He is talking about the plenum gasket issue. If you take a flashlight and look down the throttle body and see lots of pooled oil its likely the intake(plenum) has blown its gasket. Not a hard repair, but a little time consuming.

Value of a vehicle is dependant on the owner(or owner to be). Depending on your budget and what a reliable towing vehicle means to you, that can up your price for paying on a specific rig, or passing on it. I, for instance, am a huge cheapskate. I havent paid more than 500 dollars for a vehicle in the last 5 years, and Ive bought around 10 cars in that time. BUT, Im also a mechanic and can find "broken" cars for cheap that need a couple hours of my time to fix. Do what makes you happy. I wouldnt feel bad offering the guy 1800 for that truck. Dont rub the issues in his face though, politely point out the things it needs repaired and a reliable estimate of those costs and the KBB price. Make your offer the price of the vehicle plus the price of the repairs ending near the KBB price.

 

You are correct in that the extended cabs only came with a 6.5 ft bed. I did misinterpret what I had orignally read then. What I read made it sound like the sheet would lay flat (as in between the wheel wells) in the 8 ft bed. Fair enough, although that is a bit of a drawback for me... Can't have everything you want, right? I suppose I'd have to go up to a full-size truck to get it to lay flat. Not a dealbreaker... But something to consider. Propping it up on some 2x6/8's isn't the worst thing.

I'll take a look down the throttle body if I go to take another look at the vehicle.

 

Look at it this way, with the plywood elevated, you can out your tools underneath an nobody will see them...

 

Well I made a list of the problems and estimated repair costs and told the guy I'd give him $1600 for it. To my surprise, he accepted straight away (Which I thought was a little strange). I went over today to test the 4x4 and do the compression test and while driving the car it just stalled on me out of nowhere... Wouldn't restart. Eventually after giving it some gas while cranking it started back up.

I never ended up running the compression test. At this point I decided there were too many things wrong with the truck. When I asked him about it when we got back to his house he acted all surprised and confused about the stall. But when I mentioned how I got it to start back up by giving it some gas, he said he does that sometimes... He just seemed like he wasn't telling me the whole story. The gas was low, and after I left he mentioned how it can run sluggish when the gas gets low...

I decided to walk away. I know for my budget I won't be getting a flawless truck, but this one just seemed a little sketchy, and I didn't like the seller's perceived dishonesty. I really do like the dakota as a truck and have been keeping a close lookout for others, so you may see me back here yet!

Thanks for all the advice! This forum is a goldmine!

 

I think you chose wisely grasshopper.

As far as not getting a flawless vehicle for your budget, I disagree. You should be able to get mechanically sound vehicle for the what, $3k you said you have to spend. Keep looking and take your time, the right vehicle will come along. It's all a matter of being in the right place at the right time. That's how I got mine when I wasn't even looking for a truck. My Bronco II died on a Thursday evening after I got home from work and my wife was talking to her old friend when I got home and told her the news. Her friend told her that she had just found out that her dad was no longer able to drive and was selling his truck and they would give me a good deal. Like I said in my earlier post I paid $2000 for it. I paid $300 cash up front and $100 a month (no interest) til paid off. While having the title in hand. How's that for being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes that's how **** happens.

 

Welp, I'll be around in the near future. Just purchased a 1990 v6 with 210,000 miles. I got it for $850. I figure at that price, I can afford to fix any problems it may have. I was hoping for a v8 4x4, but for what I'm going to be using the truck for, this will be a great start I think. None of the problems that the other Dakota had - aside from needing some new tires.

Anyways, once I figure out what needs to be worked on, I'm sure I'll be back asking for some advice!

See ya soon!

iLan

 

I've pulled 7000# with mine. 2000# trailer and 5000# van on it. Had to go slow but it pulled it fine. It was about a 25 mile pull.