Four problems related to steering idler arm have been reported for the 1999 Dodge Dakota. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Consumer took vehicle to the dealer for annual maintenance, and was told that the upper ball joints/idle arm , and tie rod ends were defective.
I had been noticing for some time a loud rattling from the front end of my Dodge Dakota pickup truck. As the steering got worse, I took it to the local dealer, and the service manager said that the control arms on the steering were shot and needed to be replaced. This cost me more than $1,000. 00 to repair. I have sinceheard that several people have been having problems with the front ends of their Dodge vehicles. I would like to know if this is a common problem and if there is a recall.
Own a 1999 Dodge Dakota 4wd. Ball joints and idler arm going bad. Vehicle has 56,000 miles. Noticed noise arising from front suspension and loosening at around 40,000 miles, but did not know till around 53,000 miles when a mechanic brought it to my attention while it was at an alignment shop. These parts, I was advised, should not be wearing till around 130,000 miles. Two people at my work also own these vehicles, one person owns a 2wd Dakota, another owns a 4wd durango. Both persons are having the same problems with ball joints as well.
I own a 1999 Dodge Dakota. ( same suspension as durango). I was advised by my mechanic that the upper control arms, lower ball joints and the idler arm were severly warn and needed to be replaced. While diassembling all joints did come apart. At the time the vehicle had 73,778 miles on it. 99 percent of these miles are highway miles, and I was surprised and irritated that they had worn out so soon, also god only knows what would have happened if I had not caught it prior to the ball joint separating.