I recently purchased a '97 dodge dakota with a 2.5l 5sp. It seems to be a pretty good engine but slightly underpowered for this size truck. I was wondering if anyone could help me by telling me some of the less expensice, better ways to get max horsepower from this engine, and also some of the common mechanical problems with this engine. It already has a aftermarket exhaust system installed. Any help is much appreciated. thanks

 

i've had one for about three years now
i did have trouble with the engine bogging down occasionally but that's cleared up,
probably from matinence.

you won't get cheap power from this motor, the best you can do is a short intake and a full exaust,
i've got a cone filter installed right on the TB, and my exaust is reallt just a rice muffler where the cat. should be

 

dont feel bad... most people complain that anything less than a v8 is underpowered for these trucks. I would say just give it a good tune up and clean the throttle body. A CAI and exhaust cant hurt either, you can do that pretty cheap.

 

X2 on that.
this truck also really seems to like synthetic oil, it runs much smoother now

 

Thanks alot guys. I am not very engine very informed on engines tho...i have a few questions if you wouldnt mind answering

What is a short Intake?
What is a cone filter?
What is a CAI?
And where is the TB located on these trucks?
Thanks alot for the help

 

1. a short intake is an intake tube that is much shorter than stock, so the air has less distance to travel to the engine
2. a cone filter is an air filter that is cone shaped, it will allow more air flow
3. A CAI, Is a Cold Air Intake, it mounts the filter where it will get cooler air, which is better for your engine
4. The TB is on the left side of the engine, at the top, you can see where the intake meets the engine

I'll see if i can get some pics for you

 

Okay thanks alot guys. Some pics would also be great.

 

moe in wichita ks

does anyone make spcail rocker arms? like 1.6:1 or 1.7:1

 

Hey Fearless got a few more ?'s....

Mine has 160k miles...i have 10w-30 in it now.... too thin?

What size tires u got on it? i just put 205-70 on it seems to lost a little power but im okay with that considering the traction gains...

Also how may quarts of oil do you put in yours? the guy at advance said 4.. so i put it and it was overfull.... so i drained it and changed oil filter.... refilled with new oil.....now it says "safe"....whats the deal? oh yeah first fill was 10-w40 second was 30.

Last but most important.....Where is the fuel filter located (in detail) and how hard is it to change? also can u change the filter without changing the whole assembly? w/b soon!

 

fuel filter is the life of the truck, or fuel pump itself, non serviceable, also look into jeep wrangler engine mods, its the same engine so your bound to find something more from that area.