So a few years back I was looking for a used vehicle and ended up buying a 2001 and a 2002 Durango for a total of $1100 between the two. The 2001 supposedly just had a jumped timing chain so I paid $700 for it. While I was looking I also came across a 2002 which had over heated and the owner told me up front he did not know whether or not it had blown a head gasket. The vehicle had almost brand new 16" tires so I figured $400 was worth it and so I became to owner of 2 Durango's.

Looking at the 2002, I found the head gasket was good, no water in oil,no oil in water, so I ultimately ended up fixing everything on it and it became my daily driver. Worked on the 2001 and put in new timing chain, got it all back together and it started right up. But... It had aknock in the lower end underneath and after doing research I came across a couple of audio recordings with the same sound and all those ended up being a spun bearing in the rear and with the way they spun, the crankshaft or a rod was hitting the bearing. So the 2001 has been sitting ever since.

Have now sidelined the 2002 as it has major rust issues and the state inspection just ran out. So now I am in the process of pulling the motor and transmission from the 2001 and going to swap in the one from the 2002. Both are the 4.7L and the one from the 2002 is still strong and the transmission is smooth as silk. This 2001 will become my daughter's when starts driving in about a year. This will give me some time to get the work done a drive it a bit to make sure it is ready to go for her.

So... The reason for my post.. I ran across a 2004 limited on Craigslist and I just paid $400 for it, he wanted $1000. Vehicle has been sitting for 2 years and is very musty inside so going to need a LOT of cleaning. The motor is a rebuilt 5.7L Hemi and has just over 20,000 on it but it will not start. Current owner says he thinks it has a stuck valve. Well, I think there is more to it than that. He described that he was driving it one day when it all of a sudden revved up then lost power and would not start after that.While I was going over it, I pulled the dipstick and hmmmm, how about that... From what I recall from memory while writing this, there is like 6 inches from the bottom of the dip stick to the add mark. Now I know this has been sitting for a couple of years, but I am sure the oil hasn't evaporated, but when I pulled the dip stick, there was less than a 1/2 inch of oil on it. So I wiped the stack, put it back in and pulled again, same thing. So I am thinking this motor may be toast.

Plan for this one is to clean it up and get it running again. Hoping that the interior can be cleaned up and able to get all the smell out. We haven't decided if we are going to sell it or keep it, but one of the main goals is to get my daughter out and working on it so she knows how to take care of her own vehicle.

I really like the look of the D's however, I am not looking forward to working on the 5.7L with the way it is sunk back into the vehicle.

So did I just make a mistake on this thing? $400 is what the local junkyard was offering, so I figured at the very least I could get that much out of it in pulled parts if it comes down to it.

So is this an addiction or am I just a glutton for punishment?