Sometimes they fight back...

[Hey-O]

That whole story sucks!! I've had a bunch of new trucks in my life, but my 2000 Quad cab, white sport, 360, 4X4 Dakota was absolutely my all time favorite. To this day I still miss it.

 

[Triplegreen500]

I had a first-gen Dakota 3.7/manual years ago that was a good truck. My problem is, though, that I'm 6'4" and I don't get along well with standard-cab anything. Mid- OR full-size, I need at least an extended cab if not a full crew cab, just for seat-track-travel, and headroom (not up, but back - glass hurts!).

The truck doesn't have huge problems, it was just an inconvenient location for it to die, and an inconvenient time for me to have to go get it, that's all.

 

[Gus chiggins]

Michelle's daughter called the other night. "My truck's brakes fell apart and it's stuck at school". 08 Dakota, 209k miles, 3.7/6M/4x4. So, we loan her the Durango and last night after work, I hook the Demco dolly to my new-water-pump 2500 diesel with only a 25 mile shakedown so far on the new water pump...and head out to get the Dakota that's an hour away.

My Ram 2500 did fine...but that's about all that went right.

1. I'm a dumbass, and didn't read up on dolly-towing the Dakota before I left.
2. The electronic transfer case wouldn't go into neutral, which prompted reading up on dolly-towing a 4x4 Dakota on-scene (better late than never, I suppose...)
3. I thought I was prepared, with an impact gun, multiple wheel-lug-sized sockets, a spare wheel and tire for the dolly, a floor jack, a pry bar, a hammer, and a wheel dolly skate (in case the wheel was locked up from brake failure). I wasn't.

So we get there, and it's in a locked parking lot near a ball field (it broke on her way to softball practice). We had to call, and sit and wait for 20 min, for 'security' to let us in. Once in, it was on a gravel lot. Awesome. But, it did roll. Somehow, a brake pad backing plate was on the drivers floor mat. How it came out of the caliper, I have no idea...yet... Loaded it on the dolly and strapped it down easy enough. Chains, check. Remove pivot pin, check. Put transfer case in neutral with a paper clip....negative. Start reading up to see if I can just put the stick shift in neutral...nope. Have to either flat-tow, or trailer-tow, these trucks. Only other option....drop the driveshaft. This, is what I should have researched before starting this whole trek.

Since Barney Fife was sitting there with his lights flashing, waiting for us to get out of the locked parking lot...I towed it to the nearest UNlocked lot and dropped it, and found a Walmart 6 miles away. 10pm in this town...let's just say I'm glad I carry. Bought a set of box end wrenches (I need to build a road set for my new Wrangler anyway, so they'll have a home), went back to the truck, and removed 4, 207,000 mile, 15 year old bolts from the rear of the driveshaft to drop it from the diff flange.

And it was stuck.

After much hammering on the end of the prybar, using it as a punch, to drive it loose from the flange...it finally dropped. Grabbed a ratchet strap from my truck's cab (always have six or eight under the back seat), strapped it to the frame up out of the way - I didn't want to pull it out because that would let the transfer case piss out all its fluid - and started the drive home.

With a pound and a half of rust in my contact lenses.

One wrong turn on the highway (couldn't see dick with all the junk in my lenses), then finally made it home with no issues. Truck pulled great, good temps, good oil pressure, good voltage (all issues in the recent past). Got home, hooked the driveshaft BACK up, unloaded, parked everything, and finally got inside to take out the contact lenses at quarter past midnight. No dinner, hungry, wiped out...and my alarm went off at 05:25 this morning like every day.

Ugh.

An ordeal, but the one item you should have had were some safety glasses. No, i'm not being a smartass. Always keep them with your emergency stash.

 

[dart4forte]

Bought my granddaughter a AAA membership. She drives a 22 Durango, still under warranty. She did a solo trip from Phoenix to Yakima, WA last fall With our great granddaughter. Drove through eastern Nevada then into Idaho and Oregon. Pretty proud of her. She had the route planned out, gas stops planned and stayed overnight in Ely, Nevada. Told her to watch for UFOs, LOL. Made the trip there and back without incident. She did good. AAA gave me the piece of mind.