hey guys my name is bryan and I'm new to your forum and just looking for the inside down low. I've always liked the styling of the 2nd gen dakotas and just about ready to hunt one down I like test drive it and buy. I want the V8 because I have a small vw I want to be able to tow in a pinch if it breaks. I want the 4x4 becasue I like to go "4wheeling" locally but nothing crazy. thoes of you in the bay area; hollister is about the max I'll do becasue of the truck most likely becoming my daily driver. I've looked through quickly the question 4.7 or 5.2 and was wondering if there is an updated opinion of the motors. is there a better aftermarket following for one motor or the other say I break something being stupid as kids (I'm 23) do once in a while. I've got my eyes set on a 4x4 club cab as new as I can find and lowest miles I can find in the 97-04 year range. I've seen many on craigslist and few in the paper typically between the 80-140k mile range is there a reason people are trying to sell them at that range? What should I look for when test driving/pre sale inspecting the truck (obviously oil, coolant, etc.) I used to work at dealer ships and I know every vehicle has its quirks and hopeing to find out the dakotas prior to purchasing. Please dont treat me like I'm stupid but more un-informed as this will be my first dakota and I know many of you out there have owned several some multiple at a time. thanks for the help in advance and maybe some time I'll meet the local guys to me somewhere after I pick up my truck.
P.S. look at the time this was posted I work 4pm to 6am most days so I'm up all night and sleep all day. also I'm tired and I appolgize for grammer or spelling errors. never was a strait A student ;-)

 

so here's the deal... basically the 4.7 came out in 2000 replacing the 5.2 which has been around in some form or another for 30 some odd years... I have a 4.7 and love it, everyone on here (as far as i know) with a 4.7 also enjoys it.

Basically go with the 4.7 and the reason people get rid of them after 80-140k miles is if they bought them new, its pushing (in some cases) 10 years and they are just looking for something new. I love mine and will never get rid of it simply because the new stuff looks gay and don't come in manuals with the V8...

basically Cheers and welcome to the forum, if you ahve any questions, don't hesitate to ask or what not.

Best.

 

welcome to the forum!...glad to have you here!...

 

Okay good to know the 4.7's are good motors. I just found a 2004 club cab 4x4 V8 on my local area of craigslist. It has coincidentally 91k on the clock clean car fax. Its grey with camper shell and tow package. I read the sticky on what to look for when buying a 97-04 dakota and seems to be a short list. is there something I can look for on this 04. I know my vw has bad heater core, bad sunroof cables, shadey wiring, and a bad rear spoiler. are there any things that I can do a quick check or "test" to make sure it works. I know Dakotas are slightly simpiler vehicles due to not being german :-P. I saw the checking throttle body for oil etc. I really want to make sure this 91k mile truck isnt a nightmare. I used to have a jeep it was solid making me willing to buy another mopar. I also have heard and witnessed chrysler auto tannys are junk what can be done to either fix the factory problems I've seen lots of ppl on here doing shift kits. are they expencive??? wasnt looking at prices probably could find if I looked a little harder. Like i said I think on here plz dont treat me like an idiot but instead uninformed. I can resarch but looking at 3yr old posts may not be something people are finding out last month etc. you know what I mean. If someone replies says these trucks are rock solid u have nothing to worry about til 180k then I'll buy it drive it for another 80 sell it with 10k left on the time bomb. i read the recall thing on the ball joints do the 04's have the same problem. is there an after market ball joint that can bought to replace the factory apparently garbage one? I guess are the expencive fixes and what are the cheaper ones. are there certain mile markers certain parts start to fail? any and all info will be appriciated and when I get what ever I end up with I will take lots of photos to post up. I'm hoping its the grey 04 but is $8,000 pricey for a 04 with 91k or is that low or about right? Heres another stupid question that I could answer by looking at which ever one I buy. Where is the alternator and the starter on these motors and are they problematic when u do some mild mud bogging or puddle smashing? I like to do the water hole and mud pit in my friends lifted chevy and I remeber his old jeep went through 3 alternators in a weekend and 12 cans of parts cleaner.

 

I'll try to answer all your questions. I paid 5,000 for my 98 slt 5.2 v8 auto 4x4 with 73,000miles and was in overall great condition. 8,000 is not bad for a 04 but I think its a little much for 91,000miles but thats just me. Im pretty sure the 97-04 daks eat ball joints im not sure if the new ones do too or not. You can get grease able ones that are way better than the factory non grease able ones. I have the grease able ones on my truck and normally if I take my tire off I will clean them up and re grease them just to be safe. I cant really give you much info on the shift kits since I have never researched them but I know there are a few people on here that have them. Took make sure it is in working order try everything out from cig lighter to the 4x4. Make sure the 4x4 works hi and lo and to see if it shifts in fine. Look down the intake a look for oil see if there are any fluids leaking from the engine,tranny,axle pull the tranny dip stick and smell the oil to see if it smells burnt. Make sure the engine has the power you want and see if the tranny shifts threw all the gears smoothly. As far as mudding you should be fine the starter is close to the bottom of the motor(only bad thing but most starters are) and the alt in near the top. So far I have had mine out 4 times and out of all 4 times I crossed the creek which was just below my doors. My friend has had his 98 3.9 v6 out in the mud more than mine and is still doing good. My bro in law used to have a 02 that saw mud almost every weekend in the summer time and to this day is still running.






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every vehicle has its quirks here and there, ours are no different. the transmissions behind the 3.9, 5.2 and 5.9 are garbage and need to be delt with accordingly, however the 4.7's tranny is good (by chrysler standards) but once again just make sure it shifts well. drive it, if it feels good, then it probably is, if it doesnt, then i would look for another truck...

 

I paid $7500 for my SLT. It had higher miles (all highway w/service records), is a QC 4X4 with just about every option you could get in '03 (got the build sheet from Dodge). An '04 CC 4X4 still books at $11,500 retail and $9500 private party. If you like it, it checks out good (see if they have the service records), then get it and try to talk them down a little. Offer $7500 and tell them you need the extra cash for reg. Good luck, keep us posted.

 

I bought the same truck your looking at for $7000.

But there is a much larger market for 5.2 parts seeing its a motor thats been around a long time and its a OHV motor making it more easier to tear about and build back up. I have the 4.7 and love it, but I think it could use a little more torque which is where the 5.2 is nice. But then there is the realiability of the 5.2. Some people will die by the old magnum engines, but from personal experience would say stay away and look at the 4.7 or 3.7 if for some reason you wanted the v6.

And yeah the trannys on Dakotas are not exactly good. I bought a manual because my last dakota was an auto and it $hit the bed at 120k. Def take a good look at it and make sure it was well taken care of. Take a look at the ball joints, because mine just went bad and im only at 105k miles... This should never happen and im still steaming mad. Plus they had already been "fixed" under the recall.

But overall I love my truck, the motor has decent power overall, and great power w/in its class. Dodge of course has had reliabilty concerns in the past but if you find the right truck it should last you a while. I'd look at >100k mile trucks. Good luck in your search.