Hello Everyone.... (new durango owner)
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Hello Everyone.... (new durango owner)
Hey guys and gals,
My names Andy. I bought a 2003 durango from my neighbor the other day, and its my first dodge. My dad had a 98 ram 1500 when I was growing up, and I did all the maintenance on it, and even rebuilt the motor for him, but this is my first dodge that i have owned. Back when I was younger, I went to automotive school, and upon graduating, went to the ford factory training program. I really enjoyed working for ford until the recession hit, and I got into a different trade, but still work on vehicles for fun. My current daily driver is an 03 lincoln navigator with 238k on the clock. When I bought it, the engine was hurt, so I pulled it out and rebuilt it from the block up. Even though I cut my teeth on the ford modular engine series, this engine was quite a daunting task. 32 valves, 4 cams, etc. A year has passed since I bought it, and the engine runs great, but the rest of the truck is starting to really show its age. As with any luxo-barge when they age itll start to nickle and dime you to death. The thing that made me finally decide to replace it is when the trans started to gently slip on lockup. It still runs and drives, but I drive 80 miles each way, and 60 of those miles are through the california desert which I definitely dont want to get stranded in. I have been looking for a suitable replacement for a few weeks, when my neighbor asked me to come by and take a look at his A/C unit. I got the unit running, and he randomly asked me if I knew anyone who would want to buy his durango. its a 2003 5.9 with 193k on the clock, but it has a rebuilt long block because last year his sister ran it out of oil and caused it to spin a bearing. at first I wasn't interested, but the more I thought about it the more it grew on me. Its in quite good condition, and the interior is almost perfect. It has new tires on it, and the majority of the maintenance has been performed on time. Long story short... I bought it for 500 bucks, and now its sitting in my driveway. I really look forward to getting it 100% and daily driving it. I bought all new heater hoses, rad hoses, water pump, belt, timing cover gasket set, timing set, etc as I plan to replace all of these parts before I rely on it for my daily. He mentioned that his sister had said that it may be loosing a bit of coolant, so I figured thats a good place as any to start.
Ill keep yall posted.
Andy
My names Andy. I bought a 2003 durango from my neighbor the other day, and its my first dodge. My dad had a 98 ram 1500 when I was growing up, and I did all the maintenance on it, and even rebuilt the motor for him, but this is my first dodge that i have owned. Back when I was younger, I went to automotive school, and upon graduating, went to the ford factory training program. I really enjoyed working for ford until the recession hit, and I got into a different trade, but still work on vehicles for fun. My current daily driver is an 03 lincoln navigator with 238k on the clock. When I bought it, the engine was hurt, so I pulled it out and rebuilt it from the block up. Even though I cut my teeth on the ford modular engine series, this engine was quite a daunting task. 32 valves, 4 cams, etc. A year has passed since I bought it, and the engine runs great, but the rest of the truck is starting to really show its age. As with any luxo-barge when they age itll start to nickle and dime you to death. The thing that made me finally decide to replace it is when the trans started to gently slip on lockup. It still runs and drives, but I drive 80 miles each way, and 60 of those miles are through the california desert which I definitely dont want to get stranded in. I have been looking for a suitable replacement for a few weeks, when my neighbor asked me to come by and take a look at his A/C unit. I got the unit running, and he randomly asked me if I knew anyone who would want to buy his durango. its a 2003 5.9 with 193k on the clock, but it has a rebuilt long block because last year his sister ran it out of oil and caused it to spin a bearing. at first I wasn't interested, but the more I thought about it the more it grew on me. Its in quite good condition, and the interior is almost perfect. It has new tires on it, and the majority of the maintenance has been performed on time. Long story short... I bought it for 500 bucks, and now its sitting in my driveway. I really look forward to getting it 100% and daily driving it. I bought all new heater hoses, rad hoses, water pump, belt, timing cover gasket set, timing set, etc as I plan to replace all of these parts before I rely on it for my daily. He mentioned that his sister had said that it may be loosing a bit of coolant, so I figured thats a good place as any to start.
Ill keep yall posted.
Andy
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 87,400
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From: Clayton MI
Replace the headlights. They are yellowed. 
Check the plenum, basically, pull the hat off the throttle body, crack the throttle wide open, and see if you see any oil down there.
Service the trans. Fluid/filter change, and band adjustment. (if it hasn't been done recently.)
If the O2 sensors are original, replace them. NTK or Denso please, not bosch. These trucks don't like 'em.
Looks nice.
Check the plenum, basically, pull the hat off the throttle body, crack the throttle wide open, and see if you see any oil down there.
Service the trans. Fluid/filter change, and band adjustment. (if it hasn't been done recently.)
If the O2 sensors are original, replace them. NTK or Denso please, not bosch. These trucks don't like 'em.
Looks nice.
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Thats awesome, i actually ordered all of that stuff yesterday including the water pump, etc. Thank you for the info. I will post progress and pics.
Im trying to see if i can find a k&n or afe intake kit that someone has laying around that may be willing to sell it.
Im trying to see if i can find a k&n or afe intake kit that someone has laying around that may be willing to sell it.
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 87,400
Likes: 4,214
From: Clayton MI
Don't waste you money on a cold air intake, the stock system is ALREADY a cai. The aftermarket system draw air from the same place...... They might flow a bit better above 4000 rpm, but, how often do you need that?