Hi everyone!


I'm not only brand new to the Dodge Forum but am about to become a first time Dodge Dakota owner. I'm looking forward to getting to know the folks on what appears to be a great site about a great truck.


I'm considering buying a beautiful 2001 Dodge Dakota 4WD 4.7 V8 engine with only 116,000 miles that has obviously been very well taken care of.
The owner let me have it for the day and I had it thoroughly checked out.
The only thing that kind of bugs me a little bit is the fact the engine has a very slightly audible valve or tappet tap noise. Its as if one of the valves may be making a little bit of noise at idle, but when I run up the RPM's and the oil gauge indicates higher oil pressure this slight tapping sound seems to go away.
The price is really right on this truck and I'm wondering should walk away from this beauty just because of this very slight tapping sound. Or is it that big a deal?
Any ideas what I might be hearing and is it a real critical issue?
Thanks a bunch!
Harkauto

 

I believe it's common on the 4.7. I'll have to let one of the 4.7 guys to chime in, but as far as I know, it's common.

 

That noise is very common on the 4.7 engine. It should go away after a couple of minutes of running.

Also check the exhaust manifold bolts. They rust easily and break, causing an exhaust leak that can make a tapping noise.

 

What oil are you running and when was it last changed?

 

It is a normal operating sound.

If the price is right and you feel it has been taken care that wonderfully, pull the trigger! You're going to love this truck... then hate it some days, but mostly love it.

Welcome to the forum!

 

The owner said he had the oil changed at one of the quick lube places last March and thinks they use some kind of generic bulk oil and he had no idea what brand it was. I got the company name off the recent windshield service sticker and called them. They told me it was a brand from a company called Northwoods out of Waterloo, Iowa. I called Northwoods and they told me their oil is a synthetic blend but they did not know what the blend ratio was.
Since they could not tell me exactly what this oil is and the fact that I have never heard of it before, I immediately drained and replaced the oil and filter with 5W-30 Mobil 1 full synthetic oil and a new Mopar OEM filter. I also cleaned and re-oiled the K&N air filter which was filthy.
Maybe the combination of doing these two things will make a difference. The ticking noise at idle does seem a little less noticeable already.
Maybe I'm gust a little too **** about these kinds of things.

 

You're not too ****, it's YOUR truck!

Run it a bit then give it another oil/filter change and see how the noise is. I'm not saying the oil they used was bad, but give the M1 a chance to clean it out a bit.

 

Thanks Robbadodge for the info and the welcome. I know I'm going to love this site. The people are fantastic!

I think the love / hate relationship probably exists with most any vehicle. I know that has been the case with anything that had wheels on it that I have ever owned. Fortunately the love days out weighed the times I wanted to put a slug through the radiator and I can't think of a vehicle that I truly hated owning. Anything mechanical will eventually have its issues.

I just left the motorcycling stage of life, sold the Goldwing and bought this 2001 Dakota and I'm already in love. I keep thinking of more and more reasons to drive it.

I had never owned a pickup in my life until now and when I had the cash in hand and went searching all the makes and models out there I was constantly being drawn to the looks and beauty of the Dodge Dakota. I think overall the Dodge trucks are the best looking trucks on the road. All the others are just trucks. Dodge seems to have a unique style of its own.
I'm 6'-4" tall and tried the little Ford Ranger and Chevy S10 but they just seemed too small and yet I didn't want a pickup that felt like I was driving something the size of a semi tractor either. And then a friend who has always been a Dodge man pointed me in the direction of the Dodge Dakota telling me that the Dakota is mid-size truck that falls in between the small and large. Now, I'm glad he did.

Tell me about your Dakota! It's a beauty! I love the color. Mine is the Patriot Blue color.

Thanks again!

 

Thanks 00DakDan for your response! I will give it a shot and see what happens.
The oil I drained out was pretty filthy.

 

This video explains things

The lifters get mucked up by low quality oil and or lack of oil changes as they start getting sticky you get lifter ticking.

The 4.7 needs a quality oil preferably a synthetic that keeps the lifters clean and regular constant oil changes.

This vid is for a Jeep but its the same engine