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Looking at a 2003 Dakota

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Old Nov 8, 2022 | 03:57 AM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by Rustyvan
Dodgevity, its the same color as the truck in your pic. This one has the hard bed cover included but its not mounted. Does anyone really leave those on the truck much?
Looks like a total pain to install and remove.
I got to look for the coolant drain. I see what looks like a hose nipple with a round deal next to it with two protruding nubs. Is that a valve head of some sort?
You mean the drop in plastic bed liner? Got one from the junkyard many years back. Basically you just throw it in there. There may be a few screws involved IIRC. Never comes out. I put one of those heavy rubber pads on the tailgate too. That thing is basically my workbench/table. Lol

I will try to get a pic of the radiator drain. There should be a white plastic petcock.



 

Last edited by Dodgevity; Nov 8, 2022 at 04:09 AM.
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Old Nov 8, 2022 | 08:57 PM
  #22  
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Every time you post a pic of your truck you make me ridiculously jealous that your truck is still shiny and not missing most of its clear coat. Mine got vandalized during the previous ownership so its missing 80% of the clear... I do have a nice rhino-liner atleast...
 
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Old Nov 9, 2022 | 07:22 AM
  #23  
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Originally Posted by supadoom
Every time you post a pic of your truck you make me ridiculously jealous that your truck is still shiny and not missing most of its clear coat. Mine got vandalized during the previous ownership so its missing 80% of the clear... I do have a nice rhino-liner atleast...
I live in michigan.... and I know EXACTLY how you feel.
 
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Old Nov 14, 2022 | 02:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Dodgevity
You mean the drop in plastic bed liner? Got one from the junkyard many years back. Basically you just throw it in there. There may be a few screws involved IIRC. Never comes out. I put one of those heavy rubber pads on the tailgate too. That thing is basically my workbench/table. Lol

I will try to get a pic of the radiator drain. There should be a white plastic petcock.


Not a bed liner. My Ranger has one. The cover that mounts along the ledge look like a trunk lid.
 
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Old Nov 14, 2022 | 02:56 PM
  #25  
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Originally Posted by Rustyvan
Not a bed liner. My Ranger has one. The cover that mounts along the ledge look like a trunk lid.
Okay, that's a tonneau cover that you're describing. I have no use for them cause I'm always carrying stuff taller than the bed in my truck.
 
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Old Nov 15, 2022 | 01:39 PM
  #26  
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You can get the soft rollup ones that are much easier to go back and forth with. If you have a tonneau cover they can help with fuel economy a fair bit. Mostly at low to mid speeds. Highway speed you trap a vortex inside the bed that prevents any aerodynamic issues.
 
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Old Nov 22, 2022 | 01:55 PM
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I have parts ordered now so while waiting I figured I would begin with some items but not a total removal of items before having new in hand.
I pulled the fan clutch from the pump shaft and the tank above the radiator yesterday. This gave me a better view of the water pump. I see three places
at mounting bolts where coolant is puddled in dips of the timing chain cover. I dry them out and not long after the coolant is visible again. I have not
loosened any pump mounting bolts and its without running the engine. I assume its weeping past the pump body seal. None of these spots is lower than the
impeller shaft to be seepage from the shaft seal.

It seems to replace the fan clutch requires knowing the blade pitch. The method I used got me 1.75" and the chart for clutches had pitches of 1.5" and 2.5". My
assumption is I should go by the 1.5"?
 
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Old Nov 22, 2022 | 10:55 PM
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I don't think the clutch itself is blade dependent. I'm pretty sure they just had one design for the 4.7. Are you using an aftermarket design not specifically for the dakota? The fan should just bolt onto the face of the clutch.
 
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Old Nov 25, 2022 | 05:41 PM
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I removed it to see a number on it. Its a Mopar number so it maybe the original clutch. I noticed the nut that screws onto the pump shaft has punch ding marks
so I figure the pump has been replaced before but the clutch is most likely original. When I was looking at a selection of new clutches it was divided by groups
of standard, heavy duty ect. Thats where I saw a reference to blade pitch size in choosing the clutch.
 
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Old Nov 25, 2022 | 05:45 PM
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When I did a shaft play test I saw more movement at the clutch than the water pump. Even though the movement was slight a little could create enough vibration
to shorten the life of the shaft seal in the pump. I have a new pump to install, it arrived today.
 
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