Dodge Dakota review

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Thinking about Dodge Dakota circa 2002-2004 time frame.

Particularly interested in a 3.9L V6/5 speed combination, X-cab.

Any known issues to look for?
 
Transmission, front suspension, steering.

Still my favorite style of all the Dakotas. I also like the way they drive.

The 4.7 V8 only gets about a mpg or so less than the 3.9
 
I can only remember 2 items, one being ball joints, aka the Rice Krispie suspension because they start crackling and popping and eventually snap. Seriously, there was a recall for bad ball joints, but the recall replaced the badly-designed Mopar ball joints, with, wait for it, almost as badly-designed Mopar ball joints. So if the candidate vehicle doesn't have after-market ball joints, you may have to replace them.

The other item I remember, but didn't happen to my truck, was that there was a problem with the A/C drain hose that would clog and flood the passenger-side footwell.

I'm sure there's more but other than an A/C system that's been giving me problems the last several years (leaks causing loss of R-134) and a brake caliper that locked up on me, my truck has been relatively low-maintenance over the time I've owned it, and I've had it since it was new.
 
Originally Posted By: pacem
Thinking about Dodge Dakota circa 2002-2004 time frame.

Particularly interested in a 3.9L V6/5 speed combination, X-cab.

Any known issues to look for?


Let's see...

2004 marks the 3.7L engine replacing the 3.9L. Neither are very fast or economical, especially with the heavier Club Cab (2 door) and Quad Cab (4 door). Consider a V8. 3.9's in this era the NV3500 manual transmission which is a really good gearbox. (Not sure about the 3.7L, never had one). The NV231 is a good transfer case for non-extreme most 4x4 needs.

The 3.9L has two issues. One is the Magnumized head has very little metal between the intake and exhaust valves, and that tiny bridge tends to crack. The engine still runs but you'll burn oil and have less power. Get a wet/dry compression test.

The intake manifold gasket design is also defective from the factory. This was supposed to be "fixed" and there is a TSB with a previous affected date range, but it continued to be a problem. If the 3.9L burns oil and has oil in the intake and intake valve area, it has this problem.

Long drives with A/C leave the passenger floor wet. Check for rust there. Add a wind deflector to the firewall drain hole to prevent this.

Fan speed switch resister pack tends to burn out, and the fan loses some or all speeds. The updated Mopar part fixes the problem, and it's an easy fix.

As Dak's get older the HVAC blend and vent door mechanisms get sticky and the break. Most of the breakage and fixes are labor intensive, some are parts cost intensive. Make sure to cycle through all the settings. If it's stuck some where, make sure it's somewhere you can live with, and use it as a bargaining chip.

The bodies are galvanized and the exhaust is Stainless, but they can still rust in the rust belt. Check the seams underneath along the door area and back.

That's all I can think of for now. There's more, I'm sure.
 
I dont know if its prevalent on these dodges but almost every dodge pickup i have seen in ny has rust along every wheel well. Of course you are from maryland so its probably not as bad.
 
I have owned my Dakota for 9 years, bought it used with 42,000 miles from Carmax, I myself have now put over 132,000 miles on it since then. Without even a shred of doubt it has been absolutely the very best vehicle I have ever owned. There may be "common issues" with Dakota's but none any worse or better than any other truck out there.

Yes the 3.9 is not exactly the fastest on the street. Mine runs perfectly fine for me. I keep it tuned up and in good shape. I had one HVAC actuator replaced under the Carmax warranty right after purchase. The blower motor resistor does tend to burn out, it helps to replace the resistor and the blower motor both at the same time. Usually when the resistor goes bad it is because the OEM blower fan is drawing too much current. I guess you could call both of those common problems. If a blend door actuator fails the HVAC will default to defrost mode.

The ball joint problem was covered under recall, but only for upper ball joints on 4 wheel drive Dakota's. I replaced all 4 of my OEM ball joints around 125,000 miles so I will say I got my money's worth from them. Dodge says to replace the control arm as an assembly, but on 2 wheel drives you can drill out the rivets and bolt in new parts. 4 wheel drives have riveted upper and pressed in lower ball joints which can also be replaced fairly easily.

I heard or read somewhere that Dodge was said to have fixed the belly pan gasket problem some time in the 2000 model year. Some trucks have the problem, some do not, but Hughes Engines makes a great kit to replace the gasket and pan permanently.

I have never had any water on my passenger floor, and I use my A/C a lot, living here in sunny Florida. There is an elbow you can get from Dodge to put over the A/C drain if you have the condensate blowing back in at highway speeds.

I can't speak for any rust, we don't really have that problem here. I have the NV3500 manual transmission, it has done a fine job, is very strong but my throwout bearing is a little noisy. From what I have read, they all are and it does not bother me.

My Dakota has been great. It has never let me down and never left me walking. It runs and drives great for its age, it handles well, is super comfortable to drive, the interior is still in near perfect shape even at over 13 years old and my truck is pretty easy to work on. I track my MPG on www.fuelly.com and routinely get right at 18.5 MPG in mixed city/highway driving. The parts I have replaced and repaired were all either normal maintenance items like tires, shocks and brakes or parts that failed due to high mileage, which is to be expected. My only regret is I can not go back in time and buy my Dakota brand new.
 
Originally Posted By: expat
B in law had one and the Diff exploded.


Oh yeah... the diff input shaft bearing often goes up after 100K miles. It is noisy and makes the problem known. If you ignore the noise for long, you'll be buying a new differential.

I had mine diagnosed and replaced immediately and have another 30K since then with no more problems. I believe it is not a design issue but a bad batch of bearings. My mechanic said he was replacing them on Dodge's and Chevy's from that era every week. (He's one of the few in town that can be trusted with Differential work).
 
Only one I have ever driven was my Sisters. What a pile of junk. I'd never own one after that bad experiance. Just my.02
 
I like mine. It has the 3.9 V-6 engine and is ultra reliable. It is thirsty though. So far, my Dakota has NEVER EVER been in the shop for any repairs of any type. It has no rust and currently has about 73,000 or so miles on it. I did have the wet floor due to the a/c evaporator core not wanting to drain properly. Cost me $12 in parts at my local dealer and about 20 minutes to fix. It is a super cab, but doesn't have the little 1/2 doors that open up. The lack of this feature and poor fuel economy are the only 2 drawbacks that I am aware of.
 
I had a 1997 model, which I believe is the same as what you're considering, except for a dashboard re-style. I enjoyed the truck; mine had well over 150,000 miles, so it had a number of suspension issues (bushings shot, etc). Over time, I replaced a number of them, and actually enjoyed learning a lot about that stuff. I had all of the control arms out of the front suspension (mine was 2wd), and I replaced the lower ball joints, put new bushings in the lower control arms, and put R/T coil springs in it. I didn't like the ride from them, so I tore it all back out and returned it to stock...so I got some EXTRA learning done on that vehicle! Upper control arm bushings were shot, and I never got around to replacing them before I sold it.

It was a third vehicle for us, and I decided that I'd rather have the $2000 I could clear after selling it and buying a nice 5x8 utility trailer that I could pull with either one of our other vehicles, so I sold it a few years ago. I really enjoyed it, though, and I'd buy another one again without hesitation.

I had the Club Cab (extended cab). If I were doing it again, I'd buy the Quad Cab (with four real doors).
 
I have a 2000 durango, only 65K miles on it, bought new.

It has the 5.9, SLT+ every option. I had the upper ball joint recall done, even though the originals were fine. It was really a stupid recall in the sense your state safety inspection should catch a bad ball joint.

anyhow I have only had to replace front calipers because one was sticking probably from infrequent use. Other than that is has been normal maintenance, mostly fluid changes. I have also replaced the shocks with some Bilsteins, hoses, plugs and wires.
It has been [censored] relaible other than being thirsty, avg about 16 mpg, it has the tow package and 3.92 gears.

I know a couple of poeple who had Daks from that vintage, one was a 3.9 4 spd auto, 4x2 my coworker had it for about 8 yrs as a work truck, got 240K before he retired it, had rusted brake lines and trans was probably going to need work.

Other one was a tech I know, had an 04 4.7 4x4 He bought it with 180K on it. He retired it this winter. Had 280K miles on it. He used it to plow a few driveways.


If your looking for one, your shopping condition, look for rust, suspension and check all the electronics, see if the belly pan has been done if 3.9, 5.2,5.9

Good luck
 
Dodge Durango is something else I am considering.

It gets terrible reviews however, especially of that vintage.

Complaints seem to center about head gasket issues and transmission problems.
 
My son has a 2001, which has 155,000 miles on it now. I bought it for him from a friend with 78,000 miles. He had already replaced the front brake calipers. I replaced the upper ball joints and water pump at about 125K miles. The resistor was bad when I got it, and the blower motor was fine and it hasn't blown another resistor. His has the automatic trans, and I changed the fluid and filter when I bought it, and not since. The trans is still good. Rear still good and doesn't make any noise. Gas mileage is about 19 combined. The 3.9 doesn't have a whole lot of power or exceptional gas mileage, but that engine will run forever. I've known 2 people with over 400K on the original engine. I highly recommend the Dakota.
 
Originally Posted By: pacem
Am I correct in understanding that V8 engines were not available with 5-speed stickshift?


The 360 (5.9) was automatic only...the 5.2 and 4.7 got the NV3500. (The V6 and the 2.5 got the AX-15.)
 
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