Dodge Dakota owners?

[Walker]

I'm considering a 1997 Dodge Dakota, extra cab, 4x4. Since my car crapped out this summer and my 92 Chevy 2500 has a failing transmission I need to do something. Soon.

I need to be able to haul the family occasionally, plow my steep driveway in winter and pick up old bikes when necessary.

They seem to be a reliable rig, not too many factory recalls on line. I like the idea of a V8 in a mid size truck with a boxed frame. And i have a new set of agressive winter truck tires on the Chevy that will transfer right over.

Does anyone or has anyone owned a late 90's Dakota and used it for plowing, work etc.

opinions, warnings, helpful hints, thing to scrutinize if i go check one out please.....
Thanks

 

[karfer67]

i know frank owns one but i dont think he uses it much for plowing

 

[thatismytruck]

A friend had one for one winter and traded it for a full size. His driveway is not steep and he was having some trouble pushing snow. My '97 full size was a beast pushing snow and it was only a half ton. If you decide to get it anyway check to make sure you can get a plow frame for an extra cab beforehand. Sometimes they are available only for some models. I know, one would think all the front ends would be the same. One can be wrong. This bit me in the butt a couple of times.

things to look for: how many miles? Tranny's on the 318 and 360 will need repair at about 100k miles. Check front u joints. Rust on the lower part of the doors. Review http://www.moparchat.com also.

Good luck!

 

[Walker]

That's a good call on the plow frame fitment. Rust is always an issue up here but i think i'm headed to the Auction in Manheim.

i did some reading on factory recalls, didn't see anything too serious and found a Dakota owners forum that i will need to review for more info.

 

[bits n pieces]

We have a 98 with less than 60,000 on it and had a 97. I believe its called the rack for the steering has literally fallen out of the 1998 truck at almost 10,000. The bushings for the rack keep going bad. Dodge dont know why or secrtetly didnt want to fix it. They have plenty of front end problems and our 1997 kept dying out for no apparent reason. Again dodge said they couldnt find out why.The 97 never had the rack fall out but the ball joints need changed about once a year sometimes 2 if we are lucky. We had to have the factory alarm removed from the 98 because it would stop it from starting at strange times.They are high maintnence. I dont have a very high opinion of them. I believe it was 97 that dodge sold out. Ill take an older dodge anyday, especially a powerwagon! On a newer one, it would have to be cheap, i mean dirt cheap for me to be interested in it, My buddy has a 97 that the rubber brake lines in the front Rubbed through against other parts of the tuck while he was driving. We also had the rear lines burst on the 98. Im speaking from personal experience. Maybe some one has had a good truck and has a positive opinion on them but i wouldnt want to drive with kids in one.

 

[Chainsaw]

Mine was a two wheel drive '98, but "bits n pieces" pretty much summed up the experience I had with mine. All heck broke loose around 80,000. The truck was used for personal use and rarely had any cargo. Once in awhile it pulled a 5x10 trailer with our bikes, but 90%+ it was just for cruising. Around 100,000 the engine puked and we got rid of it. Brakes, tire alignment and ball joints were an on going pain. The only thing good I can say, is it always got us with in a mile or two of our home. It ate tierod ends at a pace of atleast two sets a year. The shocks were pretty much junk around 30,000.

I like Dodges styling, but the cool factor really comes into play when you're stranded on the side of the road.

I plowed for many years and I've used all of the big threes offerings plus others. Ford has always been my truck of choice, but I've driven more Chevys. Set up properly, any truck can be worthwhile. Just know your trucks limitations!

 

[murraymadman]

i know everyone has personel issues with their vehicles, but i am a mechanic and i bet i can count on two hands the number of dakotas i have worked on in the past year. the older ones are more bullet proof, but i have not seen any major problems with the newer ones other than the 4.7v-8 engines having head gasket troubles-so i would stay away from them. sure we have done your normal work on them in the past, brakes, u joints, etc.. i own a 1997 dodge ram 1500 2wd and wouldn't trade it for anything right now. the 318 engine is bullet proof as is the 3.9 v-6. the 360v-8 is great, just uses more gas! the main problem with them is the ac evaporator leaking and you have to remove the whole dash to repair this. but that is normal w/about any chrysler motors vehicle. not saying if you buy one it won't blow up on you tomorrow ! anything is possible, even with a new car.

 

[flatfender]

I had a 95 club cab v6 5speed 4x4 for 11 years (New England rust killed it) 189,000 miles and still ran strong.
I now have a 92 club cab 2wd auto v6 with 206,000 miles and still running strong (just got her about 5 months ago) only a few tiny rust spots but nothing to worry about (life time central florida truck, so I'm not worried about rust on her) gonna try to match the 350,000 I got on an Eagle wagon I had. If only the Daks had come with the 258 i6
I never did any plowing (dad had a Kubota and I always had 4wd until I moved to Florida )
my only issue I had was the in tank fuel filter dying at 150,000.

 

[Walker]

Thanks for all the info so far. Seems the more i spend on cars the more disappointed I usually am (need i mention replacment parts costs on an 88 Toyota land cruiser :x ). Murrymadman brings up a good point, sometimes you just get a lemon, and since a new car just isn't in the cards right now, I'll just have to just inspect the rig as best i can, get a vehicle history report and hope for the best. The dakota's don't seem to have much going on with factory recalls, especially compared to Toyota's recent headaches, and most of the recalls don't seem to outrageous. I drove a work truck Dodge Durango a few years ago with the 318 in it and it had a lot of power, high miles and it never got the silver spoon repair treatment and it was finally traded in at around 180k. Rust will always be an issue where i live but undercoating and washing should slow that process. At first i was leaning away from the full quad cab but it looks like its not a big jump in cost and the ease of access to the rear of the cab would be nice. We'll see.

 

[skoda]

I worked with modern Chrysler vehicles around 98-00 in car rental and I would never, ever buy one. I have heard nothing but horror stories about the transmissions when they get any mileage 50k+ on them, particularly in Ram pickups. I have a '95 F-150 6cyl and I don't know about pushing a plow, but the truck is bulletproof.

 

[flatfender]

I worked with modern Chrysler vehicles around 98-00 in car rental and I would never, ever buy one. I have heard nothing but horror stories about the transmissions when they get any mileage 50k+ on them, particularly in Ram pickups. I have a '95 F-150 6cyl and I don't know about pushing a plow, but the truck is bulletproof.

I beat the snot out of rentals, I treat my own cars like gold. no cars or trucks are bulletproof, it all depends how well you treat them.
that reminds me of the time myself and 6 friends had a "leisurely drive" from Tampa to Sarasota in 7 GrandAms, I swear those dents were there "before" I got it. then there was the San Juan to Ariceebo sprint in Corollas :mrgreen: