Just got my hands on a 1999 5.9 SLT Plus durango

Pros:

• Almost no rust, this thing still has factory paint on the under side
• 5.9 mag with only 81, 555 miles
• Garaged by an elderly couple most of its life then given to their children about 4 years ago
• Interior is immaculate even the factory radio looks and feels brand new

Cons:

• Won't shift into park, go's into reverse but doesn't pop into park (heard there was a recall but I don't see it for my Vin) maybe something bent in the colum?
• Pretty sure I gotta do a plenum gasket, there's some oil in the intake and I hear slight clicking in the pasanger side valve cover area and some misfires, already got the new aluminum plate and gasket kit on the way.
• Was given to me with low oil I'm assuming from the plenum
• Pretty sure there's no power steering fluid in the pump and if there is it's very little.
• Bad 02 sensor again probably from the plenum
• Crack in windshield
• I found **** in the CD player 😂😂

All in all this haul was $1200 and after parts puts me at a total of about $1550 for this beast to be back up and choochin on for another 200k






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Wow, that's really clean. The reflection of the tree makes the windshield look likes it in a billion pieces though.

Check the shift linkage first. There are bushing in there that tend to wear out.

 

Holy crap you still have the little gap filler from the core support to the top of the radiator. I've looked in salvage yards for years for that piece and to be honest I've never actually seen one. I've only seen remnants of them. When I looked at the underhood shot, I thought something was wrong because I've never seen one before

 

Feels like it it was never even opened

 

Wonder if the roadside assistance is still valid?

 

Very nice project I had to do a double take on the under hood shot as I've never seen the gap filler before. Never knew those existed

 

Same! Only reason I knew they exist is because mine still had clips for them and I've seen very small "remnants" of them in salvage yards. Other than that, they're just mythical objects along with the hood insulators that also disintegrated on Durangos 😂

 

That little seal (and the other seals around the side radiator) are a lot more important to the cooling system than you'd think. Air is lazy just like electricity and is gonna take the path of least resistance. The air hitting the front end can go around the radiator (not all of it, but depending on the flow and other factors) and it some cases cause overheating. My brother's parisienne has a similar piece between the condenser and radiator and that car ran noticeably hotter what it disintegrated.

A few years back me and my dad were talking to a guy at a local car cruise that was a former GM engineer. He talked about how all the little plastic shields, shrouds, seals, etc in the engine compartment can make a big difference. Ideally the air flows through the radiator, around the engine, and down along the firewall and under the car. He was listing off different seals, wheel liners (which he pointed out my dad didn't have on his chevelle), and even the little seals in the fenders ahead of the doors, and how much of a difference they made to engine temperature. He says the air isn't just cooling the radiator, it's also going over the exhaust and trans to help carry heat from those away too.



That aside, that looks like all the same stuff I have with mine too. I also have the original warranty card (looks like a credit card) with my dad's name on it from when he bought it. Wonder if you'll find one of those in with that stuff too.