Hello, I`ve been looking to upgrade to Air Intake system in my Dakota. Its 2000 2nd gen 4X2 with the 3.9L in it. I was looking at a K&N filter but it seems they don`t make it for the 3.9L? So I peeked at what they had for the ram of the same year and it seems they make it for the ram. What is the difference? If it wouldn't work in the Dakota what is different in the Ram? Also would the filter for the Ram work in my Dakota? Thanks.

 

I had the same issue, with my 3.9L.
I wanted more power and sound from my engine, and found that the 5.2/5.9L standard ebay special kits fit very well...
heres a link...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/98-03-Dodge-...item1e68c90425

It only took very little modification to fit, (like the S-bolt mod for the air hat) nothing major.

 

What modifications did you have to make to make it fit? And is that a K&N? Looks very similar. Thanks for the reply

 

Had to move some things around a bit, i did it like 2 years ago, so i'm trying to remember..
The biggest thing was the S-bolt mod for the air hat. The stock air hat bolt just unbolts from the throttle body, and the specs for the S-bolt mod are on this forum somewhere.

You'll need about 12" of 1/4"x20 threaded rod from your local Home Depot or were ever. (The reason for the 12" is in case you make a few mistakes...this leaves you extra material for practice.)

I bought the cold air kit to modify it to fit the 3.9L and to my surprise it pretty much bolted right up.

oh, and its a knock off K&n Filter, but it performs just as well...or at least i think so.

 

heres a really good tips and tricks page...

http://bionicdodge.com/Download/Spee...d%20Tricks.pdf

scroll down and the specs for the S-bolt mod are on the page!

 

Or since the airhats are the exact same as the V8 variant you can just get the CAI tubing kit. It pops right onto the stock airhat and puts the filter right behind the small plastic shroud next to the radiator. Pop the shroud off and you have a direct source of cold fresh air.

 

Stoooooop get an air cleaner, got mine for 40 bucks. Best upgrade I've done. More power out of the underpowered 3.9, throttle response, and cheaper filters. Sounds great too. I look at it like this, air travels a max of 3 inches from air cleaner to throttle body. With a cai it's moving a few feet. The counter example for this is that heat rises, the air cleaner sits up high, the cai coils the air even more through the metal pipe. I personally think the outside air rushing in over the engine does enough to cool the otherwise hot air entering the engine

 

@Jamoka3- Ahh ok thx, and thx for the link!
@XXaler- Wait so I just have to pull the tubing to the stock air box off, as well the stock air box and bolt that on? Seems easy to me, but how well does it work? Thanks.
@NickCornell- I've never heard of such a thing? Forgive me, I'm still learning this kinda stuff. What difference does it make being a few feet away or not? How does it work? Thanks.

 

What Nick is referring to is probably an air filter that just sits on top of the throttle body....pretty much like a flying saucer. Older american motors with carbs used them for performance increase, and the gains were noticeable when compared to the old-school stock filter/cleaner sitting up top. The stock setup was that a round covered metal pot with a hole in the center would sit on top of the carb. There would be an outlet on one side of the pot that had a pipe running to one side, to suck air into the carb. The idea was to get cooler air as far away from the top of the engine as was possible (hot air rises) and bring it into the carb.

The gains seen from the top air filter were based on their free flow design. It didnt bring in COLD air, but allowed freer airflow into the carb. And since a carb adjusted the fuel flow through mechanical means, it was easier to manage that by listening to the engine sound, where it got smoother/happier with the most perfect air-fuel ratio and the revs increased as a result. We dont have that luxury anymore, what with the PCM and MAF added to the equation.

There are two aspects to airflow that are important - temperature and flow rate. MAFs measure the flow rate, so ANYTHING that flows more air into the MAF and TB will result in the PCM dumping in more fuel to achieve stoich air-fuel ratio. The temperature is a totally different story. Cooler air is denser, so it packs more molecules in the same volume. Since the MAF only measures flow rate and not temperature (we use IAT for that, right?), the benefit of cooler air is a higher level of oxygen, so better combustion.

The debate would be about which solution flows more combustible air molecules in per second - top air filter (free flow) or CAI (colder air). In my opinion, a CAI would be a better option, especially if the filter at the end flows air freely thru it (but if you get a CAI filter that is not really that great, Nick's solution would be better). The metal pipe WILL heat up eventually and therefore, the air temperature will rise thru the metal pipe. It still won't however, be as hot as the air on top of the engine. Besides, the air velocity is quite high when it is being suck in thru a restricted channel (pipe), so a CAI will perhaps be a better option. Plus, how will you install the MAF if you have an air filter sitting directly on top of the TB? Maybe I am confused.

I could be wrong about this whole thing but thats what makes sense to me. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

My two cents....

 

OK i have a spectre CAI and is very nice and they make it dor the 3.9 search on amazonDSC01656.jpg