DODGE?????? Options

[skillzman1]

DODGE engineering......WTF?????????????????????
IS THERE SUCH A THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOW ARE THESE IDIOTS STILL IN BUSINESS???!!!???!!!???

I've worked on 5 of them in the last month....and they are the worst designed POS I have ever come across.

[Roadkill]

huh, ......bad day?

[Wild Willy]

They're cheap- see them in fleet vehicles-

Had two Dodge trucks- like GM better-

[BradsDCM]

Most of our fleet pick ups at National greed are Dodges. The 4wd dakotas feel like a snake when u change lanes on the highway. The HDs ride like shit and have electrical problems all the time. Such junk. We do treat them well thou! hahaaha

[skillzman1]

2000 Intrepid...
1)battery removal...remove right front wheel and inner fender liner to remove battery
2) serpentine belt removal/change....remove radiator crossmember(about a dozen bolts and clips)

2000 Jeep grand cherokee
1) replace fried cooling fan relay(again)...remove grill and front bumper facia(two pieces but only come off as one) remove passenger headlight,both headlights must be removed at the same time because they are joined together by a grill substructure and thus the headlight assembly is basically the entire facia of the vehicle

2004 Durango
1) HEMI!!!!!!!! 16 plugs!!!!!! $10 a piece!!!!!! engine stuffed up under the firewall with four inches of clearance to the top of the valve covers....8 plugs on the intake valves accessed with 6" extension(remember the 4"s of space??!!??) thru the valve covers 8plugs on the exhaust valves........who the hell knows where they are...probably why the dealer wanted $850+ to change them.
2) serpentine belt....remove the air box ducting...pull the belt out....no diagram for the routing...took and hour to get it back on,because you need someone under the car to reach the bottom pulleys and someone up top to hold it in place and apply tension.

1997 ram 1500
1) air filter removal....3 quick clips....lid wont come off....remove intake hose....lid wont come off.....look for more attachments....none....must remove entire housing from throttle body ...clamps and hoses..then take the lid off after removing from vehicle(essentially)...to change the air filter????????????WHAT THE HELL WAS THE POINT OF THE QUICK CLIPS?????????


The worst designs I have ever seen day in and day out.....never designed to be practical...or even reasonably close.

The Hemi thing really gets me...'Oh yeah I got a Hemi'...all that translates into is -2mpg...2-3x the cost of parts( $160 spark plugs $56 serpentine belt)and unbelievable aggravation while doing whats supposed to be routine maintainance.

I never was a GM guy growing up...always a Ford man,like my Dad,.......after 30+ vehicles I realized that most have been GM....and thats because they were easy to repair,and reliable for the most part.
I like the looks of the new Hemi lineup ...SRT Jeep,Challenger,Charger,Ram pickups...but after the last few experiences I will likely never buy another Dodge.
Its like they intentionally throw a few screwed up ass backwards designs into everything they do.
I have my gripes with my 08 Silverado as well.....3500 rpm rev limiter,torque management,falsley advertised AFM....but the tuffest part of dealing with that wa getting a Blackbear Performance tune to do away with it all....now the truck runs like it should.
AND when I do work on it....ease of use....5 minuts to change the belt....20 minutes to due the spark plugs...new and improved drum brake design(took a few minutes to figure out...but what a breeze it was to work on)
And after hearing all the horror stories about spark plug changes on 5.4 Triton motors...and the constantly cracking exhaust manifolds with the rotted off bolts....I wont be looking at Fords anytime soon either.

[skillzman1]

double post

This post has been edited by skillzman1: Apr 21 2010, 07:54 PM