I have FINALLY found what I think is a very reasonable dakota 4x4.
It is a 2000 4.7 4x4 extended cab with 118k miles on it. Also has a full front brush guard, a 3 inch body lift, and newer wheels and 32 inch tires (70% tread left).

This thing seems to be the most complete/tight truck of all we have looked at. Just to be safe we took it to the dealership and I had the mechanic look over it. We noticed the power steering leaking down the hoses. He thought it was just a leaking hose (or two) and each house is like 100+ each (quote for all 3 installed was 650!). He said if its not the hoses its the entire steering rack...which I would hope not. Worst case if it was...could get one from the junk yard I guess?

How serious is this? Is it one of those things...where if its not leaking that bad I could just keep topping off the PS fluid reservoir and deal with a small leak?

The second problem is the wheel bearings on both wheels. The wheels have about a half inch of play. He looked up the bearings and I was SHOCKED that they were 200+ per side, PLUS a couple hours labor PER side. (850 total installed!). I asked if they were press-in or bolt-in and he said they are bolt in.

Of course I had checked the 4x4 HI earlier and it engaged/ran without problems. I did NOT check 4x4 LOW/LOCK. I tried this after leaving the dealership and of course as my luck goes, it does not engage! I tried every combination I could think of... got rolling 2-3mph in drive, throw the auto tranny in N and then shift from 2wd to 4 lo-lock. When I did this the engine would rev freely (as if in neutral) no matter where the gear selector was (reverse/neutral/drive/2/1!!!) I even tried going form 4x4 HI to 4x4 low and it would not engage...

This is a 2000 mind you, so its a mechanical engaging 4x4 as im sure you all know. Judging by the fact the 4x4 HI works ok (transfer case/front diff ok) would this just be a cable issue? Any ideas???

The rest of the truck seems reasonable. If I bought it I would replace the serpentine belt (glazed/a bit worn) and two new front rotors (probably 150 in parts and should be able to do those myself). She was asking 5200 of which I offered (she agreed) to 4500 before I even saw the truck (assuming no problems). She said she is pretty firm at 4500 but said she will see if her sons friend (mechanic) can fix the PS hoses and wheel bearings in her garage.

I actually offered 4,000 cash and said I would repair the truck myself (well have someone do it- non dealership so it does not cost 1500). But she said she needs 4500. Does not really make sense to me (if she has the work done and spends 500...she still gets 4000 cash).

I am a novice mechanic (just have installed basic things...oil changes, plugs, exhaust (cats/manifolds) and that type of stuff. Think I could handle the bearings myself? Seeing as how they are charging 2- 2.5 book hours PER side thats like 400+ bucks right there. Anyone done them on a dakota before? Hard? Easy?

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!!

Regardless of the repairs needed.. I think I want to go for this truck. I just cant pay 4500 + pay for the parts/install as there are better trucks out there for the 5500-6000 I would be spending all said and done.

Mike

 

a good rule to follow is if it has problems already what kind of problems are you going to have down the road.

 

I would not pay more then 1k for that.

 

transfer case rebuild alone is enough to set yourself back

 

keep looking!

 

Some pretty decent issues for $4,500.
Obviously, the parts quotes from the stealership are vastly inflated. Dodge OEM parts are way expensive.
Parts store PS hoses will run you about $100 TOTAL. A new rack from NAPA is quoted online at under $200.
NAPA lists front hubs (the assembly the wheel bearings come in) for around $200.
The mechanical transfer cases have a solid linkage - rods, no cables. I'm not going to try to diagnose the problem, but just know a reman'd case will run around $700-$900 or so.

I've never worked on, or seen, a 4.7L, but I wouldn't imagine the PS hoses are that hard to replace.
Wheel hubs shouldn't be *too* bad, since they are bolt-ins. Busting the CV joint hub nut loose can be a pain, but thats what long cheater pipes are for (like 5 feet long, no joke, makes it really easy!)

Before replacing the transmission - and transfer case - in my truck, I'd only really done oil changes, no real hard or in-depth maintenance. Now I'm pretty much replacing most of the front end components.
I really think that anything I do or have done anyone else can do. So yea, I think you could do all the work yourself. The key is to know when you need to take a break, be patient, and NOT rush yourself. The minute you rush yourself is when you do a crappy job which costs you more time and money in the end.
Also, use quality parts (i.e. NAPA or reputible brand from other stores, stay away from AutoZone if at all possible!)

Too much $$ for the truck though.

 

im not gonna tell you what to do, but im saying theres no way in hell i would pay almost 5 thousand dollars for something thats gonna need at least a thousand dollars worth of crap done to it right of the bat, not to mention the fact it already has 118k miles on it. 9 times out of 10 the whole ps. racks need replaced in these trucks, not just the hoses. my buddy's 4.7 needed a new rack right after he bought it but the dealer did it for free.... wouldve costed almst 2,000$. the rack in my truck has a very small leak, but i'll just drive it until it breaks.

 

I made the same mistake when I bought my 3.9 two years ago. I saw it and thought it was such a nice truck. The check engine light was on and the dealer told me it needed new plugs, so i thought it was no big deal. My father adviced me that it was probably worse than that but i didn't listen and bought. Well after a year I had replaced everything on the truck.

Just saying that there are trucks out there with no problems for around the same. I paid 6k for my 2002 4x4 4.7 extended cab that had 97k on it and it was in immaculate condition, i mean perfect. Although it took me a lonnnnng time to find that deal, the deals are out there. I would keep looking.

 

Yea, either I'd keep looking or offer, oh, $1,000; maybe $1,500? *Assuming* you would do the work yourself! Otherwise, forget about it.
She will defintly laugh at you, than give her the list: power steering rack, both wheel hubs, transfer case. 9 years old with 118K on it.
I got suckered into paying $6,000 for my Dakota (back in January 2006, making it 10 years old), with 86,000 miles on it (stealership wanted like $8,500 or something! But that is near where it booked at for condition), BUT, it had no driveability problems. No leaks, no weird noises, nothing. And nothing too bad cosmetically.

 

yeah keep looking there are good ones out there for that price