The transmission is toast now. All the stop leak stop slip etc is snake oil. Best it doesn't is make a permanent problem temperately less worse.

 

Indeed that sounds more like a $400 truck. Slipping tranny, something busted in the rear leaf...sounds like a project. Also (bringing up motors again but I think it's worth a mention just FYI) in '91 the Dak still had the LA 3.9 motors which produced something like 50 hp less than subsequent years Magnum motors. And though I haven't driven one with an LA motor I can imagine it would indeed be all the dog that Toby was on about. Still, a weak motor wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me if it was a $400 truck, but given the Model Year update, I retract my earlier defense of the 3.9...particularly in front of a power-sapping automatic transmission.

 

Sorry for the confusion. The 1991 is a different truck that is V8 and 4x4. It is the one with the weak tranny and 203k miles.

I am likely going to go with the 1993 V6 that I was originally asking about unless I can find another V8 with 4x4 for the right price.

 

Ah my mistake, skimmed too much. Good plan I think

 

In my opinion, get the '93 V6. Its newer, has lower miles and its only $400. You better jump on it before someone else snags it. Its a great deal even if it needs a little work. 4x4 is overrated unless you want to go mudding or if you live in a snowy area. RWD is fine for daily driving or a farm truck. My '88 has a tiny 2.2L 4 banger, and it never felt horribly under-powered until it blew a gasket a couple years ago. (Even though it accelerated slowly the 2.2 felt pretty torquey to me). Its a truck, not a sports car. If you want, you can always drop a V8 in later but the V6 will probably be good enough.

 

If you have a pickup in a snowy area and worry about spinning out on ice get a couple bales of hay for the winter and leave them in the back for weight. You can use em for straw on your planting beds or donate them to an animal welfare org come spring. Its also wise to put it in neutral when hitting the brakes on icy snow to remove power from being supplied to the wheels especially on an automatic. EDIT- In response to Tbugden below, I found that when I was sliding when braking usually at very slow speeds, neutral stopped the sliding. I later used it at normal speeds and it is effective on an automatic especially on packed snow and ice. The hard part is to start going again without spinning the tires

 

Actually I'd recommend putting the truck in 1st gear to go really slow but if you have to go really, really slow to the point where 1st gear would urge you forward then yes I may agree with the neutral idea depending on the situation. Also these trucks only have rear wheel ABS so they definitely benefit from the pulsing technique of braking which both will reduce stopping distance (coefficient of static friction much less than sliding) and hopefully keep you going in a straight line which is something that vehicles with ABS can do and I'd argue absolutely the most useful trait of ABS.

Snow tires all around+weight in the back (300 lbs or so near the back of the bed) +careful driving and you should generally be okay. Hay and sand are good because they can also be used to get unstuck. Also have a shovel.

 

Good point regarding the V6 being newer. If you were considering the V8 for the added power, you should know that '91 was the last year of the old LA series motors. Beginning in '92, the V6 and V8 line was updated to the "Magnum" series. What that means in your case is that the '93 V6 has 5 more HP and only about 20 ftlbs less torque than the '91 5.2 V8. The Magnums have better heads and multi-point fuel injection (an injector at each cylinder) versus the throttle body injection on the '91 engines. Just a more modern engine overall, and should do noticeably better on mpg.

 

I wanted to take a second to give an update. I have decided to go a slightly different direction with my truck decision. I will be picking up this 2nd gen Dakota tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who helped me with my questions and provided info.

 

Looks nice! I had a '03 4 door like that. It wasn't 4WD, but it did have limited-slip. I loved it, but my wife complained it was too fast (lol).

One thing that impressed me was the 5 speed automatic trans. It was the best shifting trans I've ever driven. It was the programming, and it always seemed to know what gear I needed. It would downshift one gear at a time as I stepped on the accelerator harder, then immediately resume the proper gear for cruising when I let up. Never "sticky" or slow to respond, it gave the truck a very responsive feeling. I hope you enjoy your truck.