Hello Everyone ,

New to this forum.. found it from googling...

Anyways... i have a 2003 Dodge dakota clubcab w/ 4.7 V8..
My questions are... i just filled the oil with the 6qts the manual described.. like normal.. synthetic max life formula for vechs over 75k (86k on truck) the dipstick shows a wee bit low..i didnt fill fram oil filter with oil prior so it went in dry.. i noticed no leaks while under truck so to be honest since ive gotten this truck always had oil changed at dealership .. but with cutting costs and my wife telling me not to be so lazy got my hands dirty again ... cant figure out why its showing low...

Secondly... how in the heck do you change headlights..haynes manual shows some series of bolts but alll i see is a torx screw maybe an 10t or something is that what im supposed to take out.. i wasnt sure if they was an alignment screw so i havent messed with it yet....

3rdly anyone changed out speakers .. in doors for this truck i have the infinity ampped up factory system and its finally time to upgrade i use sirius sat so i dont much need a new headunit mainly speakers but curious to see what happens with the sound if i start mixing factory headunit with say cerwin vega speakers etc...

Lastly Tailgate straps ive gone to every local autoparts pepboys advance auto to find some and none fit right the dealer has them but they want like 40 bucks per strap... thats a bit overkill since mine got broke when a tree fell on my truck last winter but oddly enuf they never got replaced.. from insurance.... so model numbers would be great or mail order that is a def fit so im not returning items....

oh yeah other then dealership where can you get centercaps for the aluminum rims... with the dodge logo chromed... 40 bucks for 2 at dealer.. potholes over winter i lost em ... no local places to me have em im going to call up the local junkyard to check but im not holding my breath ..

THanks for the read....

Schuey aka Chris

 

welcome buddy, heres the run down i can give ya.

first of all get rid of that fram filter, we dont like them on this forum . i personally go with the k&n filter. and its possible its a little low because of the unfilled oil filter. as long as you have the oil level within the lines on the dipstick your safe but the amount of oil between those lines is 1 quart.

as for the headlights, youre right about the t 10 screw, it sits in the corner lower corner between the head lamp and amber corner head lights meet, where the reflector is. look closely, you'll find it. then its 3 bolts on the main lamp assembly and pull it off.

as for the speakers, i know squat about the factory premium systems over the basic units. all you got to do is pop off your door panels. about 5 bolts, remove the hand crank lever if you have manual windows, pull up and disconnect your door latch and lock levers from the panel, disconnect the wire harness to the panel if you have electric locks and windows. and the speakers are in the lower, front corner of the door. you may have to remove the white weather stripping, but you can always replace it, just use rtv silicone when putting it back on.

as for the tailgate straps, either ebay or the dealership. same for the aluminium caps. they dont make them engraved anymore

 

they all suggest since i switched from a mobil 1 oil filter to an fram toughguard paper filter thats why im showing low oil since the paper filter will soak up more oil... so what is the kn oil filter made of fiberglass like mobil 1 or something diff i alread used kn in my air filter so oil filter wouldnt bother me none...

As for headlights i finally figured out how to do it .. my local place advised me something to the effect the haynes i had they had changed the headlight assembly or something... so why i couldnt get my hands behind there to change them,.... so thats my project today i already got my foglights replaced those were burrned out,,, so finally cool looking running lights again... rofl...

 

walmart sells the mopar filters for a good price, Iv had good luck with them.

 

changing out the speaker alone you'll be fine since you already have the infinity deck n what not, new speakers would be good if you got one blown or what not. i dont think you'l get really any better sound i dont know the speakers you putting in but if theres something wrong with the ones in there go for it, and if there isnt i would change em

 

how many caps you need? do you need 2 straps?id have to look but im pretty sure i have a pair of gate straps and maybe a set of center caps

 

have you gone junkyard browsing? I'd imagine the hubcaps and straps would be plentiful?

 

that is if you can find a junkyard with a dakota,
i have to search for days them they're gone after a couple more days

 

ya they are hard as hell to find in this neck of the woods also

 

Sometimes the mopars ARE fram filter unfortunately, check out this site:

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfi...udy-mopar.html

Never know which your getting with a mopar filter.