I recently acquired a 2000 4x4 Dakota 4.7. It had been stolen and wrecked. I fixed the damage to the front end. Looks like they smacked it into a pole or something. I replaced hood, radiator support, trans cooler, condenser, radiator. It had some column issues they swapped it out with a Durango that didn't fit, I fixed that too. It didn't have a lot of power, I checked the plugs and they were effed. It has 81,000 miles on it, that's why I got it, I could see the potential for such a low mileage vehicle. I'm guessing the plugs were original. I went with NGK plugs and that seemed to give it a lot more power so that was definitely an issue. It still seems underpowered to me though for being a small truck with a V8 in it. Are they just like that or are there more tune up things I could do to her?

 

Make sure the Map sensor is clean. Put some injector cleaner in the tank. Use some upper intake cleaner as well. Replacing the O2 sensors can help as well. One thing to keep in mind is these trucks aren't "fast" from the factory. They came with 4 speed autos and made ~200 Hp around 4000 RPM. Another thing to remember is these are built on much heavier frames compared to the other half tons on the market at the time. This is why the dakota's were much more capable in the hauling department. However with that extra weight comes slower acceleration for the HP you have.

 

I've got the 2003 Quadcab SLT with the 4.7... heaviest model ever made, I think. Miles are high... approaching 333K now. Power is pretty decent. I've got the 545RFE so it's a 5 speed (you can upgrade the TCM on the 45RFE to achieve the same result). The 4.7 is made to rev on the highway, vs the 5.9 low end grunt. Still pretty decent though. I run the NGKs too. There are two versions that work. One plug is hotter than the other.

 

Thank you for the info, I'll clean the Map Sensor tomorrow. That is good to know about the frame being heavier and built for hauling. At some point I'll be using it for work. I was never a big Dodge fan but I've had a 2001 Ram for 15 years now. I got with 74,000 and it now has 330,000 on it. I love that truck! I'm going to continue to work out of it till the wheels fall off lol. I first saw a generation 2 Ram in 1992 in front of my house. I thought at the time, that is soooo effing cool. They looked so much different than all the other trucks at the time. Dodge hit it out of the park with the gen 2 Rams, in my opinion. We'll see how this little Dakota does for me. It doesn't have much more miles right now than my Ram had when I got it. It's the story of a little old man owned it. He passed and left it to his son. He only had it 9 months or so when it got stolen and wrecked. I consider it a great find. I paid $1,300 for it and paid around $400 in parts so far. Under 2 grand I think is one heck of a deal, in this used car market right now.

 

Great to hear it's made it so many miles. I have an 01 Ram with 330,000 on it. Love these gen 2 Dodges!

 

Those screws on the map sensor are a bitch to get out lol. The screwdriver is angled and such a small torx bit you don't want to strip them. I always watch a video before I do something, even if I know how. I'm so glad I did, the guy was working on a Dakota and he recommended using foil to catch the screws if you dropped them. Yeah, I looked and if you dropped them you would be screwed lol. Just a genius move because, the screwdriver, being at an angle like that in such a tight place you are bound to drop them. My Torx screwdrivers are magnetic but it's a weak magnet.

 

Try replacing the pcv valve, and make sure the plugs wires are good