new to the forum and this is my project.

now a little to start. im new to dodge but ive always liked these durango R/T's. a buddy of mine works for a towing company. he impounded this. it was abandon in an industrial area after the engine started to tick. we were able to convince the registered owner to drive up from Kentucky to bring not only the keys to it. but a clear title. in the end i paid 800 bucks for it. then picked up a new 5.9 out of a 97 ram with 91k on it.

did i do good on picking it up for 800 bucks? im new to dodge but seemed fair to me.

Durango has 146k on it.

what are these truck normally worth in good shape? there is one just like mine for sale but in mint shape with 75k on it for 8,000 which i think is kinda high then one with 157k on it for 6,000 which still seems a little high to me or do these suv's hold there value pretty well in good shape?

its really not in that bad of shape. the worst being the motor and the rear 1/4 has some rust that needs fixed, hatch is shot and it needs tires. other then that its not bad. frame and under side of durango are very clear.

well here are some pics.

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interior




in this picture you can see the hatch is pretty rusty but ill try and find a clean hatch for it.


and in this pic you can see the rust on the rear fender lip. ill get that fixed after i get it running too. tires have been aired up and hold air. but go flat in a few days



finally got started on pulling the motor at 1 am. only worked on it for about 2 hours but made good progress with it.
still got to pull the starter off, bell housing bolts, tq converter bolts, power steering lines, fuel lines, motor mounts, manifolds, and motor mounts ect





driver side valve cover off.



and the new motor, out of a 97 ram with 91k on it. still have to tear it down and do new oil pump, rear main ect.



well heres the problem. did this idling in the shop lol. we were listen to it run with the valve covers off to decided if we should just rebuild this motor or start over....the motor made its own decision on that one



who needs an engine hoist when you have a tow truck?



can you spot the problems?

on the top engine block pieces
middle bent to hell rod cap
and whats left of the bearing lol



Now my biggest problem i have is the rod bent the hell out of the oil pan and i need a new one. and no parts store local to me has a oil pan or oil pump and pickup tube and screen in stock and wont be able to get one till mid this coming week so looks like it wont be in and running this weekend :sad: but in the meantime i guess i can get a new rear main seal in and swap the durangs lower intake and tb over to the ram motor and get the rams motor preps to drop in. ( get all the ram **** off of it )

 

Yeah that's a pretty good deal! But there is quite a bit of rust on the rear hatch, some bondo and a repaint could fix that though, I bought my 02 Durango with the 4.7 with 94k on it for 7000 if that gives you an idea of what there worth. Keep us updated!

 

that's really good deal. In good shape blue-book values are around 6 grand for R/Ts in good shape

 

I had rust in the EXACT same spots as you did but a little bondo ans sheet metal fixed that problem. I see you have a 2000 like me too. Nice rig I'm sure you'll be happy once your done

 

these trucks hold value very well, especially lately, so if you can fix it up for a fair price (it seemsl ike you will be able to) you will have a nice truck worth more than you paid for it.

 

Looks like you have some work to do. Its gona be bad a$$ when its done.

 

Your going to have to order a new pan or look in a junk yard. As for going to a Ram for intake and thinking your getting something well your wrong, they are the same parts, at least the intake system.

Replace the oil pump., screen, and pickup tube and ensure it's installed correctly because once installed the engine needs removed to fix issues regarding them.

 

now inake wise what about injectors? they the same? i noticed on the durango there red and the rams injectors are black?

was wanting to get new motor in this weekend but after calling all the local parts stores no one has the pickup tube and screen or oil pump in stock :sad:

 

i only have 1,100 into it so far with the new motor.

after gaskets and seals and fulids ill have around 1,500 into it id think.

then some new tires. there done for.

found a hatch for it as well. complete and in black and in mint shape. no rust for 50 bucks. going to try and get that this weekend for it.

 

The Red injectors are the newer style over the Black.

Also the Red injectors will flow slightly more fuel then the Black ones. Both injectors can be ran with the same programing. See one can switch out of the Black to the Red for slightly more flow without any issues, or backward as well. It's just the Red is better. Seeing that you have them out I would have them cleaned or it is possible to do it yourself.

One can use Throttle Body Cleaner in a spray can, with a syringe, a little hose, and a 4.5 Volt DC power adapter. There is some creative videos on www.youtube.com