Engine Exhaust System problems of the 2004 Dodge Durango

After noticing a difference in driving power from a stop the rpm's would almost hit 2k before moving. Engine light came on and said that I had a miss-fire in cylinder 8 and I needed a new ignition coil. Bought new plugs and an ignition coil and proceeded to change them out. The drivers side of the engine plugs still looked clean and new. The passengers side were burnt, had moisture and the cylinder 8 plug was fouled and broke off in the engine. Finished changing everything out and put the truck back together with still no change in codes or power. Found that the starter was corroded and information concerning a bad cowl design causing hydro-locking of the engines. Also replaced the exhaust gaskets 3 times in 5-6 year period each time with broken bolts found. Changed out the pcm, then replaced all the injectors which were found to be cracked and swollen. The truck is still going into limp mode and turned my focus on the transmission (replaced as well) and still having cylinder 8 miss-fire codes.

This vehical has been fine, after the recalls were done,. I have 5 kids love the space and power. I have had recent problems with water in the car wash and when rainning makting it want to stall but it kept on running. Eveything was great until yesterday morrning. My wife went out to take the kids to mcdonalds and she says "it sounded like a large balloon popped" with a large amount of smoke comming from the exhaust. Now I have what sounds like a loud tick or a knock from the passengerside back. It however sounds like a lawn mower running when it does run and per valvoline service "no fire on number eight cylinder". As I now have read I am not the only indavidual with the problem and it is not isolated. If I had not been doing the recomended matinance and not keeping up on this truck I could understand, but a vehical costing over $32,000. 00 new should last more than 97,000 miles. Soneone needs to stand up and be accountable.

The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Durango slt. While driving approximately 55 mph, the connecting rod to the engine broke. The contact applied the brake and smoke emitted from the hood. The contact pulled over and the vehicle caught fire from the oil on the exhaust. The contact stated that the fire went out after the oil burnt off. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact called the manufacturer who advised him to take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 115,000.

I own a 2004 Dodge Durango 4. 7. The miles are 117,000. My wife noticed a loud ticking sound coming from the engine. After doing some research online about the Durango I came open another owner that reported it being the exhaust manifold. I bought a new exhaust manifold gasket and when I went to install it I noticed that 6 of the bolts had been broken off. On the drivers side the heat shield was completely missing. I went to the dealer and purchased a new heat shield and replacement bolts. After I installed them the ticking continued, I took it to my mechanic and he told he was sure it was an exhaust leak and to go ahead and replace the drivers side manifold. I purchased the manifold from the Dodge dealer and once I got the old one out I noticed they did not match. The factory exhaust manifold that came with the vehicle did not have the two holes closest to the rear of the car. I believe because of this it cause excessive heat causing the bolts to break off. I believe it also to be a fire hazard. I have contacted Chrysler I have not heard back yet.

I purchased the vehicle on 8/27/2010. On 9/4/2010 while driving on the highway at 70mph, the car made a jerking movement then stalled. I looked out of the rearview mirror, and there was smoke coming from the exhaust. I was unable to stop due to the power brakes going out and rolled into a ditch. I immediately called the car dealership. The car dealership told me to have it towed there and they would diagnose the problem. Two weeks later the dealership stated that the engine was overheated and stalled. There was no indication while driving the car after one week of purchase that the engine was overheated. The car dealership refused to pay for any repairs stating that it was due to my neglect. The car dealership repaired the engine through their own mechanics and I was forced to pay $4200 for a used engine. I explained to the dealership, while doing some research that this is a common problem with the Dodge 5. 7: hemi engine and that many formal complaints were made. Although the car was under a 30 day warranty, the dealership would not pay for the cost of the repairs.

Recently our Durango began making a loud ticking noise at initial start up of the vehicle, which would decrease and ultimately go away as the car warmed up. I took my car to my local service shop (not Dodge) to have other work performed and asked them to try and determine the cause of the problem. The said that the back two bolts connect the manifold to the block of the engine and the heads of the bolts that secure the heat shield were broken. They instructed me to contact the dealer because it looked as if the heads of the bolts and the bolts themselves had just broken off, probably due to heat from the engine. My vehicle has 68,000 miles so I called to see if it was covered under the 70,000 mile warranty. Without looking at the car, they told me that someone had to have broken the bolts off, because that just wouldn't occur. I told them that the engine had never been worked on other that routine maintenance. They said they would not cover it because I have not used them for other service, so they did not know if the bolts had been broken off by someone else. I paid for the repairs and they started the vehicle and the same two bolts on the passenger side have the same issue and is causing the same noise. When questioned about this, they stuck to their initial response that someone in the past has broken the bolts, even though I stressed again that no other work had been done on the engine or exhaust. When asked to have the owner of the dealership give me a call concerning the issue, the call was never returned. So, I guess I am going to have to pay to have the repairs made to the passenger side as well, even though it seems to be an issue with the bolts that were used to secure the manifold and the heat shield.

Exhaust manifold bolts broke off.

Noise/low vibration at 70 mph. Made complaint at service interval. Could not be duplicated. Next time I took it in 1500 miles over warranty they mange to duplicate. It will cost 500. 00 and they think it will fix it. Replace all hangers and tail pipe. Next all plastic on front seat cracked again no plan until after warranty miles.