Dodge Durango Forum II Archive

Ice D Update (Tipsy)

SDBrian [SoCal] [Brandy - 01' Garnet AWD RT Ice D - 00' PB 4x4 Sport]
sdbrian@san.rr.com

Got it from the body shop this morning. 5 minutes later at the rental car place, Joey backed into a pole in the same corner of the bumper that I just had fixed from the last time she backed into something. Damage is minimal, but...
Body looks good. Some buffing issues on the tailgate that I need to discuss with them. Think I discovered the smoking problem. I noticed when I brought it in that there was oil on the transfer case. I figured it was dripping from the spilt oil. Took it in to have the oil changed. When I got home it was smoking really bad. Looked under the hood and there was fresh, clear oil on the transfer case. Went back to the oil place and had them look underneath. They said it looks like the valve cover gasket is leaking. I guess this could be related to the increased smoke with acceleration. The more I accelerated, the more oil that was pumped out onto the exhaust, the more smoke. (compression showed normal at dealer test)
Here's the weird one. When we drove it home after the accident, the steering wheel was way off center. Almost off a 1/4 turn counterclockwise. I put it on ramps to wash underneath, and when I drove it to the dealer it was straight.
Going to get the oil changed today, I hit the brakes hard and heard a clunk. The steering wheel was off again. I stopped, put in reverse, and backed up a bit and hit the brakes hard. Clunk, the steering wheel was straight again. It doesn't affect the alignment, just the steering wheel. (can't figure out that one)
Waiting for the rear windows to come in, need to replace the WeatherFlectors, and minor stuff, but she lives. Hopefully another week at the dealer will do it. This rental car is getting expensive.
Total looks like it will be over $4000

SDBrian

Sat Sep 29