First post, but I’ve lurked on this site for a few years. I’ve always searched for what people thought about their dodge, issues they’ve had and how to lift it….so, here’s mine.

I’ve got a 2002 Dakota Quad Cab 4.7l, standard with 122,000 miles that I bought off the lot. Stuff I’ve had fixed so far:

At 30,000 miles new rotors/pads, slotted and drilled. They are still on, but need some attention.
Vacuum brake line at about 30,000. It split.
Front Drive shaft at about 110,000.
New radiator, water pump, radiator cap, all at about 95,000 miles. The radiator split in two after driving down too many washboard roads.
New battery at 5 years time. The thing just died.
New shocks at 115,000. The old ones were getting a little bouncy.
ABS sensor at about 15,000 miles, under warranty.
Mine was part of the ball-joint recall.

The rear differential has also spit out some metal at about 80,000 miles, so I’m now going to get that fixed and see if I can go from the 3.55 to the 3.92 so that it drives a little different. It’s been hanging in there so far.

I think that’s about it. Otherwise, mostly just routine maintenance.

I love my truck; I do think it’s reliable. If you think I’ve fixed a lot on it; I don’t. There are other types of vehicles out there that are worse.

It’s also great off road. Never anything too crazy for me off road, but I think the LSD helps.

I just recently got new tires and a lift installed. I’ve got 1.5” torsion keys and blocks. It drives a little stiffer, but I love it. I put 265/75 R16’s on it, which are 31.6” tires; 1 inch bigger than before. It rubs a tiny bit at full turn.

That’s it! Here’s a picture with new tires and lift.

dodge.jpg

 

not quite what your asking or if you're asking anything, but that is in hell of a good shape for 220k miles on her. i am impressed, and you're right the things you replaced are not a lot, every vehicle pretty much gets the same replaced all around the same mileage. I have seen worse so thats cool thats the worst that you had to replace. Nice looking truck bud.

 

I'm thinking about a 1" or 1.5" lift on my QC 4X4 when I replace the bed with an aluminum dump flatbed with fold down sides (the bed floor will be flat so I will need to lift it some). How much is your ride affected? I can handle a little stiffer but one of the things I love about my truck is the nimbleness (for a truck) and the relatively comfortable ride and I wouldn't want to sacrifice that too much. But I will need to get the bed up off of the tires.

Is your truck blue? Whatever it is the color combo looks great IMO.

 

Oops, Blaze10, I did type 222,000 and I really have 122,000. I’ll edit that. I didn't mean to ask anything. I just thought I'd post the info that I looked for on the site.

Blhfla, the ride is stiffer. It defiantly bounces around a little more. But I still like the ride.

 

Defiantly or definitely? Defiantly sounds a bit too harsh for my taste. Does it "hop" more over bumps? I can get my truck to "translocate" laterally when going over bumps in a turn already. It's better than full sizers but I don't want it to get that bad. But I am going to need a solution to raise the bed.

 

Definitely and a little more defiantly too. When you drive over a bump on a curve, like a bridge joint, it already “translocated laterally” a little like you said before the lift. Now it does it with a little firmer action. The washboard is a little rougher now, and the hops/drops are firmer. I tried to lift it as little as possible to keep as much of the original ride as possible, but still start to turn the truck into more of a toy. That’s why I went with the 1.5”.

 

Well then I think this might be the path I need to follow. Did you get a kit to accomplish the lift? If so which and do you like it (was the install difficult)?

 

These trucks are great little trucks. I have fixed less than that on my 2003 and have 170,000 miles on mine. Have 265-75-16's on it, SuperChips, K&N, Flowmaster, 4X4 and about to regear to 3.92's. My truck gets the same mileage it did new and has never stranded me. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

You got a nice truck. Let us know how you like the 3.92's if you get them done before me.

 

i heard if you buy longer shocks it helps the ride. idk if this is true or not but i did 2.5 on the front and 2 inch blocks on the back and it rides good not that much worse then stock

 

I'm at 160K in my 01 QC 4.7...all I've had to do is brakes, ball joints, and tie rods....