Hello all,

I just bought my wife a 2005 Dakota SLT 4x4 4dr with a 4.7 stick shift (73,000 miles). I currently own a 2007 Ram 1500 that is also a 4.7 4wd stick shift and there seems to be a few differences that I cant figure out if they are normal or not.

I'm active duty and don't have my Ram 1500 with me, haven't driven it in about a year and a half and wont be home to drive it anytime soon, so I have a hard time doing any sort of comparisons myself.

First up is the clutch... I'm pretty certain it's ready to be replaced because with the clutch in, it makes a low 'whirl' sound and with the clutch out it sounds like a cricket constantly. if I rest the weight of my foot against the pedal it goes away too (I'm thinking worn throwout bearing). With all that said, if the clutch is bad I blame the previous owner, because my Ram has well over a 100K and its still on its stock clutch with no signs of being worn out.

Anywho, the pedal is VERY stiff to push in, almost like an old spring loaded mechanical clutch. Is this common for all Dakota's? I'm fairly certain that my Ram clutch has some stiffness too it but does not feel completely spring loaded.

Next is the steering. It has about a 1/8" side to side slop in it. Does this mean something was not installed correctly post airbag recall? Could it be the rack and pinion wearing out? or is it normal due to the seemingly long and weird steering linkages going to the rack and pinion?

On that note, the front rotors simultaneously seemed warped and not warped... under light to moderate (even occasionally heavy breaking from low speed) there is no pulsing or vibration. However under heavy breaking at fast speeds (interstate especially) they vibrate heavily and shake the steering wheel. The reason I bring this up with the earlier steering question is that when this happens there is a loud 'clunking' sound that comes from the steering column. I grabbed it to see if it was loose and it seemed to have rubber dampers between each linkage.

does any of this sound normal or stick out as unusual to any of y'all? I appreciate your time and patience with reading this long post. Here are some pictures of the truck, because who doesnt like pictures?

 

I don't know much, but I do know I had to replace my throwout bearing on my '07 at about 155k miles. But, there is a weird harmonic noise that is supposed to be normal (I'm told) when the clutch is pushed in. Mine occurs only at higher RPMs like when I'm in a hurry and shift up in the 2500-3500 RPM range. If it is the throwout bearing it needs fixin. It will cause other damage if it lets loose.

 

So here's a new one...

The alternator went bad while my wife was driving home from work yesterday. She made it home but the electrical system only had ~6volts being supplied by the battery/alternator.

I changed both out last night as the battery was on its last legs. Turns out someone had installed the wrong (too small) battery too. Anywho, truck runs great but now the radio speakers dont work.... It's an aftermarket head unit (Alpine - http://alpine-usa.com/product/view/cde-153bt/) so ya'll may not be able to help me, but I figured what the heck.

The speakers won't play in any mode (Radio/CD/BT) I've been through every setting that I could find, checked all the fuses and I've read the Alpine manual cover to cover. Anyone ever seen something this before?


Sperately, my center console latch is broken in the shut, button stuck all the way in position. I've seen these latches seem break often for the Dak's. Is there a trick to get this sucker to open up? From what I was skimming on the forums it looked like all the advice was how to keep the button from sticking but not much on what to do when it does stick.

 

I had an issue with the speakers after a while, I had to remove the fuse and let the system go dead in order to have them come back on, just remember to write all info done first, stations and bass, treble, and mid if they are there

 

Pull both leads off the battery...touch them together an hold for 30 seconds...then reinstall.
Fixed a few vehicles this way. (all makes). It's like "rebooting" the Modules.

 

Thanks Wv I'll try that. It sounds strange but I've seen weirder resets on other cars. (Like automatic Windows on a Nissan)

So the clutch went out on the Dak while my wife was driving to work. Looks like I'll be changing that this weekend! Pro tip, the clutch linkage between the master cylinder and the pedal is plastic.... If you push it too hard it snaps in half! Now I'll be changing the whole master cylinder too :/

I'd say the throwout bearing probably failed
Plastic POS

 

I'll give this a shot too. I called the previous owner and he gave me the company that did the install and supposedly they had issues tying into the stock amp
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So the old throwout bearing was completely anihlated! defintiely the problem for all the weirdness in the clutch.

Now that I have the transmission back in, the dang truck is hard to start. It's throwing TPS and CKS codes (P0122 and P0335). I know I reconnected all of the wiring harness plugs so I'm not sure why I'm getting these codes all of a sudden. Does anyone know where the Crank sensor is on the 4.7?

 

So I blew over 200 bucks on an OEM crank sensor and throttle position sensor and the truck is still throwing the same codes and is hard to start.

 

Sounds familiar. I had a seized up steering column. It was sticky and stiff at certain points in the wheel rotation. Fixed it with penetrant and lube. I guess ill just try to keep it lubed. My steering column makes the clunky noise too when i hit washboard or bad oscillating bumps that kick the wheel back and forth; a juddering, if you will. Havent figured that one out yet. My rack is also acting up, and is a known issue for some. There is a mild amount of play in the wheel, and then it is a bit lurchy in response. Sometimes it feels like the steering moves by itself (it actually does). Makes minute steering corrections tricky at speed. I plan to replace the rack at some point, and would like to find something heavy duty