I have a 1992 Dakota and i was wondering a few things before i get knee deep in sh*t i dont want to. It has the 3.9l V6 and i have put on a cat delete and 3" full exhaust and flowmaster. It also has a K&N airfilter for performance parts. The problem i had was first my sister drove the truck and the top radiator hose blew off and she drove it home. I changed the thermostat and the top hose. I drove it from iowa back to chicago with no problems. When i drove it the next day the waterpump took a dump on me! Replaced that and all the hoses ect. ect. Drove it for about two hours then it started to overheat REALLY BAD REALLY FAST! I stopped let it cool and came back and drove it home. When i got to my house i lost all oil pressure. Let it cool down changed the oil and it had a little oil pressure. Then i pulled the dipstick and it already smells like raw fuel and it smells sweet and is watery. I say head gasket and since it smokes a little anyways i want to do a full rebuild. Should i fix that motor or buy my friends 318 and rebuild that? If i do that will the trans bolt on the 318? What would i have to change? Thanks, Jerad

 

it should bolt right up, the same size motor just 2 more cylinders. I am doing the same thing. You definitely blew a head gasket badly. I would sell everything you can on the 3.9 and rebuild the 318 or you could send it for core and get a refurbished 318 which is pricey. You could also just redo or core the 3.9 which would be cheaper. It's a big decision

 

V8 is the way to go.But then I may be a little one sided. Do not use the v6 flex plate on the v8.