I bought a 92 3.9L Dak with 250,000km on it for $500.
So far I have replaced the following:
- tires
- o2 sensor / coolant sensor /
- cat / muffler
- intake manifold gaskets inc. phelum
- spark plugs, cap, wires
- all 3 universals and guidance bearing
- brake pads, drums, cylinders

I have also done a radiator / heater core flush.

Now here is the problem.
I found a quarter sized hole in the back of my frame near the rear wheel. upon further inspection I have found that the bottom where i jack up my truck is also looking rough.

How easy would it be to weld something into there?

I am just about to remove the box to paint and while I have it off, I thought it would be a good time to assess the damage and if possible, weld supports in there.

I use the truck to haul wood, go hunting, tow my boat and go up the local mountain.

 

just about anything can be repaired if you know what your doing. If anything get some good steel, cut it and patch it the right way and you should have nothin to worry about. I'd say its worth it, these are great trucks with alot of versatility.

 

I'm keeping mine! I just think of the money I put into it to keep it up as a WHOLE lot cheaper than getting something newer. Plus, man, I just love my '93 Dakota!

 

i fixed mine and that was all rotted out around the trans cross-member

 

I would suggest you look over every inch of the frame with a hammer. Its hard to tell how bad it is on the boxed section. If its just a spot here and there, removing all the rust and welding in a patch will keep you on the road for a few more years. If there are too many bad spots, it might be cheaper to find a frame in a junkyard to put your body on.

As long as the welds are strong, the patch will last longer than the rest of the frame.

 

our 96 dakota totally broke in two near the front leaf spring support and we fixed it. Now it sits on a rot free frame but it is fixable. I used angle iron cut and bent to shap to match the original cointour of the frame. use 3/16 angle or channel mild steel and a 120 amp mig welder. It was a pain, I will say.

 

Hey BRAN, what made it a pain? Did you take the bed off when you welded it?

I don't think that a "patch" is possible. This seems like more of what Bran is talking about. I need some angle or channel steel to fix this up.

I'd imagine that cleaning it, grinding it and the prep is the biggest pain BRAN?

 

It's kinda hard to tell, we can't see your truck.

I grew up in Michigan where body cancer was absolutely awful. I'd guess I'd be leery of doing a lot of metal repair to a rusted out frame. It's a matter of safety, if the frame lets go at highway speed, you can be dead. And usually (from recollection) if one part of the frame is rusted out, the rest of it is too--steering members, engine mounting brackets, etc. I'd want to do a really detailed inspection--with a welders pick and bright light. And I'd still be nervous that I hadn't found all the corrosion.

The thing is, these trucks aren't at all rare or endangered. Their value is pretty low, and there are fairly rust free specimens available in parts of the country that don't get all the rust. If you want a project truck, here's one locally to Tucson that I'd consider (if I were looking for a project!) Just a for example. http://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/3720967627.html I admit, I'm really intrigued by a factory convertible Dakota, and it does look like a paint job would do it wonders.

What you do is up to you, but you could make a career out of trying to resurrect a truck whose time has passed. Good luck, tho.

 

Hey Brian.
I get what you mean. I think the next step is to get it up on a hoist and have at it with a hammer and see how bad the damage is. It would have to be pretty bad for me to go to a new truck/frame.

But I agree about the safety/realistic issue if it's past it's time. Here in BC (Pacific northwest) we don't have a lot of salt on the road because we don't get snow, so I am hoping it's just a one off spot.

 

As long as you don't live near the ocean/sound, you are probably okay. Wouldn't hurt to do an inspection tho.

By coincidence, my Dakota came from a family friend who lives in Puyallup. I got it last summer, it's a 96, 4wd, V8, automatic. I had a lot of luck finding stuff at the Pick a Part (or whatever their name is) in Olympia--they're across the street from the Olympia airport. Got a couple of replacement a/c specific dash fan switches from them for $8 for the whole panel. They had a bunch of 1st gen Dakotas for a while, with lots of good parts (this would have been Aug. thru Oct. 2012.) A great yard, and cheap!

Anyhow, my Puget Sound area Dakota has almost no frame rust--and any that it does have is surface rust.

My Dakota has about 230,000 miles on it. Runs well, but I'm kinda on the lookout for a lo-mileage 5.2 or 5.9, I'm feeling like sometime in the next 70K, I'm gonna do a transplant. It's a great truck, worth putting another motor in.

B