Tonight I went and looked at a 1999 5.2L ex. cab 4x4. Im trying to get rid of my 3.9 2wd. Here in Vermont 4wd is a necessity and becuase of all the hills on the highway I would like a v8. The truck is an auto and I was just wondering how good this motor does on the hills. The specs say ~300 lbs of tq. That seems like a good number for a midsize truck. Just wondering how people fell the truck does, and if people are able to tow much with them. It has cruise control but i dont know how much I would use it because of all the hills.

Thanks

 

My dakato is just like the one you are looking at. Has plenty of power and would be great for hilly county. I tow a 5k lb trailer about once every other week. Does great on flat and rolling roads, but you can tell your towing when going up some good hills. I have a tranny cooler on mine and have never had a problem with temps. Have 137k miles and the tranny still shifts great. Just wish I could figure out my damn 4wd problem.

 

a 5.2 is your best bet for torque other than a 5.9 but those only come on R/T's. The 5.2 is a classic mopar small block and makes a ton of torque in the lower RPM range. the best thing about them is... they just dont quit either. go with the 5.2, you wont regret it.

 

I love my 5.2L. My truck does what I want it to, and I treat it like I think any truck should be treated. It hauls stuff (including towing cars on dollies) goes fast, and looks great doing it all.

 

i must say the 5.9 is a good motor, it did come in quad cab 4x4 in 2000 i think very rare, but it pulls good, and since the power is somewhat similar, I would say it will do good. I have some pretty big hills here, I live right by the mountains, and it could do 60 mph up each hill, if not faster.

 

Thats good to know guys. Right now my little 3.9 just doesn't do it. I live in CT but go to college in VT. In CT it isn't too bad because there aren't a lot of hills but as soon as I get to vermont its a whole different story. I want to be able to go up hills on the highway and still be going 70 haha.

 

oh and do they still have the same open rear end as the 3.9 or by any chance would it have a posi?

 

Check when you buy it. Mines a 1997 with the 3.9 and 4x4 and it came with the LS rear.

 

Love my 5.2. I can tow whatever 16ft enclosed trailer and pull 60 uphill easy. Reliable as a tractor too!

 

the 5.2s are near bullet proof, my cousin has a 98 dakota with the 5.2 with over 180K on the clock and thing still runs like it did day one. only thing replaced on it was the water pump i believe. still the same automatic transmission in it. you must have some steep grades up in vermont, my v6 handles the hills down here in pa no problem. wont speed up them, but i'll maintain speed though.