Hey guys, I've been reading on the forum for a while today, an awesome place by the way! and thought I would post to see if you had any advice for me. I came across a 2000 Dakota Sport, Quad Cab, 4x4, it has roughly 169k miles, he says it runs strong, he says he thinks it has the 5.8l V8. Inside the cab looks pretty clean for that many miles, the outside looks ok paint wise (again in pictures), but it has some nice dents around the body...front driver corner, rear driver side door, rear driver corner, the rear bumper on the passenger side (kinda like a jack knife trailer will do). And it kinda looks in the pictures like there is a bigger gap on the passenger side of the hood than the driver side...(maybe from when it got that dent on the driver side, right above the head light)

Any way, I like my vehicles to look decent, but I NEED it to run well, and I don't have a lot of money to keep fixing issues right now. (Selling my project to buy this/or another truck). Are there any common issues with these trucks that I need to look for? What should I look at and check for sure on this truck? I'll be going about 45 mins to look at it tomorrow and want to make sure I get a good idea of it. He's been lowering the price pretty much daily on it now...down to about $3300 on it at the moment, he said he bought a car and just needs the money right now.

Any advice would be great, thanks guys.

 

It is probably a 5.2 or 5.9 . If you look at the header of this forum you find a sticky page for general info that might help. The two things I can think of right off hand are check the steering shaft seems to be a weak point, Also check the coolant system. Making sure first it is full of coolant and check for visible signs of leaks around hoses, water pump,and radiator.

 

If you can see the dents in the pictures, it's gonna look even more banged up in person.
I would be worried about the tranny, the differentials, the sludged-up crankcase, oh, and the cooling system, (that will probably need a pump, bypass hose, steel tube, because it's rusted out, and after you put a new pump on it it will start leaking coolant internally through the front cover coolant passage because the gasket was so old and brittle that it snapped while tightening down the water pump bolts) Or not.

 

Check the heat. Clogged or leaking heater cores are common. If you get a whiff of antifreeze you're pulling the dash to replace it.

If it's a 5.9 you can tell by a round "hat" on the throttle body, there was no 5.2 in 2000, open the throttle blades fully and look down. If you see oil the plenum gasket is shot and you'll be burning lots of oil and losing power.

 

You don't want my oppinion; I'd be telling run.. to an old 70's Dodge; Ford up till 84 before their sh!tty EFI kicked in.. then 89-95... Unless you want 4x4 go older; so not to get the electronic 4x4... transfer case that was a big POS when the engagement sensor failed.

Anyways.. LOL JK!... Good advise above..

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm trying to work out with him when to see it today and that gives me some ideas to be sure to check. I also meant to tour he thought it was the 5.9, mistyped there. I am a little worried it's going to look alot worse when I get there, but I'm more concerned with a god running vehicle, I need the back seat for kids the bed for moving stuff, and the 4x4 for hunting, so I'm hoping this will work and the price seems good.

 

If it is a 2000 then it will have the manual transfer case. No electronic garbage.

 

Thats good, he also said it has a small exhaust leak that "muffler magic" quoted him $60 to fix....just heating this does $3200 seem ok? Kbb is about $4800 for fair condition...

 

Personally I feel that if you dont know what engine is in the truck you are selling then they prob never took too much care of it. From a small dent in the fender wont cause a gap in the hood. It would have to be a really hard hit. Do you have any pics of it or ad for it? Ball joints and tranny are the biggest thing

 

+1 right there Dodgeramguy85