Preventative Maintenace on my Durango?

[AJ]

I have a 2003 Dodge Durango. 120K miles. Other than tires, brakes, and fluids, I have not done anything to it. Should I be doing anything to it as preventative maintenance? Belts, timing belt, suspension, etc? It has been a great car, I don't want it to crash and burn on me because I was stupid. Also, if you are recommending anything complicated, would you trust the work at trustworthy shop vs dealership? Thanks.

[Jeremy airjer W]

It has to have some loose front end parts? Have you ever had the front end checked?

Any unusual noises?

Do you service the vehicle your self or do you bring it in to a shop? (rapid oil of any kind, walmart, or sams club is not a shop!!!)

[deadeye]

My Dad has that same truck and it has been pretty good.

If you take care of ALL of the fluids, and drive belt your ok. Make sure you have the fluids replaced with the right thing as dodge uses special transmission fluid (ATF+4) for the transmission, transfer case and power steering system.

Other than that, spark plugs and air filter are the only parts I can think of to change out. It would be a good idea to check the battery too if that hasn't been done.

The fuel filter is part of the Pump/Module in the tank so it really isn't serviceable without changing the pump.

Its a timing chain motor so no timing belt to deal with on that one.

They did have a recall on ball joints so it would be a good idea to check and see if they have been done.

As far as service goes, it never hurts to go to the dealer, but there are plenty of great shops out there too. Thats kind of a judgment call on your part. Dealers tend to be a bit more spendy than regular shops.

[AJ]

I have had the brakes (front and rear) done at a shop near my house, they recently did the differential fluids, and I have had the tranny fluid flushed and replaced a couple of times. I do remember it being a "special" fluid. On the front end, it is not really making any noises or acting funny. I had it looked into a while back, because a freiend of mine had some ball joint issues on his Durango. Nothing was found. What is the drive belt? Is that simply "the" belt running the fan, alternator, etc? I know I am borrowed time on the battery. Kind of want to see how long I can get it to stay operational.

[deadeye]

Yup thats the belt. Everyone calls it something different. Fan belt, serpentine belt ect. It runs the power steering, alternator, water pump/fan, and air conditioner compressor. It's cheap insurance to have a good belt, if it breaks your stuck wherever your at.

The Original Equipment batteries in them are really decent. My pops is still running the original one from 03 and every time I test it, its fine. IDK, usually I just get one from the parts store but I'm considering getting another one from Dodge if it ever dies.

It seems to me like you have everything in order otherwise.

[solbes]

I have an '02 Dakota that shares a lot of the same parts with the Durango. Things that I've had go out on me that I remember: 1) fan motor resitor card @ 35k, 2) Fan motor itself at around 70k, 3) rear diffy pinion seal @ 80k, 4) idle air controller @ 85k, and 5) fuel pump @ 96k. Not too bad, expecially considering all but 1 and 5 were under the extended warranty I bought. The fuel pump would have been covered too but I forgot about the 72 month provision and missed the cutoff by 2 weeks!

My battery was still going strong, but I replaced it last winter mostly because it made me feel better. Didn't want to get stranded should it fail. I would agree on the quality of those OEM batteries.

I haven't replaced the drive belt yet, but will now think about it. Other than that, it's just been tires, shocks, brakes, and fluids. Tranny and diffy fluids are important ones in Dodge trucks, keep up on those. I had some squeaks in the front end, but did a good job this fall of lubing everything and so far so good.