Hello,

I recently acquired a 2008 Dodge Dakota with a 3.7l V6 and about 80,000 miles on it for scrap price because the owners mechanic told him it wasn't worth repairing. I started looking for what the problem was and found that the back 3 camshaft bearing caps on the drivers side had broken off and two cylinders had low compression.
The truck was turned off and towed the second the engine light came on and it looks like nothing else is damaged.
I've never worked on anything this new (I like my classics) but thought for the price it would be a fun project for the summer and a good learning experience. I know I will need new heads but before I spend any money does anyone know what would cause this?

Thanks

 

sounds like its time to get out the micrometers and calipers. check the diameters of the cam and cam bearings. you might look into having a machine shop make new caps. and you could improve the caps. and maybe improve the oiling system. and any oil plumbing inside the engine should be done in copper.

 

Busted caps? I haven't seen that one yet.

Low oil pressure, Over revving can both be causes. I believe like so many other cast parts the caps in question are cast then bored with the head. Then machined to the proper spec to keep everything lined up as it should be.

Means head replacement to get that sorted. Also as low pressure can cause bearings to fail and things to break I would also recommend replacing the oil pump as part of your project. Inspect the timing chains while you have those off to get at the pump.

 

Thanks for the help.

In my search for used parts I have found more Jeep Liberties engines than Dakotas, does anyone know if these engine are just a simple swap? I'm fine with everything mechanically but not sure if the computer would be a problem with the Jeep engine.

I'm still not totally sure what caused this problem or if the metal from the broken caps caused much damage so I plan on just getting a new engine as soon as I find a decent deal.