Hi there,

I've always been a chevy man. I recently just bought a 1999 2x4 Dakota with the 5.2L. The truck runs great and has about 68,000 miles on it. There are a few things that concern me though.

1. The truck takes a very long time to come up to temp even under highway driving conditions. Do these trucks have fan clutches or do the fans stay on all the time and the temp is regulated soley through the thermostat?

2. My dash voltage gauge shows that its charging at about 15v which seems slightly high. Maybe a dead cell in the battery?

3. When I'm cruising at highway speeds 65-70 mph my oil pressure runs at around 60-80 is this normal or does it seem high.

4. I'd like to do a full tune up on the truck, I"ve always used bosch platinum 4 spark plugs. I've heard that mopar and platinum plugs dont mix; is this true?

5. The A/C compressor clutch engages about once every thirty seconds when the A/C is off. But if you turn the A/C on it stays engaged. Does it engage by itself when off to maintain the system pressure?

Thank you very much for reading my post. I'm looking forward to talking with all of you. any help or tips that can be offered would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Mike.

 

1. They do have a fan clutch, for some reason they do take quite a while to heat up. What is your normal operating temp seem to be?
2. 15v seems a bit high. Hit it with a volt meter and see what the true reading is.
3. Is your oil level high?
4. Stay away from the bosch platinums. Champions are the best from what I have found and they are cheaper than the platinums.
5. Is this when you have the entire system turned off? When the vents are set to both top and bottom vents, it will engage the A/C system. Top vent alone or bottom vent alone will not engage it.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Normal temp when it does finally get there is approx 195 which seems to be in the ball park.

The oil level is right on the money.

And the AC is off when this happens could it just be cycling the compressor to keep it form ceising? I've never really payed attention to what position the vent selector is set too. but i know its not on ac or max ac

Thanks for your quick reply

Mike

 

My guess is that it is just taking yous a minute to get warmed up. As far as your oil pressure, as long as your level is correct and you are within spec, you won't have a problem. As far as the A/C, make sure you turn the selector to the "Off" position, then see if the compressor kick on. It shouldn't. It will though, if turned to Max A/C, A/C, both top and bottom vents on at once, or defrost.

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Thanks for your reply's sounds like every thing is normal. This whole dodge thing is still strange to me gonna take some getting use to but so far i love the truck.

Thanks Mike

 

I found that my compressor does the same thing, im unsure why and just decided to disconnect the plug coming outta it. I never paid attention to which settin it was on though. Maybe I'll hook it back up tomorrow and do some testing. That is after I get her back from the dealer. I'm getting my upper ball joints replaced under the recall!!

 

welcome to the forum

 

everything sounds good except the platinums I have them and they work great but I'm the only one on the forum that is this lucky
your battery could just be old, but mine runs 14 volts when running and it's little over a year
the oil pressure is OK as long as it stays under 90 or so
the temp is right on the money, It might not be mixed 50/50 with water, that could cause slow heating, as well as slow heater core i'd flush it anyway it might need it

I've never encountered the A/C problem but I don't have one so That might be my issue

and Welcome

________
The Sanctuary of Truth Wong Amat

 

Thanks Batman and 4x4 you guys are awesome. This place is pretty friendly thanks for all the advice and the welcomes.

Mike