Conference vmsnet::car$note:carbuffs

    And now they have the expedition which is marginally larger than the
    Yukon/Tahoe but smaller than the Suburban.  Nicely appointed too! :-). 
    It's currently on the short list of vehicles to buy in the semi-near
    future.

    Ford Expedition direct competition for the Surburban....
    
    
    	Dean

    >>Ford Expedition direct competition for the Surburban....
    
    No its not...The suburban has about 2' of extra length behind the third
    seat, also the rear passenger doors on a suburban do not overlap the
    rear wheelwells. A 4'X 8' piece of construction material will not fit
    in a ford expedition. It will in the suburban.
    
    -john

    John I didn't say it was the same vehicle but given many replies
    I have seen saying the burban is to large etc etc I think Fords
    "better idea" is too market a similar vehicle that is ( in the
    beholders eye) more appealing to the market segment interested
    in this type of vehicle.
    
    
    		Dean

>>                                                          Fords
>> "better idea" is too market a similar vehicle that is ( in the
>> beholders eye) more appealing to the market segment
    
    Yea...I know, Its probably the suburban's gas mileage that scares em
    off. I own one and its a pig, no make that a sow.  I keep it parked
    and use it for summertime duties towing. I can't fathom anyone using it
    as a commuter vehicle.
    
    -john

    } I can't fathom anyone using it as a commuter vehicle.
    
    That's why my wife is riding my can about getting the Cavalier
    fixed.  Right now all we got is the suburban, but mine gets
    about 17mpg.  That's less than the 35mph I was getting with the
    cavalier and more than the 4 - 5 mpg I would get in my Z/28.
    
    I think 17 is reasonable.  Fortunantly I telecommute which really
    helps save gas.
    
    MadMike

    
    	Knowing you, Mike, you'd probably drive that thing all the way
    	from GA to MA if you were heading this way.
    
    	8^)
    

    My 92 Dakota seems like it idles a little too high. When I stop
    with the truck in Drive, it wants to keep going. It seems like
    the torque converter doesn't want to disengage. It also causes
    a clunk when I put the truck into gear. 
    
    Someone mentioned a bad sensor (O2 or CO2) might be causing 
    the high idle. Any advice would be appreciated.
    
    Regards,
    Mark 

    
    You could take it to SEARS...
    
    8*)

    Sounds like my F150.  Paid a Ford dealer (Gervais) $500 to find and
    fix the high idle.  Got the keys handed back.  The only change was
    to my bank account.  When confronted that they didn't do anything,
    the service manager replied "Would you like to bring it again?"
    
    Um, no.
    K
    

    I had a high idle problem with a Ford F150 that turned out to be a bad
    Throttle Position Sensor.  This was obvious from the stored codes.  Have
    you dumped the codes?

    Cheers,
    --Dave

>>    the torque converter doesn't want to disengage. It also causes
>>    a clunk when I put the truck into gear. 

The clunck may be due to the high engine idle when you shift into drive (is
that when you hear it?).  

Check http://www.alldata.tsb.com and pick from many of the TSBs issued for 
Dakota automatic transmissions to see if they match your problem.  

My '91 (V8, club cab with 66K on it) still clunks once in a while, but I live 
with it.  I figure if the dealer opens it up again (they opened it up to fix 
the "it does not engage at all" problem) they may end up causing one of the 
many other listed problems!

bjm

This has nothing to do with Dakota's. I've viewed tha ALLDATA TSB listings and
they rea quite extensive. How do I get to read the details? One line entries
aren't enough for my purposes.

Jim

There are details on the page.  Summary - you pay for each one.  There is
another service that has similar type of info but I forgot what the URL is.

bjm

    >>another service that has similar type of info but I forgot what the
    >>URL is.
    
    	Anyone know what that URL is?  Anyone purch the ALLDATA CD-ROM?
     Were you satisfied?
    
    	The page on 1991 Dakota w/ 6 cyl mentions 'speed control/sensor'
    problems three times.  Based on earlier notes I'm thinking that this
    may be the cause of my transmission problem...which is, it feels as
    though it is downshifting or slipping into neutral while driving at
    highway speeds.  Anyone had this successfully repaired?
    
    	I also have another problem listed on that web-page...'guage reads
    low with full fuel tank'.  Again, anyone had this successfully
    repaired?
    
      Thanks.            Jim

>    with the truck in Drive, it wants to keep going. It seems like
>    the torque converter doesn't want to disengage. It also causes
>    a clunk when I put the truck into gear. 

Torque converters don't "disengage" unless you're talking about a lock-up 
torque converter and if THAT doesn't disengage, the engine stalls if you 
come to a complete stop.  ...sorta like forgetting to push in the clutch on 
a manual transmission.

The other page is http://www-nsa.nhtsa.dot.gov/ 

It has a search engine for specifics.  For my 91 Dakota, it listed almost 15
pages !  

bjm

    Last night the fan in my Dakota quit on me. I had just started the
    truck and turned on the AC. After about a minute, the fan stopped.
    I checked all fuses. There are 2 related to the heater/fan/AC and
    both are fine. Time to start digging around under the dash. Better
    stock up on band-aides!
    
    Mark

    
    	Temp sensor on radiator?
    

    
        I think .158 meant the AC / heater blower motor inside the
        truck...Methinks you were thinking radiator fan Shawn.
    
        /Charlie

    
    	Oh, THAT fan.  Methinks youthinks right.  8^)
    
    	Mark Clement?  Didn't your heater fan die on you?  Was it the
    	resistor pack that was the problem?
    

    My fan works, only on HIGH speed.  I was never able to get at or find
    the resistors for it.  Just another annoyance problem for now.  Got to
    many bigger problems that keep me busy.
    
    IE.  Dakota rear brakes.  It started with a hot left rear wheel, brakes
    were dragging.  A visual of the backing plate showed me a buildup of
    crud and fluid (I assumed brake fluid).  Took wheel and drum off (a
    challenge in itself, with the help of an 8lb sledge hammer).  Looked
    and smelled and determined the fluid was gear oil.  Took the
    differential cover off, removed the axle, replaced the oil seal.  Put
    it back together, no more gear oil, but now the wheel cylinder started
    leaking brake fluid.  R&R wheel cylinder and brake line, put brakes
    back on, now the drum will not fit!  The adjuster is completed
    retracted.  Whats going on?  Decide to remove right wheel and drum
    (thanks again to 8lb sledge, and numerous hits to the back of the drum.
    This brake is a mess, broken adjuster cable, broken shoe lining.  R&R
    new shoes on both sides, new adjuster cable.  Now neither drum will go
    back on!  Determine parking brake cable is the culprit, order two
    cables.  R&R both cables, put brakes back together.  Left rear drum now
    fits nicely, right rear still will not fit.  After a lot of
    checking/testing I determine that the anti-rattle bracket is not
    allowing the brake shoes to seat properly (compress completely into the
    wheel cylinder).  Why the heck is that happening?  I ended up filing
    both slotted ends of the bracket, removing about 1/8" on each end.  Put
    it back together, now it works.
    
    I must have had these brakes on and off about 8 times.  Half the parts
    I got from the stores were wrong (did not fit my vehicle).  Lots of
    trips back and forth, spanning about two weeks of work.
    
    So you see, I have no time to find the resistors to the fan!  ;-)
    
    Next, the camaro front brakes and wheel bearings....    Mark

	Same thing on my 1992 Dakota, about a week ago. Talk about "Planned 
Obsolesence"!!! I also checked both the under-dash and under-hood fuses, both
seemed fine. I have not checked the switch yet..... Do heater/AC fans normally
just *die*? In previous situations like this I could usually tell that it was
on it's way out, but this one gave no noisy warnings. What gives?

thanks,

Rick

ps. I think it was my '92 rather than my '87 that I've already had the fan
motor out of a few years ago and the job wasn't too bad. Glove box removal,
but the dash could stay.

>>                     <<< Note 92.158 by MILKWY::JACQUES >>>
>>                          -< Fan gave up the ghost! >-
>>
>>    Last night the fan in my Dakota quit on me. I had just started the
>>    truck and turned on the AC. After about a minute, the fan stopped.
>>    I checked all fuses. There are 2 related to the heater/fan/AC and
>>    both are fine. Time to start digging around under the dash. Better
>>    stock up on band-aides!
>>    
>>    Mark

Mark,

	Save the bandaides, I used enough for both of us last night! Pulled
the fan motor on my 1992 Dakota last night, put 12 volts to it and voila, it
spun up just fine. Checked the wiring coming from the dash controls to the
plug that eventually plugs into the fan motor and got 12 volts there, when
*NOT* plugged into the fan motor. Plugged it back into the fan motor and got
nothing. So scratching my head, it dawned on me that something else had to
be controlling the power sent down that line when a load was present.

	Sure enough the resistor for the heater fan which is located under
the hood on the right, mounted high on the firewall (basically behind the
fan motor) had rotted away. It has 7 terminals, only 5 are used and covered
by the plug. The unused ones let moisture in and allow the silly thing to 
rot away internally. $6.95 at the friendly Dodge and all is well. Errrr...
all is well, 'except that I now have to put the fan motor back in. Any
volunteers? Mark?

Rick

PS. What should I use to lubricate the fan motor before reinstalling?