I would agree I think it’s safest to assume the water pump and fan clutch along with the fan itself are all going to need replaced. Looks like $120 for just the water pump and clutch at AZ. And that’s without a fan. And we haven’t even gotten to the parts I thought that we’re all I’d be fixing being the radiator and the condenser. So the deeper we go sadly the more we see that’s wrong.

I’ll have to start checking area pick yards and see if I can find a 2001 with an undamaged front end to pull
apart and hope I can get lucky. If I do I will probably want to ask you guys for advice on little stuff like o-rings and screws and the like I should buy new. I also assume I should remove and save the side frame pieces of the radiator before I get rid
of it.

 

I believe in buying local to keep local businesses in business. Since the last local speed shop closed, the chain stores have quit carrying minor parts and major parts are going up. I've started buying more off Fleabay. Granted, many of the parts are made of Chinesium but so are the parts from the chain stores. Just look at the descriptions on the Fleabay entries closely and use the compatibility charts to make sure the parts fit.

 

Is that the horn sitting at the bottom? Did the belt fall off when the accident happened? Put a wrench on the tensioner bolt, and put the belt back on. Run the truck for less than a minute, looking at the belt to see how it all lines up. Your water pump was probably near needing replacement anyway. You may find the fan and clutch at the junk yard. I believe the fan bolt tightens anti-clockwise. Use a big adjustable wrench and hit the handle with a hammer.

Water pump:
Fan Clutch:
Fan: https://www.ebay.com/i/223604891714?...hoC9rYQAvD_BwE

 

you sound like the type of person that wants to run a vehicle and "not put a dime into".... in the overall scheme of things, they are machines/ and machines need maintenance.
youre still not talking a terrible lot to fix and wind up with a dependable vehicle, when its done.
A lot of what you need can come off of other years than specifically an 01. and some things can come from other than Durangos.
a water pump and fan clutch and yes a new belt are parts that aren't worth replacing with used unless you like "practice" and redo's.

 

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, I am not trying to spend a lot of money on this Durango, only because it's really reaching the end of its life. That said I thought it would be fun to try and fix it and keep it around as a beater with a heater, as you guys say. Plus the experience of working on it plus the satisfaction of fixing it (or trying before I part it out at the very least, before I let the salvage folks have their hands on it).

Pretty sure I just need to get the wrench on that fan and get the fan and water pump off and then I should be able to have a final look at the parts I will want to source at the yard. I'd love to check other makes, models and years but unfortunately this is where my inexperience shows -- I have no idea what other vehicles to scope for the interior parts I need under the hood, other than a Dakota, I am not even sure what matches my 2001 though I'll see if I can find a website that lists the other vehicles that share parts. I am figuring on two runs anyway, one run to get the mechanical parts, and then a second run for the body parts, unless I find the perfect donor.

The serpentine belt fell right off with a couple tugs, it was pretty tangled up and off the track everywhere, which amazes me that I was even able to drive the truck as far as I did after the accident off the exit ramp (unless maybe that's what did that to the belt). So that's off. Just need to get that fan and pump off and then I'm going to get a gut check on parts I need from you guys, and also what you think I can't do secondhand, and then see potentially how deep in the hole I am going to be on parts before I start.

 

Why are you saying that your Durango is nearing the end of it's life? Before the wreck what condition was it in overall? How long have you had it? Wreck wise I have fixed much worse. I hit a deer with mine about 5 years ago, and though it wasn't as bad as you currently is I didn't even call the insurance. I just fixed it. I hit another this past summer with my 99 Dakota, a whole 10 days after I bought it, and it cost me a bit more than the Durango did to fix. Again I didn't call the insurance then either.
what did you think of your Durango before the wreck? Was it "nearing the end of it's life" then?
my 01 was a $40k vehicle when new. Not worth that any more, but I can't really buy anything comparable today, it's the fanciest most "bells and whistles" thing we have ever had, is still in very good shape with no rust.
I have had it a little over 6 years. I just finished putting more money into it bringing it back from the dead than what I paid for it 6 years ago.
But with the miles of service we had gotten out of it before, I figured I was starting with a "free" truck, and some are selling on CL and other places still for more than I paid for it back then. Some things I did just because of age and miles, some I did because it truly needed.
It did **** me off when I started to work on it because after I rebuilt the engine, it had 2 unforseen problems that doomed the rebuild. I put 6 miles on that engine and it had to come back out. So I left it sit as my garage ornament and forgot about it. This past summer I dug back into it. My wife has always loved this thing, and has been bugging me about it.
I knew what I had and what had been done with it to date, if I cast it aside and bought another I'd have to start over at square one in catching up on past owners neglect to get a baseline on it being dependable.

 

But it's back on the road again.
the 1st engine rebuild went sour because of 2 components that I paid other's for, so I parked it.
This summer I picked up another engine and went through it with new gaskets seals freeze plugs, timing chain and dropped it in. Once I knew that this engine was ok I rebuilt the suspension totally, everything but the ball joints since they are still fine from when I replaced them after I got it. I did do all new front end bushings, shocks, tires, rear leaf springs and alignment. If there was a heavy duty option I bought it I didn't go cheap on anything.
im hoping to get at least another 100k out of it.
There are many on this forum and others where owners of these are still driving them with more miles on them than mine has, without everything I have done to mine. Most just fix it as it breaks, I did much of what I did as a preventive maintenance thing so it don't break.

 

Hello friends,

I am back! With the cold weather behind I'm ready to head back out into my unheated garage and get my Durango running again. First time I have ever worked under the hood of a car so bear with me on the dumb questions!

The last piece I need to remove is the fan and fan clutch. Videos online show the use of a long adjustable wrench and a hit with a hammer, I don't have a long wrench that fits (all too small) so will need to acquire one. Does anyone happen to know the size of that nut around the fan ?

Once I have that off, I believe I am down to the bones I need to rebuild from. Still on the fence about removing the water pump. Hard to see in the pictures, but the entire engine block looks to have been skewed tilting slightly upward from the head-on deer hit at high speed. That said, everything looks intact and it
appears that the end of any damaging impact was right at the water pump.

Hopefully I am thinking through this properly, I believe my next course (once I get the fan blade and clutch off) is a trip to a salvage yard. I am thinking I will focus the first trip only on parts I need to get it running, looks aside. I've created a list of what I believe


I will need to acquire. I intend to try and
pull parts myself once I find a suitable vehicle that will fit the 2001 Durango. If I get it running, I'll return or go to another yard for a matching bumper and exterior parts.

ENGINE - WHAT DOES IT NEED TO RUN?

Serpentine Belt
Fan
Fan Clutch
Radiator Neck & Thermostat
Radiator Support, Brace, Deflector
Radiator Assembly
Inner Brackets
Condenser Assembly
Various Screws/Bolts (any suggestions on a set of new screws, nuts, bolts to pick up instead of trying to use the old ones which are now all mixed up?)


BODY - WHAT DOES IT NEED TO LOOK NORMAL?

Front Bumper
Fascia
Impact Bar
Passenger Fog Light
Passenger Headlight (acquired thanks to )

 

I'd replace the pump since it got a strong shock linear to the rotating shaft. It may not leak or make noise NOW, but you can bet it will soon. Replace it while you have everything apart. The wrench you need is, I think a 36 mm wrench. Personally, I use a diesel fan clutch set I've had for years.




It's the long narrow one. It works great on the fans on Mopar Magnum engines. Now would be the time to attend to any small, aggravating things that are difficult to work on with body parts around them. Something I'd check would be the engine mounts and the transmission mount. The shock may have moved the assembly and broken or stressed one to the point it will fail once back on the road.

 

I just used a pipe wrench, and a big hammer.