Piston Slap: Fanning the Dakota's Flames?

TTAC commentator Ian Anderson writes:

Hi Sajeev, I have something here for you and my fellow B&B to ponder over,

Back in May I bought a rust-free 1999 Dodge Dakota Sport (Extended cab, 3.9L Magnum V6, 5speed AX-15 manual, 2WD, 3.21 8.25″ open axle) for $2000 from a guy in South Philly. I bought it so I could take my rusty 1992 Dakota off of the road so my dad and I could fix all of the rust on it. Well now the ’92 is on the road (and growing more rust) and the ’99 is sitting on the street with a supposed ticking time bomb in the trans tunnel. When I bought the truck I was told by the previous owner’s mechanic that the throwout bearing was going out and would need replaced soon. Lo and behold, the next day while beating around in it I had to call AAA when I could no longer shift it (and when the clutch suddenly didn’t do anything, made stopping interesting). $600 later I had a whole new clutch kit and was on my way.

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  • Tassos Remember, the safest most affordable trip is the one you do not take. Also remember, if I am driving there is a good reason for it -- I do not need you clogging up the roads out of habit lol. Learn how to drive, people. This includes knowing when to stay home. 🤡
  • Spamvw Nice to know I've broken into the top 10.478000 yesterday, but it's digital odo so there will no pics when it goes to it's final resting place.As I've said before, since the computer brain reads in KM's it will stop at roughly 620k.I've been told that there are VW folks who can reset it. But I'm guessing rust will take the unibody by then.Sam'02 TDI Jetta Wagon (grey) (manual)
  • Jkross22 Sounds like a jobs program instead of increasing safety.
  • SCE to AUX The only automatic braking I have enabled in our 22 Santa Fe is the smart cruise control, and it works fairly well. Otherwise, the system had too many false positives, causing it to freeze in stop-and-go traffic or in reverse.
  • Oberkanone News to me a single cab only available on the Classic. Explains why I see so many of these in fleet use.