of your VIN ready, and they'll provide you a build sheet. ~they probably say, "looks like another Dodge Forum member joined" every time they get a request~

If you have looked yet, get your service manual here.

Tips and tricks are found here.

Can't find right off hand where the throttle body cleaning is. Someone had a pretty good write up.

Welcome to the forum!

Good luck!