"Oh no, not again..."


I've never had a problem changing oil on anything I've owned, or anything my friends have owned, but this is pretty close to the newest rig I've ever had the pleasure of wrenching on....

06 Dodge Dakota, 3.7L V6, Auto tranny, 4x4, I think they call it a "club" cab (with the suicide rear doors)

Am I in for a surprise when I crawl up under there tonight to give it some fresh oil?

 

nope not really be good unless u have the skid plate like i do then ur in for sum oil going over it a bit makesure to clean it up if the 3.7 oil filter in the same area as the 4.7 its simple just when its almost donw sum oil will go down the block but all said and done its pretty simple.

 

why would oil go down the block?

 

On the 4.7, where the filter location is makes it impossible to remove the filter without having oil drip down the front of the engine, oil pan, and all over the front of the chassis. Every time I get the oil change I go home, park the truck on the grass, and spray simple green all over the front end of the truck because it makes a pretty big mess.

 

ugh. thanks. I hope the 3.7L is better...but I doubt it.

Thanks guys.

 

Changing the oil is a cake walk though compared to the older dakotas. The filter is directly in the left front corner, and the plug is in an easy location. I kinda agree with the others though it is a tad messy. The oil plug seems to be in a key spot so that the first few minutes of draining, the oil runs all over the cross member. The filter location tends to run down the side of the frame and front axle... other than that I love changing the oil on my truck compared to the older trucks and some of these cars.

 

hmm...there's gotta be a better way.

thanks for the info guys, sounds like it's straight forward, just like I was hoping, but not as easy as my bike (srsly, that thing is a 5 minute oil change except for waiting for it to drain....)

 

just let the truck run for 5 mins then turn it off wait couple mins then let her drain jsut have sum rags just incase just clean up the best u can. its easy but messy... theres always a draw back on sumthing but is alot easier then other cars.

 

Very true, my bike is the same, takes no time to change... although the filter area is a bit messy too

Yeah def make sure you wait alittle to let the oil pressure die down or you'll wear it...

 

Is it a good idea on these trucks to jack up the front end a tad when draining the oil so it all flows towards the plug? Since the stock 4x4 model sits lower in front than in the rear, I would assume that there is oil that sits in the front of the pan and never gets drained otherwise.