Hi Everyone!

I've been gone for a month or so now. I've been working non-stop on the new house. We've moved in, but the work continues. I'll get some pics posted soon.

The real reason I stop in is cause I need to ping you guys for some knowledge.

The speedometer on my Dakota is malfunctioning. It doesn't register speeds below 55 mph, then when you hit 55, it shoots up and accurately tells the speed. It's been doing this for a few weeks now, it started at 25mph, but now doesn't register until 55mph. It's an analog gauge. My e-brake, ABS, and SES lights have been stuck on since this started happening. Must be an error code since I don't have ABS brakes.


Thanks.

we had some things like this happen to us on some of or ford picups at work ... our problem was we were missing teeth out of the rearend and then that damaged a bunch of sensors

My driveshaft does make a bad vibrating and clanking noise.

Popular Mechanics told me it was OK: here

does it make the noise when you acc or when you acc and stop as well ... otherwise it could be the driveshaft angle ... but that wouldnt explain why you have a jumping speedo ... it wouldnt hurt to empty the rearend and thake off the cover and see how the gears are ... because then you can allways get fresh lube

My buddies early 90s ford ranger didn't work until you hit 35. But the best thing was neither did his odometer before 35 mph. So that may be one of your highlights also. You can ride without adding mileage. But good luck with the fix.

It makes noise when driving, it's not necessarily correlated with acceleration. It can happen in any gear at any speed.

I'll have to check that out. Unfortunately, I have no reason to be concerned with the mileage since I'll probably never sell it (isn't worth much).

Could be a u-joint failing as well.

I'd wager it's the speed sensor. I've seen them go out and cause similar problems. Some decide to work at certain speeds and others work on and off. This would also explain why your other lights are protesting. I'd definitely check out your rear end diff as well.

Thanks everyone. I'm thinking that I won't bother fixing it if it's the rear end.

Hey Bryan, my dad just got an 06 Dakota, but his 2000 dakota had that same noise from the drivetrain. We believe it was the u-joint, but we never got it fixed. Its kinda an annoying sound. It was at any speeds, but the faster you went the louder it got.

Thanks.