Just bought a 93 ext cab Dakota with the v6 magnum engine. Runs and drives so smooth you can hardly tell when it shifts. Not being familiar with this breed of vehicle . What might I expect out of it ? what normally fails with these models. It has 106000 miles on it. I just changed all fluids so Ill know when it was done. Any peculiar oddities plaguing the truck.
I am third owner. Second owner had it a month and decided he didnt need it.
So, anything I need to keep an eye on I would appreciate a heads up. Thanks
Earl

 

Plenum gasket - you can just swap the gasket when it fails, but the two permanent fixes are to swap that steel plate for an aluminum plate, or to weld it shut.

Ball joints; on the 2WD it's more age than anything, but they are ... well, let's just say on my 2WD 1988 it took two mechanics to manhandle the impact wrench while they were removing the old ones.

Keep it tuned up - use Mopar plugs if possible; ditto for the wires, cap, and rotor. The cheap crap is, well, cheap crap.

Remember that it wasn't designed to stop on a dime and give 9 cents change. It'll stop on a dime, but that's after the three or four quarters in front of it ... *grins*

RwP

 

Thanks for the info. Ill get that plenum gasket taken care of. It has new plugs and wires.

 

Also, read the contents of the "sticky" thread titled "FAQ....General Info, Common Problems, Factory Service Manuals". The '93 models sometimes have an issue with intermittent starting or dying, caused by corrosion in a particular part of the wiring harness. It's a relatively easy fix, once you know the cause. The sticky addresses this issue under the heading "Truck will not start".

 

One other thing that seems to need attention, is the timing chain. On the mopar, it is long and can stretch. If you do a search on this, there are several post concerning this.....

 

Oh, yeah, the timing chain.

There's dual row chain/gear sets available; there's also a tensioner available.

Or you can do like I did, and do both *grins*

RwP

 

With regular maintenance, and fixing what breaks along the way, they will run forever. 235k on my 93 and I still plow with it.