So, my 92 Dakota is kinda at that point in its life where pretty soon its gonna require a chunk of money to stay road worthy . The previous owner had figured himself for a good mechanic and, well, I'd have to disagree. If I were to keep the truck, I'd be doin' a complete engine overhaul, tranny rebuild, lots of interior work and so on. The only problem is that if I invest that much time, effort and money in it, I don't want to just sell it in a year. So, I'm selling it now.

I'm lookin' at replacing it with a 2nd generation Dakota Quad cab. I want one that is 4wd, an automatic, preferably a 4.7, well equipped and so on. I am just interested in all of your opinions. I figure most of you have more or less what I am interested in and know the ups and downs. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I'm planning on using the rig for towing, in city driving (mostly during the winter, my other car is a 69 Dart GT Convertible), hunting, and so on.

If you know of any better engines, trannies, etc., please let me know.

MOPAR OR NO CAR!

 

Well just like any used vechicle it comes down to the previous owners. If you find one that has been well taken care of there should be no problems. As for towing, if your towing a heavy trailer go with the 5.9 Magnum v8. It is the rarer of the options but it will have more power then the 4.7.

 

/\ same,
depending on the trailer yes, but if you can find a 5.9 id jump on it, plenty of aftermarket mods for the motor

 

Only issue with the 5.9 is you're going to get like 10-12 mpg. If thats not a big deal to you then its a good motor. The 4.7 will probably get you around 15.

I love my 4.7. It's a lot more reliable then the 3.9 I had, which is identical to the 5.9 minus to cylinders. And over all I think the 4.7 is more reliable but the 5.9 is easier to work on... so its all in what you're looking for.

It's a dakota. You're going to have somethings to look for. They eat ball joints. Both of my dakotas had rotted out mufflers. But maybe its because I'm in New England...

 

mine dosnt eat balljoints. i replaced the originals and they lasted roughly 100K,
i doubt i'll ever have any that last that long ever again...

 

Well you are a totally different situation lol. But ball joints SHOULD last a lot more than 100k miles. On a dakota its like thats good, but in reality ball joints should last a lot longer. My father didn't have to replace them on his f-150 until 200k miles and the F-150 before that they lasted until 185k miles. Both 4wd.

You can always replace the stock ones with better ones and not have the same problem. But the stock ones get eaten up pretty quick, especially on the 4wd models.