hey guys, im about to turn 16 as well,and my problem is that i need to find a dakota somewhere from florida to georgia, in that area, not to be picky, but it has to be an extended cab, an i would prefer an automatic v8, any help would be great, im kinda tight on cash, so around 3000 to 4000 dollars is my price range, any help would be greatly appreciated thanks and have a good day

 

Finding one that meets your specs inside that price range might be tricky. Look at your local used car dealerships, and in the classifieds of the newspaper.

Mines a 2002 SXT Club Cab, v6 2 wheel drive, and we payed just under 10 for it on a bargain.

 

Oh yeah and btw, here's my truck! I promised pictures, but forgot for a while. Thats me and my girlfriend washing it.

 

I agree. I've switched a few of my and my family's cars over dino oil to synthetic with no problems. My first Neon was switched over around 60k miles, my mom's '99 Caravan was switched over around 40k, and I recently switched my truck over at 45k miles. The first Neon absolutely LOVED the change, my mom's van was not really noticeable (but then again I wasn't daily driving it) and I can honestly say I've noticed a difference in mpg and idle with my truck.

The key is to switch it over early. Switching a car over at 80k is asking for trouble.

My only words of wisdom are dedicate twice as much time as you think you need for the first time you change the plugs and wires on your truck! Other than the truck being a little more challenging to work on than my Neons, I love my '03 SXT.

 

I noticed some one said about changing plugs word of advise not sure how much you have done so take no offence but make sure if you do change your spark plugs your motor is cold ya know dont run it for a night change them in the morning For 2 reason one its ushaly hot around there after the motor has run and you will burn your self lol but the main reason is some times the spark plugs will be stuck in there when its hot and it might snap the plug off in there and its a nasty fix then do you listen to counrty? because the song im my head is ( Dont as me How I Know) lol good luck drive smart oh by the way i change my oil every 3000 old habits are hard to break i just bought my first dakota too and i love it but we will see in a couple years

 

Well first off, congratulations and happy early birthday. But unfornuantly, im older, i turned 16 the 27th of July. Anyways, I would say the first thing you should do when getting your truck is check and replace air filter, check replace plugs and wires (autolite 3923's run best in Magnums) Drop the tranny pan if its an auto and have everything flushed and replaced and adjust the bands. If you know what to look for when a cat converter is going bad, look for it, because im pretty sure there was an etended warrenty on the cat converters and are a free replace. Since I got mine done b4 this recall, Dodge reimbursted me 200bucks + labor for my cat i had installed. I would check the oil and replace anyways because noone knows how long its been in there. Since your truck is only 2wd, while ur at changing fluids id do the rearend also.

You don't gotta do all of the things i listed you don't gotta do any of them actually if you just don't care. But if you want this truck to last along time and be ready for anything, its a good idea to check and change things ahead of time. Goodluck.

 

wow i looked at ur pics and I LOVE YOUR TRUCK take care of it and you'll have it for a long time these are tough trucks. cute girl btw. do the same with her

 

congrats on your first ride. similar to me; i got a 2003 club cab 3.9 as my first car, brand new. no major problems with it for 43000 miles. just follow the suggested maintenance schedule in the log book, or in the haynes repair manual.

 

Congrats and Happy Birthday! Just take care of it regular services are a must! I've used Valvoline Maxlife in mine. Mine's a 99 Dak Sport with a 3.9L with 140,000 on it now and still runs great!

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