i recently wrecked my 2000 4wd dakota and bent my frame up on the front and tweaked the back i really dont have the money to have a body shop fix the frame and i cant find a 4wd parts truck to swap everthing around on to get one good truck. So to my question would it be possible to take a 2wd frame and put all my 4wd components onto it with out major mods drilling and tapping a few holes really dosent matter to me and minor welding can be done. Also if anyone knows what years frames will work and what options the truck has to have for my stuff to bolt on that would be helpful to. I have a 2000 dodge dakota V6 3.9L 5 speed 4wd club cab 131"WB if anyone has a parts truck that i could buy or knows a really cheap frame shop i would sure be interested in you response as well

Thanks
Bryan

And by the way just like to say hi to everyone on the forum i am a newbie, on this fourm anyways

 

I am not sure about a 2000, but 4x4s in the 90's don't have a K-frame .So the motor has to sit on the frame. And 2x4s don't have tortion bars. About the same amount of work as changing frontwheel drive to rearwheel.

 

I wouldn't think the frame itself would be different. Just hack off all the brackets and parts you need from the 4x4 and either bolt or weld them in place, there are most likely unused holes in all the right places. It would be a lot of work and very time consuming, but if that's what you prefer over fixing your old 4x4 or buying another one, I say go for it. People have done things way more off the wall than that.

 

Exactly where and how much is bent? What kind of crash? Roll? landing a jump offroading?

Generally if the frame is really bent up to the the point it needs a new frame, more than likely the trucks a write off.

Really 3 choices here.

1. Pay the body shop (trying to modify a 2wd frame to a 4wd more than likely will be more $$$ than letting the body shop pull the frame. Not to mention if its done wrong, the truck will be very unsafe to drive.).
2. Look for a 2000 Dakota 4x4 in junkyards thats been side rolled. May get lucky and find one thats been pretty plucked over by parts scavangers (ie no motor, trany, suspension...)
3. Just go buy another vehicle.


Check the local library for Hollander Interchange manuals. Usually they will list what years will be compatible for your vehicle parts.

 

For your truck, a brand new club cab 131" 4wd frame from dodgeparts.com would be $2561 (retails for $3285). Just to give you an idea.

If you have the patience, equipment and time to do a project like this, go for it. At least with a new frame you wont be dealing with elongated holes, possible stress cracks, slight twisted rails and years of built up grime.

 

did you have insurance? i am guessing that you didn't, simply because if the frame is bent, 9.9/10 times it is considered a totaled vehicle, and they would cut you a check. so that brings us to building a brand new truck from scratch. have you had the motor running since the crash? if you have done enough damage to where you need to replace the frame, in all honesty, i would suggest getting a new vehicle. it may seem a bit expensive at first, but i guarentee you, once you get elbows deep in this project, you will see the amount of time you are truly talking, not to mention money. and if you do not have the money to take it to a shop, i doubt you will have the money/room/tools to be able to do a complete rebuild. i think RP Racing940 has brought up some very legitimate points as well.

i hate to be the person to take a sobering look at this situation, but someone here has to be realistic about this subject. am i saying it cant be done? of course not. what i am saying is that the time looking for parts/production time/money for parts, tools, and everything else you will need will certainly outweigh the overall cost for buying a used vehicle or having a shop do it.

sorry for being a downer, but please keep us informed on what you decide!

welcome to the forum!

 

its not worth it that is going to be an absolute mess and after you get everything done you might as well have bought a different truck not to mention the downtime your going to have attempting to fix your truck

 

if your not set on having a 4x4 then you could buy a wrecked 2wd truck and put your body on it , or atleast the cab. because the vin # stays with the cab, not the truck.
________
How To Make A Vaporizer

 

Not necessarily true. VIN numbers are also on the frame. If the truck is stolen, theres a number on teh frame also that police can look at if the vin on the dash, door, glove box, ECM, fenders, spark plug or anywhere else they hide them now, was replaced.

We've replaced dashes on brand new suburbans after one of the shop idiots put an air chisel through the dash putting a sunroof in. Being a blue interior, GM told us it was a 2 month wait (new dash design then) but the dealer was expecting this truck in 4 days. We had another blue interior sub in the lot we stole the dash out of. Drilled the vin plate rivets out, put the new dash in with the correct vin plate and riveted back on.

 

i do have insurance but if i claim it my insurance will go up so much because of my stupid teenage years (which i cant seem to get out of) that i wont be able to afford anything especially with full coverage (making payments on truck now) and i think they may even drop me if i claim it and i will problaby have to get high risk in$urance. I have 4 accidents and a speeding ticket mostly from bad luck (except the speeding ticket, stupid Z28) But anyways i think the repairs on the truck will be about 5 grand total and i thought a parts truck would be alot cheaper than that and between me and all my car crazy friends it woulndt take us that long and we have, between all of us, collected almost every tool imagineable. So iff all else fails i can give it a vallient effort as a winter project and i still have my good ol' 89 Cherokee to drive thanks for all the info i would still like to find out the differences between the frames from year to year, i have to check out that book some one mentioned before

Thanks Again
Bryan