I have a '99 Dodge Durango V8 5.2 (60,000 miles) and for the...

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Question by C. Tennant
Submitted on 11/17/2003
Related FAQ: rec.autos.makers.chrysler FAQ, Part 1/6
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I have a '99 Dodge Durango V8 5.2 (60,000 miles) and for the last few months have had a terrible "ticking" (the dealership likes to call it "pinging" but I don't think it's that high-pitched of a noise). It's everytime going approx. 55 mph up any incline. Seems to be when the car is struggling to shift between 4th & 5th gear. Because the car is currently under an Extended Service Contract I had to take it to the dealership to get checked out. The first time and they said it was the radiator fan clutch, said they fixed it and sent me on my way (after I paid my $100 deductable). Well, the ticking noise was still there. Took it back and they said there was "low pressure in the 8th cylinder" causing the noise. They fixed that, but then said it was still making the noise and was possibly being caused because the car needed a major tune-up (sparkplugs, etc. for $225.00) which I had them do. They gave the car back to me claiming the problem was fixed, but guess what?? It's still making the ticking noise. Any suggestions??

Answer by shotzey
Submitted on 6/28/2004
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I have a 2002 durango it is almost at the end of warrenty i have 34,000miles on it it had 16,000 when i purchased it 14 months ago .Ihad 3 things gone wrong already,,computer sensor everything went wacky doors lock and unlock,lights on off windshield off and all out of my controll. then.my driver window went go back up .at times ,had reported it and the y did not find nothing wrong so did not fix. now it rained and could not get window to go up finally they had to put new window motor in it ,now when i go 45 or faster i hear a flutter noise louder and louder sounds lick in front but they said my rear bareings need replaced and my rear end needs some kinda work thats serious . i hear a ticking noise when i start vehicle sometimes it stays and some times goes away and in 4 wheel a sharp turn sounds like bolts breaking they say it is normal . what am i to do get a new or is it normal for all this?

Answer by Misty
Submitted on 10/26/2004
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I have a '99 dodge durango, I have to put the higher octane 89 at least, If I don't it will ping and knock. At 37000 miles after warranty the ball joints went out, I had to pay over $500 for this, then my back two window motors went out, then my steering got to where I couldn't turn, I found out that something had broke off of the engine(like some kind of shield) and it was putting my steering in a bind, I almost had a wreck, now one of my ball joints is blowed out again and I got to replace it, now my transmission it slipping and the check your engine light has come on, every 2 months it loses engine oil and you have to had at least 2 quarts of oil to it, if I don't the it will lose oil pressure and won't start, my u-joints went out it was making a awefull noise backing up and going slow speed, after replacing them it sounds better. I need help my vehicle is falling apart and I don't know what to do about it!! can someone help???

Answer by EyeKndy
Submitted on 10/3/2005
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I have the exact same simptoms and issues on my '99 Durango. I just paid $100 at the dealer to find out that there is an issue with the computer and they would reprogram it for the price of the diagnostic. This is suppose to help fix the pinging. They say the engine runs to lean. I also found out it has an intake manifold leak as well so I'm sure this is not helping matters much. So it looks like I'm about to get my hands dirty and put some love back into my Durango. The dealer wanted $2,200 to fix all the issues. That covers the fluid changes, programing, intake manifold leak, front breaks, and tune-up. I do love my Durango but not enough to pay that kind of cash. I'm sure I can fix all the above issues for under $400. Luck to all you Durango owners. Hope you have better luck then we did with ours seeing she only has 60,000 miles on her.

Answer by akmckay
Submitted on 1/2/2007
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My 99 5.9 Durango also had the same problem and was pinging. To add to that it would use oil but I was unable to find a leak. Took it to the garage twice. I asked them to check the vacuum presure and they did not. They replaced every sensor they could find and my spark plugs wires, etc, etc. I finally gave up on garages and removed the intake manifold. I have worked on cars all my life I just don't like doing it anymore. In any case I found a break down in the plentum gasket (under the intake manafold ). Vacuum leak was there sucking up small amounts of oil. Only replaced the intake and plentum gaskets with a cost of 70.00 plus new oil,filter and rad flush as It was drained anyway. Took me 6 hours to do the entire break down and rebuild so I could drive away. No problems now every thing is great, no pinging or oil loss. Don't let them tell you your engine is shot. I see from many postings this is a common problem and my bet is its the same plentum gasket. Hope this was of some help.

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Answer by Jeepnsam
Submitted on 3/21/2004
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Use higher octan Gas and the pinginig (pre-detonation) will go away.

Answer by David Howell
Submitted on 4/20/2004
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my 99 durango has the same ticking. when you find out that it is e-mail me. thank you David H

Answer by malissia
Submitted on 4/27/2004
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I have the same noise I was told it was a lifter knock.. Plus have put new front end, new rear end, and new parts in the motor. NOW the transmission went out. and I don't even pull stuff with it! Image that. Any suggestions?

Answer by mark
Submitted on 6/10/2004
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it's called "spark knock". I also have a 99 Durango and a 01 2500 Ram with the 360. I had the computer reprogrammed to shift at different intervals and it seemed to correct most of the problem. The RPMwill be higher before the shift.

Answer by JONNY DODGE
Submitted on 6/15/2004
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I HAVE 1999 DURANGO AS WELL - MINE MADE THE SAME PINGING NOISE. I PUT "89" OCTAN GAS IN IT INSTEAD OF "87" AND IT WENT AWAY. AS AN EXPERIMENT - I RAN MY TANK LOW AND PUT "87" OCTAN IN AGAIN AND THE NOISE CAME BACK...SO I KNOW ITS THE CAUSE.

Answer by delta769
Submitted on 6/28/2004
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Check dodgeram.info for TSB 09-05-00 and 18-48-98. The 1st one is for an intake manifold gasket leak, causes high oil consump and knocking. My dealer also said the eng control could cause the knocking as well. It seems that all US mfg have forgotten how to design gaskets since I have had engine gasket probs on 94 Taurus and 00 Pontiac as well.

Answer by durango jer
Submitted on 12/22/2004
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use higher octane. I have a 99 with 89000 miles. I went to one gas station and put in premium and had the same noise. I then went to another gas station and put in premium and I dont have the problem any more. I am an old gear head and these engines require more good octane.

Answer by Tiny
Submitted on 1/2/2005
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Check your exhaust manifold...

Answer by durango
Submitted on 2/6/2005
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my 99 durango does the same ticking noise.....let me know if you find out why!!!

Answer by Bdubs75
Submitted on 2/10/2005
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I have the same problem guys, so far the computer has been reprogrammed as well as 2 intake gaskets(needs a third. I was told by MT.Clemens Dodge (michigan) NOT to use a higher octane gas?! Well the intake seems to help for a while but the best fix I have found is to install MSD ignition, It made a great improvment in the 360 performance as well as the knock(ping). All in all they just want our money(I dumped over 1400 bucks in warranty deductables). To put it simply, Dont buy a dodge.

Answer by aceamt
Submitted on 2/17/2005
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TSB 09-05-00 and 18-48-98. for pinging and for the front end noise ball joints S-10 blazer and durango'shave torsion bar front suspension seems to where ball joints out

Answer by sarah19goddess
Submitted on 7/8/2005
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I have a 2001 Dodge Durango and it's been making a ticking noise in the engine. Mechanic said it was because I wasn't doing enough oil changes so the lifters were clogged with sludge. I've gotten oil changes done every 3k miles and I bought the car with 19k miles so I can't even believe this! Now they are saying I may need thousands of $$ worth of engine work done!! There are only 40k miles on my car!

Answer by BigEd
Submitted on 2/5/2006
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I've had the same problem too with my '99 Durango. After about six months of owning it, the dealer replaced on sparkplug and which temporarily fixed the pinging. It returned a couple months later, and I replaced all of the plugs. Then it started again a year or so ago. I just replaced distributor, wires, rotor, and plugs once again. Everything seems fine now and it runs much smoother. Hope this helps. Ed BigEdK7@aol.com

Answer by dcsign
Submitted on 4/16/2006
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my 2004 ram 2500, w/21,000 miles has lifter noise, the dealer tried to say it was normal and i have an apoitment for monday so we'll see what the machanic says then. anyone know how this could happen at 21,000 miles?

Answer by RAMonTWANKYS
Submitted on 4/24/2006
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An engine intake manifold plenum pan gasket oil leak may occur on some V-6 and V-8 style engines. The oil leak is internal to the engine so no external oil leakage will be present. Two symptoms of this oil leak condition may be present. The vehicle operator may experience an engine spark knock during acceleration and/or an increase in the amount of engine oil consumed by the engine.

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Answer by vykslyk
Submitted on 5/23/2006
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i have a 99dodge durango and it wont start

Answer by mxerguy
Submitted on 5/30/2006
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I have a 1993 jeep grand cherokee with a 5.2. I have 280 000km on it. I have a chattering noise now as well. It started about 265000km. I was putting higher octane gas in and it went away for a little bit. Its back now and I an still running high test in it. I also changed my distributer cap a rotor thinking it could be arching but no luck. I think its my lifters. You think I should invest any money in this motor or get rid of it?

Answer by Peter
Submitted on 7/28/2006
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My 98 Ram Quad 5.2 has the ticking, thats why I'm here. It also uses a quart of oil every 2 fill ups. My guess is the manifold gasket. Guess its off to the shop :(:(

Answer by christineH
Submitted on 11/9/2006
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i am thinking of purchasing a 1999 dodge durango but after reading these should i ????

Answer by doug
Submitted on 1/8/2007
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I have the same problem but my oil pressure gauge flucuates bad.

Answer by RandyNORCAL
Submitted on 1/31/2007
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I have a 1999 dodge Durango 4x4 66000 miles.And now the ticking sound is very loud when first starting.After warm up it seems to quit..this is very annoying. Just changed water pump,tension pulley,idle pulley. No help i think we need to have a fire sale!

Answer by teoman13
Submitted on 3/30/2007
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It is what Jeepnsam, Mark and Jonny Dodge have explained. I had a 99 Dodge Ram with a 360. It is caused when you increase the load and lug the engine resulting in premature ignition of the air/fuel mixture. Higher octane fuels will reduce this side effect but do not use the a higher octane fuel than what stops the noise from occuring. Higher octane fuels tend not to completely burn and will result with fuel in the oil form the piston and cylinders being "washed down" with excess unburned fuel.

Answer by 99 red durango
Submitted on 6/8/2007
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