My '05 with 11K miles also has a very slight tick when it starts up. But it goes completely away as soon as it warms up. I did the following years ago...Not recommending just saying what I did. I had just had a Hi-Pro 289 Ford stuck in a jeep, (Man that thing would move)...Anyway, about a week after the rebuild and installation I started to hear a lifter clicking away. I mentioned it to an uncle of mine, that in his day had been a pretty good mechanic. He said, "buy a quart of transmission fluid and put it in the oil". Huh?? Well I drained some oil and did it and guess what? within 2 miles of driving the clicking went away and never came back. He said that was an old, old trick for sticky lifters. Will it still work today?????????????

 

They are not lifters, they are hydrolic valve lash adjusters (kind of a cousin to lifters). They lose pressure after sitting overnight, and take a few minutes to pump-up when first started. Very very common on Dodge motors.

As for the HO. The Dakota HOs don't have HO stamped on the intake plenum like the Jeeps do. The V8 badge on the back will read HIGH OUTPUT instead of Magnum (see photo) and the VIN will have a J instead of an N.

0224091729.jpg

 

yea my bad i didnt mean plenum, i meant the black box at the throttle body.

 

Not there either. There is no place under the hood that says High Output or HO on the Dakota. It does on the Jeep 4.7HO, but not the DAK. The only clues are the rear V8 badge and VIN #.

 

If you have a J in your VIN you have the HO, if its an N its the non HO