Ok, So I just bought my very first Dakota few weeks ago, 2005 slt 4.7 4x4. just hit 108k and I assume the head gasket went, Lost power multi misfire and horrible clouds of white smoke. No milky oil and coolant was fine...weird.

Bar's stop leak as of now and it seems to be better, but I dont plan to rely on it.

After going over the vehicle is seems as though the truck wasent taken very good care of, now.

I'm stuck, I dont know how to change a head gasket i've seen the how to's and its more then what i can do in my driveway.

Would it be a good choice to have the head gasket replaced motor rebuilt or swap it out?

I loved my Ram with the 5.9 would it be a easy plug n go etc

Just curious on my options and the cheapest most reliable route is what i'm looking for thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum!

Unfortunately its not as easy as the old days where you could drop almost any brand X engine into any brand X vehicle with a little work. Anything other than a 4.7 from a 2005 Dakota may require medium to heavy modifications that go beyond replacing a head gasket in difficulty/time. Maybe 2006 will fit, maybe 2007, maybe 2005-2007 Durango/Ram 4.7s will fit without much change/work. That would require a lot more research to know for sure. Do a search here on the forum, one or two Dakotas have done 5.7L Hemi swaps... not an easy task.

Anything other than a 3.7/4.7/5.7 will require adapters for the tranny or a different transmission altogether, not to mention wiring nightmares.

 

After looking into it I see 5.9 would be a pain, Looking towards maybe a 5.7. Im just worried if I fix the head gasket the motor will quit later on down the road as it looks the truck was pretty beat on ( didn't know much about this truck was a AS IS dealer truck) SO im looking at Rebuilding, Getting a rebuilt, 5.7. or having the gasket replaced..in a bind don't know what to do!

 

IMO, get the head gasket fixed, while your in there, inspect everything, freshen up the motor, tune it up and drive it. The 4.7 is a stout little V8 and will last a long time properly taken care of. Look up FrenicX's hemi swap thread if you want to see the work involved in that.

 

I would just change the head gasket. Itd be the cheapest, easiest option. If you think you want to swap, the easiest plug and play option would be another 4.7 from a 2005-2007. I am not sure why someone would want to drop to a 3.7, but I am sure it would nt be too hard besides a PCM swap and engine mounts. A 5.7 would need soem work, like the others have said. Like I said before I would personally go with a new headgasket, it'd be more of a driveway project than the other ideas.

 

Thanks all for the input but the truck was totaled this weekend

 

Well that escalated quickly. What happened if you don't mind me asking?

 

Guess now you're thinking truck swap instead of motor swap. Hope your ok.

 

Wooof... sorry to hear.

 

OOOOO PARTS! Whatcha got?

Yeah trying to find parts for this truck in a wrecking yard is near impossible....

But what happened? Got pictures? We all love carnage. And most important, are you okay?