00 Dakota 3.9L Under Valve Cover pics

[wander2039]

00 Dakota with the 3.9L/102k ... I've had it since 2018 with 88k when grandpa passed. Off the top of my head I don't remember when grandpa got it or the mileage, but it seems like he only put 20-30k on it in 10 years. Most of the miles were put on early. I've only ran ST 5w30 - 10w30 and he did the same but had Walmart change it. It hadn't been changed in 2-3 years when I got it.

What I find odd is half the bolts for the valve cover were finger tight or less than that. I've never touched it and it still had the factory gaskets. Scratching my head on that one... Most likely just needed to tighten the bolts and it would of stopped leaking.

 

[BAJA_05]

Not bad, glad you got your Pop Pops truck. That engine is just the 5.2L/318c.i. minus two cylinders. Very durable engine and keep her going for you & Pop Pops sake.

 

[hemitom]

No sludge !
varnish but so what won't hurt anything , looks good considering it most likely spent its life on conventional oil and not knowing the 50k or so.
I had an 88 dakota with the 3.9 never an issue with the powertrain.

 

[eljefino]

That motor rips, I loved mine.

 

[cptbarkey]

Most valve covers have surprisingly low torque values so its not uncommon to find easy to remove bolts. That looks like its seen mostly conventional oil with little to no sludge. I love the 3.9 V6 dakota, great truck and worth investing in.

 

[wander2039]

No sludge !
varnish but so what won't hurt anything , looks good considering it most likely spent its life on conventional oil and not knowing the 50k or so.
I had an 88 dakota with the 3.9 never an issue with the powertrain.

This one is the third 3.9L in his line.. He and actually dad had a 88 Dakota.. dad sold it to gpa. Gpa had a 91 in between. He hated V8's for some reason. No issues with any of them.

That motor rips, I loved mine.

In a extended cab uhh not really. Yeah it's pretty quick off the line but at highway speeds it struggles! The long bed single cabs with the 3.9 did seem sufficient.

 

[wander2039]

I will say though gpa wasn't too sentimental when it came to vehicles. He was thinking of trading it on a Tacoma at one time but gma said no. I gave gma 2500 for it.. keep the family happy. It's not really that great but it hauls what I need (mostly kayaks) and paid for to so it'll be around a long time.

 

[hemitom]

Looks to be in good shape .

 

[oil pan 4]

I have a 1999 Dakota 5.2 with a leaky drivers side valve cover. I think I want to take a look under mine now.

 

[vwmaniaman]

That is a great looking truck.

 

[wander2039]

I have a 1999 Dakota 5.2 with a leaky drivers side valve cover. I think I want to take a look under mine now.

Unless you really want to to remove it check the bolts first.. that drivers side was a nightmare. A few vacuum lines didn't survive the experience. The passenger wasn't to terrible.

 

[OVERKILL]

Lots of reasonably heavy varnish, but at least no sludge. Not surprising given the oil choice. Not sure you are inclined to try and clean any of that up, but if so, and it's in the budget, M1 FS 0W-40 would probably slowly work away at it.