been following this thread for awhile and just looked at the new posts and wow that pre 98 dashboard is indeed worth its weight in gold, my 95 literally doesn't have a dashboard lol....or instrument cluster panel, then again, my 01 didn't either :P

if it just needs the trans fixed to be good and driveable I'd do that personally and save to fix your other up, then you'd have two decent working trucks, not sure how much trouble it would be to try and fix the dent, if that's even possible

I agree too though it's very hard for me to justify buying a new really expensive vehicle, I'm personally going today to get a new trans crossmember and probably new trans mount put in just for good measure, when I got my dual exhaust cherry bomb extreme put on the other day the mechanics saw when the truck was lifted up that an old owner must have run over a tree stump or something because the trans crossmember is all dented and bent up, I never knew though, truck drives fine....they said if it breaks though the trans would fall down and bust the driveshaft and engine up......so for what the junkyard part costs plus 75 in labor for major peace of mind I figure why not get it done....then I'll be good for years hopefully...when these used tires I got wear down I may get some new Hankook A/Ts, they're the cheapest new name brand decent tires I see online and locally

 

if for some reason i decide it's not worth fixing, i'll let everyone know the dash is for sale.
i dropped the tranny off at my brothers shop wednesday, he sais he's positive he can fix it, better than new.

as for the dent, i'm gonna borrow his porta power and try to get it straight enough to get a window in it. she'll never be a magazine truck, but if i can keep water out i'll be happy.

prices are insane... and to get a truck with the features you want ya have to go with the platinum ultra limited edition with about 10k worth of gizmos you don't need. i just want 4x4, radio provisions so i can put my own radio in, ac and cruise. if i could get that new for under $25k i would consider it.

yeah, crossmember failure is not something i would want to experience. at this point, might as well fix it, way cheaper than replacing it.

my favorite tires are toyo m/t's... had them on my jeep and i couldn't kill them. i eventually took the spare off cause i just didn't need it. spendy, but they have tons of grip and i swear they're bulletproof. i drove in freezing rain and didn't lose traction unless i wanted to. never had traction like that barefoot.

that said, for cheapies i would probly go with mastercrafts. i can get just about any big size i want for under $800 and guys seem to really like them off road.

 

lol, that'll do it...

 

would have wrote something sooner but felt like I had a chestburster coming out with food poisoning the other day lol. Got the new trans crossmember and trans mount put on, need to track down a small coolant leak, might be water pump gasket or water pump leaking, not too hard of a job from a youtube vid I watched though....has to be something in that area, it's not the radiator or its hoses, it's leaking farther back that that...only had to add from the "low" to "full" marker in over 200 miles though...debating if I should do the timing chain and gears while I already have all that stuff off too. If the truck drives and idles good though I'm sure the current timing chain is good, I don't put very many miles per year on a vehicle anyway, only had to add the water after 3 months. Besides the coolant leak, I'd like to get that rock solid ram fix for my steering wheel, has a little play to the left and right, when I was down under it doing the oil before I saw somewhat newish springs(could still see the tags on them plus even radiator hoses) and ball joints, and the steering itself is accurate, so I'm thinking it has to be something with my actual steering shaft or possibly the steering box

 

got the dent pushed out enough to get a window in i think... gotta drop by upullit and see if i can find one to test it. the crease above the window is putting up a fight though.

 

Did you try the wooden dowel and super glue fix?

 

I was just wondering that if I put a 3" lift on my 2004 Dakota quad cab 4x4 will I be able to fit 33s and if possible 35s"?

 

not 100% sure, but i would think it should clear 33's. 3" on just about any truck will clear 33's.
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+...utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

using it as a dent puller? a 4ton hydraulic ram couldn't move it.

i do think a stud welder and slide hammer might work, but mine shorted out fixing the blue truck.

at the very least it's good enough to put some plexi over it, silicon for any gaps and rivet/screw it. never be a show truck, but it can be dry

 

No you use a wooden dowel with a nail in it super glue it to dent and instead of using it as a dent puller you use electricity to straighten the metal. Never did it but seen it work wonders on vehicles with worse dents then you have