I'm going to get a cheap hub because I don't plan on having the truck for more than another year or so. I'm so sick of fixing this thing. I've spend thousands and thousands fixing this thing and I'm sick of it. It's a complete pile or crap. I take extremely good care of it and this is how it rewards me. I will never recommend a Dakota to anyone looking to buy one. My father's F-150 is closing in on 200,000 miles and he had to replace the ball joints once... That's it other than tires and brakes. Literally that's it. Oh, he replaced the plugs after 150,000 miles... I've replaced everything except the shift **** on this pile.

 

Yet I could say the same about some f150's. Its all the roll of the dice. Usually once you get into 10-12 years old you start replacing parts. My buddies dad has a 93 buick work car with 90k on it and my buddy had a 98 malibu with 170k on it(same engine) his dad takes care of his car and always seems like its breaking down. My buddy beat the crap out of his malibu since it was his work car. When I mean beat I mean BEAT. Took it off road,few neutral drops,drifting all winter long,Piled tools and stuff in the back,jumped it a time or 2. Its the same in the cummins world. I see so many guys put thousands into their trucks and other guys dont do much and just work them hard and they are fine. I wont buy any of that new junk. Too much computer crap to break and fail,cheaper quality. My 02 will prob be the newest thing I own. Especially with the way the epa is cracking down on everyone.

 

Yeah, but when I worked at a sawmill we had 4 F-150s as company trucks, all were abused (aren't all company trucks?) and all never had anywhere CLOSE to the amount of problems I've had, and all saw 250,000+ miles. Meanwhile we had 2 Rams that were nothing but problems, constantly needed work.

My father has had 4 F-150s himself, father-in-law has had a couple, again neither had anywhere near the amount of problems.

Recently a guy from work drove his F-150 to South Dakota... WITH 400k MILES ON IT! Original engine and trans... now I know this is rare, but still.

Meanwhile I know many people with horrendous luck with Dakotas and Rams.

Now I know I won't get much sympathy here on a Dodge forum, but I can tell you I will NEVER buy another Dodge. I've said it time and time again. I love my truck. Just the right size for me, big motor in a smaller truck with a manual trans, you can't find that anywhere else, great looking truck, nice interior as far as I'm concerned (better than any Ranger, S10, Taco, or other comparable truck). But at the end of the day its just had way too many problems... I'll list some things off the top of my head

Clutch
Rear End
Ball Joints
CV shafts
Front drive shaft
CTM
All 4 Shocks
Hub/wheel bearing
Power Steering Pump
Control Arm bushings
Sway bar bushings
Speed sensor multiple times
Heater Fan
AC needs to be serviced before summer

That's just the stuff I can think of off the top of my head, I know there's more. Nobody should have to replace all of the stuff before a vehicle gets to 150-160k miles.





Sorry to rant, but come on.

 

I honestly dont see it being that bad. Other than the rear end and power steering pump. All depends on conditions. I find trucks run better when they are abused and used.

 

My Dakota has been amazingly good to me maybe because it was built in Canada not Mexico

 

Oh man... NOT THAT BAD? I think you guys are too used to driving Dodges to the point where replacing all that stuff just seems "normal" This may be news to you guys but other people don't replace that much stuff on Fords, Toyotas, Chevys, whatever.

There have been other people on here too saying its normal to replace these things... I think you all have just been around Dodges too long. CVs shouldn't wear out, they're a strong joint than U-joints since they maintain there strength at all angles unlike U-Joints, Shocks should last more than 100k miles, clutches should last more than 150k miles (I know you may be thinking it must be the driver, I assure you, I know how to drive a standard), the CTM is a known problem with Dodge, but other companies don't have this issue, power steering pump?, Control arm bushings shouldn't squeak like hell after 110-120k miles...

I could keep going, and I could keep comparing my truck to other people's trucks, but it gets pointless... I honestly don't know anyone that has replaced as much stuff as I have... oh that's right I do, its my buddy's 08 2500 Ram that was completely falling apart with 40k miles on it (more electrical problems than a Volkswagen and the entire front end was junk after 38k miles)

There is a reason Dodge was doing so bad for awhile, there quality was very sub-par. I would love to buy another Dodge someday, ESPECIALLY if they do come out with the srt-4 Dart, but I won't simply because of the amount of time, money, and frustration this truck has caused me. I will instead buy a 2011+ WRX because I know they have proven quality (if I go that route of switching to a car). If I buy a truck I can guarantee it will either be an F-150 or Sierra.

 

The F150 is a full size truck still not a large size truck but a Dakota and an F150 are not the same thing by far. A smaller truck the Dakota is designed for light weight work be real you can’t compare the two and say one is better than the other I think the Dakota is a great truck for what it is.

Apples and oranges

I will also say this what we know as the 2-nd gen Dakota was an experiment in action the 1997 Dakota compared to the 2004 is a very different beast the Dakota was getting refined all those years as to which is better who can say but the 2004 Dakota was a very refined Dakota

 

I know the F-150 is a larger truck, but does that mean it should be more reliable than a Dakota under normal circumstances? No, not at all. I'm not comparing apples and oranges, I'm comparing macintosh and red delicious. I'm not comparing my Dakota to a BMW. I'm comparing a truck to slightly larger truck. Why should the fact that the F-150 is slightly larger mean it should last longer. Plus in 2002, the F-150 was BARELY any larger, and that is what I'm comparing it to. Same size motor practically and the F-150 not that much larger physically.

I'm not comparing your tiny little 2wd 4 banger Dakota to one, I'm comparing my 4.7 V8 4wd to a 4.6L V8 4wd... hmmm, not so different after all?

I use my truck for what it was intended. I'm not trying to tow the same capacity as a full size and saying it doesn't work. The only hauling my truck really see is firewood every now and then.

To say you can't compare them is ridiculous...

 

My 2 buddys and I had about an hr talk tonight one works at a normal we work on anything garage and my other buddy works in a chevy garage. I can tell you that dodges fall apart just the same as fords and chevys. Give me any truck you want and I bet you in 150k I can find the same problems or other things to replace. It all depends on the last owner and what the truck is. Im not gonna compare the life of my truck to an 1500 why well because there is no parts that are the same. Bigger trucks have bigger and more heavy duty items. 1 brake disc on my truck can be melted down and used to make 4 dakota discs. When you work on a lot of vehicles and are exposed to all the brands out there you will see that each have pros and cons. After a certain amount of miles they all need the same thing. Usually after about 100,000 miles is when parts start to get tired. Maybe I dont think replacing those parts are bad because of my driving style and what I do. Im always off road,in the mud,cutting wood,hauling it,hauling gravel,coal,ashes,scrap. Towing trailers,doing burn outs,abusing my truck when im in the mood. After all its a truck not a pirius.

Think about all the parts you listed. Now think about which ones never stop moving. They pretty much all do until you shut your truck off. So I find them under the usual replacement after so many miles. Now this would be a totally different story if your truck had 30-50,000 miles on it. Being around 150k is pretty normal. Now think of a truck that is 2,000lb heavier than your dakota(any full size f150,1500) Now it makes sense that they would have bigger and better ball joints on it than the dakota right? These more hd parts are gonna take longer to wear out.

Not trying to start an argument just stating the facts that you cant really compare a dakota to a full size and expect the same reliability. I mean yeah you could have a friend or 2 that have nothing but problems with their dodge but yet I could tell you I have a friend or 2 that have problems with their ford or chevy. Now if I had to choose a brand new truck out of the big 3 it would be a chevy/gmc. I personally love my buddys 6.2 gmc plenty of power and not that bad mpg.

 

Wow insults bluster and intimidation all in one a first on this forum you must be proud