I was wondering if the 5.9 only came on RTs or did it come on regular and RTs and did The RTs come on 4x4. I know the 5.9 only came on the RT for Dakota. I belive Dakota was only 2wd drive. Is this how the durangos were too?

 

5.9's were available on regular Durangos/Dakotas long before they introduced the R/T.

The R/T version only have a slightly modified 5.9 engine having about additional 5-15 hp and about 10 lb torque via tweaking the PCM. Other than that, I think the engine is still basically stock and hardware the same as a regular Durango 5.9

 

Really? I thought the R/T 5.9 had a higher compression ratio than the standard 5.9 and that was the reason higher octane fuel was needed.

 

The r/t also came with different heads in the earlier years. The 5.9 was also available on qc daks. As for the R/T D the differences were as Ken stated plus different rims, suspension, and was only available with AWD.

 

I think the 2000 model R/T durangos (first year for R/T) may have the modified heads as it was advertised as 250 HP and 350 lbs of torque This is the same engine that the 1998-2000 Dakota R/T's had. Then 2001 to 2003, they only advertised 245 hp and 335 lbs of torque. I would assume the 01-03 R/T's may have the same heads as regular 5.9's but have a tweaked out computer to get the small gain in power and torque.

I don't know if many R/T owners (dakota) know, but in 2003, the last year of the Dak R/T's, dodge came out with a limited production of a modified R/T 5.9. It had all the upgrades from mopar with modified heads, cam, etc. This new modified 03 5.9 R/T dakota straight from factory was rated at 300 HP. Wished they had that same option for the Durango. Maybe they did but did not advertise it?

Here is the link they discussed about the modified 03 R/T dak.

http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests/..._rt/index.html

 

Thanks Kensai. That site is right. A 300 HP Dakota Nice. Too bad they didnt do that for the RT on both trucks the entire time.