Its been
...two months since I thought I broke my Dakota.
The summer heat finally ended, but now life (re:work) keeps getting in the way, so I've done nothing to it except drive it.
Where I'm frustrated/confused is that once the extreme summer temps quit, oil consumption went way down, and now that more fall like temps have finally arrived, oil consumption is back to what it was originally.
I really like this little truck, but, my lack of time (and knowledge) to diagnose all its little quirks, may push me in a direction I didn't want to go.
One other quirk that seems temp related is an occasional dead miss at idle (sitting at a light with my foot on the brake). Only happens when its HOT out. Lean miss?
And as of late, I've noticed it runs so much better/stronger, when its 80 or cooler out and it has half a tank (or less) of gas. Hard to explain, but, its not a weight difference thing. Don't laugh at my example, but, when its really hot out, the truck will just kinda mosey up to speed if you gun it. Half a tank and temps 80 or less, the in dash cup holder will slide open, and it'll chirp second. I know its not uncommon for cars to run better in cooler temps, but, this seems a bit extreme, especially for a computer controlled one.
Like I've said, I'm just frustrated right now.
