Hey everyone. Long time dodge fan, but no experience with Durango’s. Looking at maybe buying a “mechanics special” it’s a 1999 with the 5.9 I believe, but it’s not an rt. 173K miles. Owner says it’s got bad head gaskets. They say it’ll start up, but the new battery is dead. They’re asking $1000. The body/paint and interior actually look to be in good shape in the pics. I’ve always liked the 1st gen Durango’s and I believe I could fix it and enjoy driving it. Are the head gaskets known to be an issue with the 99’s? I’ve got a 95 ram with the 360, so I kind of know the engine and how cracked heads can be an issue, but haven’t heard of head gaskets being an issue too much. Any opinions? Other things that are known to be problematic with the Durango’s?

 

You may want to ask the owner how he came to the conclusion the head gaskets are bad.

 

Generally, the 5.9 will only blow headgaskets if the engine is seriously overheated. Which will also crack the heads. If the rest of the truck is in good condition, just drop another motor in it.

 

If the head gaskets are indeed blown you are probably looking at buying new heads or having a cylinder head job done, so you are going to have some time and money invested in it.

 

I forgot to mention that in their ad they said it was diagnosed by their mechanic to be head gaskets. Whether or not that is 100% true, I can't be sure. I'm not afraid to tear into it if it is head gaskets, I would probably buy new odessa clearwater heads for it. I haven't searched vigorously for a junkyard engine, but the times I have played around looking for an engine for my ram, it's pretty hard to find locally.

 

I’d offer $800 max for it with that mileage and condition. Look on offer up and the like, and you’ll likely find better deals anyway.