Service Slants

Motor,  May 2005  by Rosario, Tom

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Note that if the EATC module has already been flashed or does not meet the criteria on the FSF card, the NGS will notify you that the change is not needed, and thus will not complete the software update.

Dodge Truck

Ball joint wear. In case you're not aware, Dodge has had ball joint durability issues on some of its 2000-03 Dakotas and Durangos. The problem affects 2WD vehicles only built up to 12/31/02, and it's the upper joint that suffers from the accelerated wear. As a result, the truck maker has extended the warranty for the joint to 100,000 miles.

If you get a customer in with a front end noise or wander complaint on any of the above vehicles, Dodge advises that you get a floor jack under the right front lower control arm in a hurry. Raise the jack until the tire is just making contact with the floor, then position a dial indicator plunger against the inboard side of the steering knuckle boss for the upper ball joint. Zero the indicator pointer, then pull outward at the top of the tire and measure the lateral movement of the joint. If the reading you get is .060 in. or less, the joint is okay. Move to the left side of the truck. If that joint is okay, too, proceed with normal diagnosis to determine what ails the truck. If either reading exceeds .060 in., send the customer to the dealer for a free pair of upper ball joints.

GM

ABS and/or traction control lamp on. Some 2002-03 Chevy Venture, Buick Rendezvous, Olds Silhouette and Pontiac Aztek or Montana trucks with all-wheel-drive may illuminate the ABS and/or traction control light and store one or several DTCs in BCM memory. The customer may also complain that an "AWD Disabled" message is displayed on the dash. According to GM, all of these symptoms could be the result of too much play in the front hub/bearing assemblies.

Start your diagnosis by hooking up your scanner and checking for DTCs. If you get any codes related to the front ABS sensors, that's your cue that the clearances in one or both of the front hubs are way too sloppy. Swapping in the hub assemblies from the FWD versions of these trucks (Part No. 12429205, two required) should eliminate all of the problems, says GM, because they have tighter tolerances and a better reliability record than their AWD counterparts.

Acura

Hesitation or stall. All 2000-01 and some 2002 3.5RLs (VINs JH4KA9 ...2COOOOOl through JH4KA9 ...2C009442) are susceptible to an intermittent hesitation or stall. Acura says the problems typically occur during very light acceleration from a stop or crawl, and that if the engine does stall it will immediately restart. The luxury carmaker attributes the intermittent nature of the problems to software glitches in the PCM in conjunction with unique combinations of driving mode, ambient conditions and fuel characteristics. Replacing the PCM with a revised unit with upgraded software should solve the problem. Order up Part No. 37820-P5A-308 for 2000-01 models, 37820-P5A-A37 for 2002 models.

Ford Truck

Flakes from a/c vents. If the owner of a 2000-02 Expedition, F-150 or Navigator comes into your shop on a sweltering summer day complaining that snowflakes are coming out his a/c vents, don't throw him out the door. Turns out the white flakes may actually be the result of excess brazing flux that was used in the manufacture of the evaporator core. Thoroughly cleaning the ducts and evaporator core should eliminate the "flaky" situation. If you want to tackle the job, here's how the fix goes: