Well yeah but a majority of cars in a junk yard are there because they don't run.

 

you might be able to get one at a junk yard cheaper. i know the guy at my local junk yard is fairly reason and if you where to pull it you could probably get it for $200 and get to hear it run before you pull it. its not like it has to come out of a dakota. a 3.9 out of a ram, van or durango should fit.
DAKOTA 00-03 3.9L (6-239, VIN "X")
DAKOTA 98-99 6-239 (3.9L, VIN "X")
DODGE 1500 PICKUP 98-01 3.9L (6-239, VIN "X")
DODGE VAN 98-03 6-239 (3.9L, VIN "X")
DURANGO 98-99 6-239 (3.9L, VIN "X")

 

Not always. Some trucks wind up in the bone yard because they got hit in the back end or one of the sides and the insurance totalled them out. I went through that when I got hit in my left front bumper and fender last year. My truck was (and still is) running perfectly, yet the at-fault driver's insurance wanted to total my truck out and ship it off to the junk yard where it would eventually be stripped for its parts. Insurance companies don't make money that way but they would have lost less money if they had totalled it out and sold it to the bone yard for salvage. I had to beg and plead with the insurance company and the body shop, plus have a lawyer involved to keep them from totalling out my truck and screwing me over in the process.

There is a real good junk yard not too far from my house that I go to sometimes. The guys there are honest and have fair prices and are very easy to do business with. I have yet to buy a bad part from them. There has to be a few yards like that where the OP lives.

The junk man gets everything sooner or later but not all junk yard parts are junk (yet).

Jimmy

 

Yea we looked around a found one for around 450 with 100,000 on it. we were looking to do the swap ourselves, but its about 1 degree above 0 right now so id be looking at a few months before getting to do it. the value of the truck doesn't concern me i figure if i spend a little more than what its worth itl make it worth more and i wont be without a truck for however long it takes to find a new one. i was just wondering how long it could last

 

I guess it depends on where the crack is located, if its in a high tension area the life will be shorter if an a lower tension area then it could last longer. The only real thing to worry about is getting a new engine at this point. After you get the old one out, like I said earlier, you could try to get a good welder to give it a temporary fix if someone wants to buy it just to abuse or even use it for internal parts.

 

I believe in the whole karma thing. Imo I believe people screwing other people over is one of the reasons why our economy is going down the drain but heck what do I know im only 18 right. Anyway you can prob get by for a little bit on it. I would ask whoever did your truck to show you the crack. Depending on how much money/parts,miles and condition the truck is in you might be better off to just sell or check the local junk yards for a engine. I know the last time I was in the 3 junk yards near me they all had at least 2 dakotas. They are not rare to find.

 

It is a collection of classified advertisements. What do you think it is? A free pass to swindle folks?

 

Our forum needs a "like" button lol

 

Yeah agree! I've said that for awhile now

 

"LIKE!"


And junk yards can be excellent sources of running and working engines so I'd start there and then look else where. As far as putting more money into a truck that it's worth be careful with that. Yes you get a running truck back but when everything else begins to go it turns into a money pit real fast. aka my truck.