got a two pics here..
a week ago i filled up the reservoir and the next day it was empty..
all on my driveway
I just filled up the actual radiator - not the reservoir

seems to be leaking a little bit...i dont think its from spillage..
i put a piece of cardboard under it for the night to see if i can pin point it exactly
but i think i have already found it
it's the biggest tube there (fattest one)
seems to be dripping from the bottom it where it joints into something...
just to the left of the orange reservoir.

MY QUESTION here is - is this bad if this is the origin of the leak?

i dont see how it could leak out the full reservoir the last time i filled it..

 

The fat tube to the left of the orange reservoir looks like a radiator hose and they do deteriorate and leak, so if that one is dripping, it's probably ready to change. Get a pre-formed hose for that position for your truck and get 2 new clamps, but don't put it on until you find the big leak - no sense in filling it twice. If you know that the reservoir leaks big time, fill it up and watch for the water to come out and follow it back to the source. You'll find either a hole that was caused by vibration, or a leaky joint between the rad & reservoir. If you don't know for sure that the reservoir is the problem, then you need to keep filling and watching until you find where it drains (a radiator cooling tube can get a hole or come loose, causing a large leak, especially under a bit of pressure). You may need to try this both hot and cold. If you can't find it, take it in to a rad shop and have them find it for you - have them show you the leak. They'll probably charge you to do this, but it will be cheaper than having your engine overheat & seize. At the same time they can give you a quote to fix all the leaks in your cooling system, but don't get sucked into a whole bunch of extra stuff & if you have them do it, tell them you want the old parts back.

 

Just got back from the dealership
there saying theres a crack in the top of the rad.. i haven't gotten a chance to go out an look at it to take a picture- they are suggesting i replace the whole radiator
( any repairs to be done to cracks in top left of rad?)

i brought it in originally cause my transmission was having trouble going into D . a couple sec delayl.. and trouble shifting around 3rd

they said i need to do an overhaul or just replace the transmission.
not sure if i should replace it..or drive it till it ****s out completely..is that a bad idea? will i just be ruining the gears/ clutch an stuff do further damage by driving with a bad transmission?
i also said i had some squeekin goin on in front end, said i need a ball joint and tie rod..
aswell
they said my steering shaft needs to be replaced. which makes sense cause it was stiff a few weeks ago an i hit it with some lube and its working perfect again..but they said thats only a temporary fix..

what do you think of these findings?
and wwhat i should do?
go ahead with the work?
its about 1200 for the above mentioned work not including the transmission overhaul or replacement

thanks (alfons)

 

there chargin 455 for the radiator for part and install..
i am looking at rock auto . com
i found afewthere ranging 100-150 ; plus shipping coming to 190
should i order it and do it myself?difficulty level ranging from ??
and not sure which rad would be right but rock auto usually comes up with the right ones.. theres a few listed here wait a second and they pop up..

should i go with the various 100 dollar one? or gofor amore expensive one?
thanks!
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/rafr...&parttype=2172

 

I know there is videos online on how to do it , and at rockauto there is a radiator installation guide..but i mean specifically for dakotas- anyone knows or is it standard?
and while i go through installing the radiator - will i run into any problems? like maybe notice some hoses are leaking aswell and its not just the crack in top leaking?
AND
\since i filled up the rad the other day its still staying cooled, and the temp gauge is working fine now as opposed to when i filled up the reservoir it all leaked out,
why is this? that fluid is staying in the rad now but wouldnt stay in the reservoir?

 

If I was in your shoes, here's what I would do:

• For the Radiator: A cracked radiator makes sense, but I wouldn't pay dealership prices for either the replacement or the labor. If a standard Dakota rad was good enough before, I would first research 2 areas, local radiator shops to get a quote for a rebuilt as well as for the installation, and I would also check with local auto salvage yards & get a price (these will have a short warranty, but the installation labor (and removal if it leaks) is yours. I wouldn't look for a brand new rad unless I needed something better than OEM . Installation and removal is fairly simple for a radiator - you can take a few pictures of how it fits together or draw up a sketch or two & if that's not good enough, download the service manual that's in a sticky post on this forum and check out the step-by-step there. Get new hoses and clamps when doing this job.
• For the Transmission: I would have picked up a good used one from an auto salvage yard a long time ago and would have changed it. The cost of the transmission is going to be the biggest chunk of all your repairs here and the most complex. If I didn't have the experience, I'd look for someone with experience to give me a hand, you don't want to do this without knowing how things work (or don't work).
• For the steering shaft: If the 2 U-joints weren't loose, I wouldn't do anything. The shafts aren't cheap & you can't replace the joints by themselves, but if the old joints are loose, I'd pull of the old one and replace it with a new one (I would NOT get a used one here, good steering is good life insurance). It's not hard to change, the hardest part is pulling the joint of what they're attached to.
• Tie Rod & Ball Joint: There are lots of descriptions of doing this on this forum - not hard to do & you can get the special tools from a tool rental.
• General Comments: There are lots of write-ups for most of the general mechanical work that you'll ever need to do on your truck & as I've mentioned, it's not hard to do but you need to understand how things work & then you need the tools and parts. If you need more details than you find in this forum or in other places on-line, download the service manual and read the appropriate sections and then if you have questions about a particular procedure, it's not hard to answer. It is hard to give you the confidence, the experience, the understanding, and the procedure from a distance. You gain many of those qualities by trying or watching and then trying, and as to the real understanding, you're the only one that can determine if you can do some of this work yourself.

 

Thanks Alfons -
regarding receiving the confidence experience and understanding - that's all im hoping to gain - eventually, not immediately , through a website- but due course of action - trying to solve and adress these problems as directly as possible so I have more of an understanding of whats goin on with my truck.
I had a look at the radiator too...i couldnt find anything that appeared cracked.. i removed the cover/guard thats held on with push pins to have look. the one on top and the underneath by the tubes i mentioned first...the dealership said there was a crack on top but everything looked fine, but again underneath the coolant was along the tubes and around them...there was a little drainage ..tap - per say..so obviously there was a bit there..
- since i filled up the rad and the reservoir the second time on sunday. the reservoir is 3/4 full and I can stil see the fluid under neath the metal rad cap, indicating its still full...so its obviosuly leaking very slowly..
so unless this dealership is retarted then i dont know, my temp gauge is fine and there is no indication theres something wrong with my rad other then the leak i had.. so do i simply not know what im looking for this crack too that they mention on top left? or is it plain sight? unless i need to take off the piece with the store bolts and the pipe attached thats under neath the topguard too? it doesnt look like the shop took off anything there to see where they could find a leak. unless the have a computer that says " leak in rad top left" - if not then so muchfor going to a dealership thinking they would be honest because their salarys are payed partially by the car companys.

-i am fairly interested in doing the ball joint and tie rods- because those appear to be issues that often need replacing with dodge front ends.
i should probably rent a floor jack along with the special tools? if available - or buy one for future use..

- Steering shaft - funny they never mentioned anything about the U joints - How can i check if the u-joints are loose? are they the swivel looking things that are attached on either end? i was looking at it today and was all coveredwith about a 1/4 inch of muck...i brought my truckto a self spray wash and cleaned it off today, accidentally sprayed a few too many components in the engine component. hopefully the electricals are decent enough - and i didint hit the alternator too much...may not start in the morning..

and TRANSMISSON - sorry i know you have covered alot and you should be getting payed for this- how would I tell if im buying a good used transmission?? can you buy new transmission that fits 07 daks?? - AND *what is the harm in continuing driving with a buckwild tranny ( wear clutch and gears? and what is L/R clutch leftright? theymentioned thatin the diagnostics bill - i willscan the dealersships diagnostic read out tomorrow) that has trouble downshifting in 3rd and going into drive? ( AFTER I BROUGHT IT TO DEALER- NOW IT HAS A solid 5seconddelay goin to drive as opposed to a almost hard 1 second delaybefore, and now there is almost a delay going into reverse ) ANGRY
and harm of driving with a leaky rad? i heard that you can warp some components? gaskets?

thanks man . ... i would be happy to pay you haha or mail you a Christmas card .
cheers

 

Looking at the amount of work you need to do can be quite overwhelming without previous experience. As I mentioned earlier, your transmission issue is probably the most complex to do alone and the other things, looked at individually, can be done with a bit of effort and time. Currently, your truck appears to be moving & if you keep an eye on the coolant level you should be OK as long as you don't stress things. Although it's hard to say how long your transmission will last, I'll leave my discussions on that for the last, and you can start with some of the easier things first to begin to build up your confidence and experience. So, lets begin with the radiator. Earlier, you mentioned that it would drain out rather quickly, but in your latest statement you say it's not that bad a leak. A cracked radiator should be easy to spot - begin with a full coolant system and then start the engine. Let it fully heat up and watch for coolant leaks (take it around the block a few times to get everything to the max temp). If the engine takes a long time to get to the max temp, or never gets there, you could have a bad thermostat, in which case, it will be difficult to find a fine crack or small hole, so for the purpose of this discussion, I'll assume that it does fully heat up (somewhere around 100 degrees Celcius). If the top of the rad is cracked, you should be able to see this - that's not an "on again, off again" type of situation. With a bit of pressure, you should be able to see coolant coming from any holes/cracks that exist there. If you don't see any leakage, I'd recommend changing the slightly leaky hose (change both & the clamps with new ones).

Give this a shot and let me know what happens & we can go to the ball joint or steering shaft next.

Some food for thought. Have a look at the wikipedia site and look up automatic and manual transmissions and review the basics of how they work. You'll find that the manual transmission has 1 clutch as an interface between the engine and the transmission and the shifting is accomplished "hand draulically" (by hand) while in an automatic you have a fluid filled thing called a torque converter that acts as both a flywheel and "fluid pressure governor". This fluid pressure and vehicle speed are then used to shift the gears by way of things like various clutches and bands. My take on your transmission is that some of this shifting mechanism has been damaged by the overheat that you described earlier. Not knowing what the damage really is, means that it's not possible to predict how long it's likely to last. To get a good used transmission from an auto salvage yard isn't all that difficult. The first thing I'd do would be to check with some of the garages and transmission shops around and ask them which yards they would recommend you stay away from or which ones they would recommend. Next, get a quote for a delivered transmission from the short list of yards (Off-hand, I'd guess you'd be sitting in the ball park of about $1000 plus or minus a bit - it depends on your location and the availability of these parts). You should find that most of these yards will give you about a month to 90 days of warranty (this is a replacement warranty usually - bring one back and get another, just make sure they would have another before buying one). Don't plan to buy one until you can fit the replacement into that time line. A more expensive approach will be to get a re-built, and you can get the price and warranty info on this from local transmission shops. Make sure that the torque converter is included in all these quotes. This will be a good start on planning for what you want to do and when you'll be able to do it and in the mean time, you can be repairing the other issues.

Good luck

 

I'll add a little bit to this.

Swaping out a tranny on these things is not rocket science - just take it slow and easy!

There is tonnes (metric ton) of room under there, but you will need 4 jack stands to raise the truck on (a level driveway is a must), plus a large wheeled jack to manipulate the tranny once free of the supports. Make sure everything is disconnected - wires, hoses, etc - remove the drive staft(s), support the tranny with the jack and secure with a strap or chain, then remove any cross-members holding up the transmission. Next, disconnect the bolts at the bell-housing, slide the jack rearward to slip the input shaft out.

Reverse and away you go - not sure what software stuff needs to be done for it to work, though.

These are much easier than a transverse-mounted front-wheel drive system!

 

We need to start paying Alfons. Good advice and info there brother. Cheers to you!