Frustrated to the max with my Dodge..............
#51
10-12-2010, 02:14 PM
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Ah, ain't one really any better than any other anymore. They all got their issues.
I belong to a hunting club where damn near every truck and SUV on the planet is represented. We'll pop a beer (or twelve) and compare issues among them from time to time. Furd has plugs that strip out the soft aluminum threads and pop thru the hood on 5.4s, heads that blow apart routinely on the PowerJoke 6.0s.
We got one guy got fed up with his Furd issues and bought a brand spanking new '08 'Yota Tundra. Had the rear diff go at 8k miles (common) and lost use of his truck for 11 WEEKS because newer, stronger diffs were on nationwide back-order. Then when he finally gets his truck back, he gets a recall for the cam shaft! Calls dealer for an appt. and guess what - yep - nationwide back-order! AND they advise him NOT to use his truck in the meantime as a failed cam will destroy his motor!
It ain't just Dodge, all the manufacturers have design flaws. The only thing I will say is that the foreign makers seem to step up and "do right" by the consumer more readily.
Dodge should have stepped up on the plenum and dash issues a decade ago and the LSD clips are STILL an issue (at least thru the 3rd Gens).
Ford has known about the the head issue in the 6.0 diesel almost since the day they went from 12 head bolts to 4, and instead of stepping up, they issues a TSB that states if the owner has "modified" the truck by as much as 1 HP over stock, the 6.0 head is only rated for stock HP, and the warranty claim is to be denied!!!
GM has the "DexCool" issue where it has been PROVEN to literally eat away their radiators (and even engine blocks) and they've not stepped to the plate either.
They all only care about the bottom line...
I belong to a hunting club where damn near every truck and SUV on the planet is represented. We'll pop a beer (or twelve) and compare issues among them from time to time. Furd has plugs that strip out the soft aluminum threads and pop thru the hood on 5.4s, heads that blow apart routinely on the PowerJoke 6.0s.
We got one guy got fed up with his Furd issues and bought a brand spanking new '08 'Yota Tundra. Had the rear diff go at 8k miles (common) and lost use of his truck for 11 WEEKS because newer, stronger diffs were on nationwide back-order. Then when he finally gets his truck back, he gets a recall for the cam shaft! Calls dealer for an appt. and guess what - yep - nationwide back-order! AND they advise him NOT to use his truck in the meantime as a failed cam will destroy his motor!
It ain't just Dodge, all the manufacturers have design flaws. The only thing I will say is that the foreign makers seem to step up and "do right" by the consumer more readily.
Dodge should have stepped up on the plenum and dash issues a decade ago and the LSD clips are STILL an issue (at least thru the 3rd Gens).
Ford has known about the the head issue in the 6.0 diesel almost since the day they went from 12 head bolts to 4, and instead of stepping up, they issues a TSB that states if the owner has "modified" the truck by as much as 1 HP over stock, the 6.0 head is only rated for stock HP, and the warranty claim is to be denied!!!
GM has the "DexCool" issue where it has been PROVEN to literally eat away their radiators (and even engine blocks) and they've not stepped to the plate either.
They all only care about the bottom line...
#52
10-12-2010, 02:16 PM
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I have to say, those new Tundras are terrible. I've heard so many horror stories about them, and lets not forget the known frame issues where the bed has it's own version of "death wobble".
My cousin has a 2008 that I maintain. It burns 4 quarts of oil over the course of a 10,000 mile oil change interval (full synthetic with synthetic filter media). He's had a bunch of "little" issues with it, the most recent being pinion bearings in the rear end at 25k miles.
I'd be pissed if my brand new truck was burning a gallon of oil in 10k miles, but he still likes his truck.
My cousin has a 2008 that I maintain. It burns 4 quarts of oil over the course of a 10,000 mile oil change interval (full synthetic with synthetic filter media). He's had a bunch of "little" issues with it, the most recent being pinion bearings in the rear end at 25k miles.
I'd be pissed if my brand new truck was burning a gallon of oil in 10k miles, but he still likes his truck.
#53
10-12-2010, 02:18 PM
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At one point, with the old Iron duke 4 cylinders, in the front wheel drive cars, the distributor was on the back side of the engine, UNDER the intake manifold. You could not see it, you could not touch it. You could not get at it from underneath. You have to basically lay on top of the engine, and reach around both sides of the intake, so that you could change the damn thing.
That is f***ed up right there!!!!
Why would they stick that thing there???? INSANITY!!!!!
#54
10-12-2010, 02:21 PM
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Work on my Honda and the distributor cap is right there on the side of the motor with nothing in it's way. It literally takes about 2 minutes to do a full tune up. That being said, the Ram is harder to work on than that, but it's still not that bad. I've worked on a lot worse. The difficulty level of working on the Ram wouldn't be towards the top of my list of complaints about this thing.
#55
10-12-2010, 02:38 PM
I was in St. Louis at one point, and was sitting chatting with a GM engineer. When I found out he worked on powertrain design, I asked him point blank, what he had against mechanics. He was shocked, and wondered where I would ever get that impression...... After detailing more than a few horror stories of hidden bolts, parts that are impossible to get to, other parts that are prone to failure, and then hidden under six tons of other crap, etc. etc. etc....... He stopped talking to me..... Never did get an answer from him.
#56
10-12-2010, 03:08 PM
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Because engineers HATE mechanics. Must be something in their blood.
I was in St. Louis at one point, and was sitting chatting with a GM engineer. When I found out he worked on powertrain design, I asked him point blank, what he had against mechanics. He was shocked, and wondered where I would ever get that impression...... After detailing more than a few horror stories of hidden bolts, parts that are impossible to get to, other parts that are prone to failure, and then hidden under six tons of other crap, etc. etc. etc....... He stopped talking to me..... Never did get an answer from him.
I was in St. Louis at one point, and was sitting chatting with a GM engineer. When I found out he worked on powertrain design, I asked him point blank, what he had against mechanics. He was shocked, and wondered where I would ever get that impression...... After detailing more than a few horror stories of hidden bolts, parts that are impossible to get to, other parts that are prone to failure, and then hidden under six tons of other crap, etc. etc. etc....... He stopped talking to me..... Never did get an answer from him.
And it wasn't because you were eye humping his wife eh???
kidding....He must've realized then and there that ''Oh my god, these guys actually WORK on their cars themselves????''
#57
10-12-2010, 03:41 PM
Grand Champion
The engineers design the cars to be manufactured first, and repaired second, so manufacturing always takes precedence when there's a conflict. The marketdroids give them a price point to hit, the manufacturing engineers give them constraints, and so on down the line, and sometimes trade-offs fall against us. So it goes.
I don't like it either. But I do like the idea of doing water crossings without worrying that fan-blown splash isn't going to soak the distributor, so there's always that silver lining.
I don't like it either. But I do like the idea of doing water crossings without worrying that fan-blown splash isn't going to soak the distributor, so there's always that silver lining.
#58
10-12-2010, 06:56 PM
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#59
10-14-2010, 08:28 PM
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#60
10-14-2010, 08:51 PM
All I know is these trucks are hard as hell to work on. The way the engine sits back under the cowl is BS. There are all kind of reasons for Dodge to have put things in the position that they are in, but GD, you cannot get to anything on the last half of the motor. I mean, I changed the valve covers, but didn't even want to attempt to change the distributor cap. Try putting headers on a 95 with the ERG valve, you cannot see or reach any part of it.
Everyone talks about installing the Harland Sharp Roller Rockers is simple, but damn, I am scared cause I remember how hard the Valve covers were to change. I am a bigger man, but I have to stand on ramps to reach the middle of the engine compartment when I tighten the hold down for my Volant Intake.
All I am saying is I have never more seen more longer posts bitching about working on any other vechile than these.
FYI, I am putting an intake, TB, Catch Can, and Valve covers on my CTS-V in the next couple of weeks and I have no fear. I want to get some Harland Sharp Rollers and I am just dreading it....
Everyone talks about installing the Harland Sharp Roller Rockers is simple, but damn, I am scared cause I remember how hard the Valve covers were to change. I am a bigger man, but I have to stand on ramps to reach the middle of the engine compartment when I tighten the hold down for my Volant Intake.
All I am saying is I have never more seen more longer posts bitching about working on any other vechile than these.
FYI, I am putting an intake, TB, Catch Can, and Valve covers on my CTS-V in the next couple of weeks and I have no fear. I want to get some Harland Sharp Rollers and I am just dreading it....