1992 Dodge Dynasty - The Oppositelock Review

"DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully" (danceswithrotors) 12/14/2015 at 13:06 • Filed to: Oppositelock: The Review, Dodge, Oppositelock: The Movie, Are we in plaid yet?

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Disclaimer: Dodge wanted me to drive this car so badly that they shipped it to Peppers Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge-Jeep-Eagle in Paris, Tennessee, where my great-grandparents traded in their 1982 Chevrolet Caprice, and then proceeded to keep it garaged for 20 years, when my great-uncle took it and moved it to his garage for two more years, when it was given to me, as the weird old car lover in the family, who proceeded to drive it longer and harder than it had ever been driven before, all the way to Kansas City, Missouri.

The wheels of time churn on, times change, people change. Some things, however, manage to stay the same, or cycle back around, and so is the case with this Dodge. When it was built, Chrysler was run by a business-savvy Italian guy who liked to keep his fingers in the pies, and now, Chrysler is run by a business-savvy Italian guy who likes to stick his fingers in the pies.

Change was imminent in 1992, as it is now, in 2015. An upstart political challenger upsetting the status quo, a populace upset over years of economic stagnation, the ideals of American exceptionalism being shaken to their very core, and a recovery from a war in the Middle East. As it was then, it is now, a symbol of the past, a last gasp of the old America, before change engulfs us all.

This is the framework that was laid out for me, as I put on Prokofiev’s War and Peace and set forth, toward the west, toward progress and the realization of the American dream, at least for the first twenty miles or so. Then, the junkyard-replacement Infinity III stereo, which I had carried with me to Tennessee, because I knew the factory Chrysler economy radio had died, decided it was no longer going to play the sweet sounds of Prokofiev, but this was okay. I unplugged my ever-faithful smartphone from the cassette adapter, started the music, and continued on the journey.

Other than the musical hiccup, the trip quickly settled into a whir of mile markers, forgettable towns, rain and dreary, dull monotony. Mile after mile, soothed only by the teal glow from the gauges, the dull monotonous roar from the Chinese radials, and the blur of the lines on the motorway. Right up until the gauges went out*...

*The gauges would function properly, without the backlight being turned up. So, you can have gauges or lighting for the gauges, but not both.

But onward I soldiered, flying purely on visual, rather than instruments, through the torrential downpour, the faithful 3.3 V6 chugged along, the suspension and the bench seat soaking the bumps up, with just a minimum of noise, and drama. Onward toward Kansas City, toward the West. Column shift decisively placed into Overdrive, and the halogen glow scattering through the downpour, on through Kingdom City and Mexico and Columbia and Concordia, inching closer to home, to the ethereal freedom that comes from being in the West.

Nine hours, twenty-six minutes of traveling north and west, the sounds of the tires on pavement echoing through my brain, the soft, plush bench seat caressing my bottom as I rode in supple comfort, surrounded by the finest plastic wood that Mother Mopar could cut down from her polished plastic trees, much like the polished plastic reality that inundates popular culture.

I emerged from this old family heirloom, a stronger man. A better man, and strangely at peace with the times, as I parked in front of the garage, stepped in briefly to check on the Oldsmobile, and then retreated hastily into the warmth of my little house on the hill, awaiting another day, another journey, and another chance at self-examination through the polished glass lens of a windscreen.

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Exterior: 8.5/10

Admittedly, I like how the car looks. The exterior is solid, upright, firm. A return to classic, upright American lines, with a solidity about them that is seemingly nonexistent in the wishy-washy, flim-flam world we live in, now.

Interior: 7.5/10

The interior is solid. Conservatively styled, with a minimum of fuss and acres of plastic wood. The most important part though, is that it’s comfortable.

Performance: 4.5/10

A performance car, this is not. Powered by the Chrysler 3.3L pushrod V6, paired with the A604 automatic transmission, performance is leisurely at best. However, it will comfortably maintain interstate speeds, even if it takes a while to get there.

Gearbox: 5/10

The transmission is adequate. The A604 is known as being a failure point for these cars, but I’m swapping in the TCM from a later 3.8 minivan and updating the fluid to Dexron VI, on the advice of a wise old Mopar guy I know, since the Dex VI, unlike previous versions of the Dexron standard, or even ATF +4, actually works properly with the partial-slip torque converter, and has high compatibility with the old ATF +3.

Ride: 8/10

The ride is smooth, comfortable, even if a little wallowy over high-speed undulations, and it does a decent job of soaking up high-speed bumps. The suspension is a little harsh at low speeds, but it smooths out at higher velocities.

Handling: 2/10

The handling is adequate, at best. Lots of understeer, a crude suspension that is a marginally-upgraded K-car design, on a car that is a fancy K-car, and paired with rock-hard, 14” radials that were the cheapest Chinese tires on the shelf at Discount Tire. Enough said.

Braking: 6/10

The brakes are firm, easily modulated and they adequately haul the car to a halt without any drama or fuss, repeatedly. I wouldn’t do a track day with these, but it’s not bad, overall. We can handle this.

Toys: 5/10

The Infinity III receiver is the fanciest toy this car has, other than the column shifter. That will be covered more in the audio section..

Audio: 7/10

When it works, the audio is actually decent. However, I’ve learned that it only lasts for about 15 minutes, before a bad solder joint in the receiver heats enough to break contact, and take me back to silence. However, it gets marks for sounding decent, when it does work.

Value: 10/10

I’m giving it a 10/10 for being simple, reliable and free (to me). However, with this in mind, it is actually a halfway decent, basic commuter that is comfortable doing such, and gets decent fuel economy. I like the old car, so I may be biased, but I think they’re great value.

Overall: 63.5/100

Overall, I like the old car. It’s quiet, comfortable, gets decent fuel economy, and it doesn’t look too bad. Let’s see how ownership pans out, but I like it pretty well, so far.

As always, your mileage may vary.

EL_ULY > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully 12/14/2015 at 13:23

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ALL of the bravos!

Takuro Spirit > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully 12/14/2015 at 13:37

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TL;DR, better be a dy-NASTY joke in there somewhere.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully 12/14/2015 at 13:52

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“but I’m swapping in the TCM from a later 3.8 minivan and updating the fluid to Dexron VI, on the advice of a wise old Mopar guy I know, since the Dex VI, unlike previous versions of the Dexron standard, or even ATF +4, actually works properly with the partial-slip torque converter, and has high compatibility with the old ATF +3.”

Don’t use Dextron. Use ATF +4.

http://www.allpar.com/fix/trans.html

“ All Chrysler (and Honda and Toyota) four-speed and six-speed automatic transmissions* are very sensitive to the quality of the transmission fluid . Only use ATF+4 in these transmissions. Do not use Dexron or Mercon .

People can often cure their transmission problems by changing the fluid and retraining the computer (retraining instructions are lower on the page). If you suspect they have put Dexron in*, have it replaced immediately! [if you have a 1993-95 transmission, also follow TSB-18-24-95 and get your computer updated !]

* This means Dexron III. Dexron VI might be acceptable. Jeeps with Aisin-Warner AW4/AX4 four-speed automatic transmissions do use Dexron III.”

So that old Mopar guy *might* be mixing up the fluid needs for a Jeep compared to the FWD A604 and later FWD Chrysler transmissions.

Everything I’ve heard and read about the Chrysler transmissions is that ATF+4 is the best fluid to go with for those transmissions.

Oh and if you think that link is out of date, here is a very current link:

http://www.centerforqa.com/chrysler-faq/

“ My mechanic didn’t use ATF+4® when changing my transmission fluid. What should I do?

To ensure you have removed most or all of the existing ATF, it is recommended that you perform a total of three (3) changes using ATF+4®. It is further recommended that you do not mix ATF+4® with another automatic transmission fluid (ATF).”

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 12/14/2015 at 14:59

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He very clearly said Dexron VI, and since he daily-drives a Spirit ES with the A604, I’m going to assume he was referring to it, since our cars are closely related.

Remember, Dex VI is a completely different beast from Dexron III, and was designed for the clutch-to-clutch automatics and partial-slip converters, unlike Dex III.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully 12/14/2015 at 15:22

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If the transmission was designed for ATF+3/4 and Chrysler says to use ATF+4 and a forum that is dedicated to Chrysler products says to use ATF+4 (except for some noted exceptions) , he probably should use ATF+4.

Over the years, I’ve encountered more than one “wise old guy” who gave absolutely terrible car advice.

If he had a Dodge Dynasty with the 2.5L 4cyl and the older 3 speed auto, then Dextron could likely be used.

But even with the older 3 speed automatics that may have originally come with Dextron III, Chrysler *still* recommends ATF+4.