Im thinking about getting wride of my 48 ****** pickup and get a 2nd gen dakota. Im going to be putting 2.5 ton rockwells and at least 44's on it. Most likely put a atlas t case in too. What i need to know is do these trucks have rack and pinion or a steering box. Whats the best year and engine to get. My moms jeep has the 4.7 and its a decent motor. Are there frames strong? How do there trans hold up. What are the weak points and strong points?

 

as far as i know the engines that come stock in the dakota's are excellent. mine has over 200k on it and it runs like new, and my buddy has a 97 that has over 700k! both are the 3.9 magnums.

 

Im looking for max hp and tq though. I have 225hp and 315 tq right now but its not enough and cant really build the motor up any more with out changing the fuel injection setup. How do these motors take to upgrades too?

 

I've heard the 5.2L and 5.9L are the best engines to get in one, but I think they're swapped in not stock. I have the 4.7L and love it. As for steering, I'm pretty sure most have r&p steering, as far as I know.

 

No they arent swapped in my truck has a 5.2 they came with a 5.9 in them but they were only 2wd and only 4wd were in 01 i believe and they were quad cabs a 5.9 is the best motor to get cause they can be built pretty good you can swap them in pretty easy tho

 

Oh ok! I was thinking that the biggest they came with was a 4.7 and all yall with 5.2's or 5.9's had swapped them out. But thinking of it, that doesn't make sense cuz the R/T's don't have 4.7's lol. But I agree the 5.9 is the most available for upgrades, every part I look at either is only for them or can be used on them.

 

lets slow this down a second and ask the OP, is this going to be a wheeler or a rockcrawler, or both? Daily driver as well, or dedicated toy?

 

All of the 2nd gen dakotas have rack and pinion steering btw. 97-99 dakotas will have the 5.2 in them and most of the dakotas 2000+ will have the 4.7v8 or the 3.9v6. I think some of the slt models 2000+ came equiped with the 5.9 engine. My buddy at work has a slt with the 5.9 in it and he bought it directly from the dealer new.

the auto trannys dodge puts in these trucks are pretty crappy compared to other autos, but the manual 5 speeds will last almost forever like any other manual.

 

double post

 

does the manual have a low gear?