hey all. ive been look'n at buying a 2002 quad cab 4x4 "awd" dakota. i hadn't seen the awd option untill this one i saw today. its in pretty much mint condition. drives well and handles awesome. has about 150k on it. but the guy looks like he babies it. anyway my question is that what are your opinions on awd?
i read a few other posts and people basically agreed that awd vs 2wd (option) 4x4 daks are pretty much the same gas mileage. that's my only concern. if its crazy terrible with the awd or not. anyway hopefully some awd drive dudes will see this post.
talk to ya lata guys.
dee

 

not an awd guy but have some input. i would just make sure everything is in good working order with the awd you obviously will have more wear on the front axle components and transfer case that you would have on a 2wd or part time 4x4 vehicle. i think they only put the 5.9 behind the awd correct me if im mistaken but with that i'm thinking you wouldn't get the best gas mileage but thats just from what i've read. good luck if its in nice condition you can't beat a awd V8 for throw back in the seat factor lol.

 

yah its a 4.7 v8. awd. the guy said he gets almost the same mileage as when he had the v6 same as i have. obviously alittle bit worse but said its almost the same didn't notice a huge difference.
here's some pics of it...
[IMG]local://upfiles/66395/69ADB0A83EED44C9865B0C979A0ABF39.jpg[/IMG]

 

looks really nice i love silver dakota's they just look really good. i'd say go for it you'll love the 4.7 im sure of it.

 

I looked for the 4.7 when I bought mine but couldn't find one I liked. The awd launch on pavement is pretty cool. Mine will chirp the fronts in a straight line and will smoke the inside front tire in turns pretty easy. Got to be hard on driveline parts though. My gas mileage has went from 11.8 last summer when I bought it to 9.6 this winter. I've been told it's because the awd and all its' driveline drag gets worse in cold weather. Not sure if it's true or not. I'm using it as an excuse to buy a programmer!! Good luck buying it!

 

I just bought a 2002 AWD with the 4.7, 45RFE transabout 3 months ago, with 52000 miles.It is averaging about 14 MPG. About a month after I bought it I started having trouble with the transmission. I'm going to changethe solenoid pack to see if that will fix it.