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Chad
Dodge Dakota
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8/02/2013
12:46:30

Subject: Should I buy a 94 Dakota Sport??
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I found a guy in town who's parting ways with a truck (94 Dodge Dakota Sport 3.9 V6 - 206,000miles) that was given to him a year ago. He's broke as heck and has no job. The ECM has gone out on the truck (shorted for some reason) and he'll literally take anything I give him for the vehicle. My friend (amateur mechanic) took a good look at the vehicle and said it was in pretty good shape. It spins but doesnt crank/fire. Obviously cuz the ECM doesnt work. The oil looks good, tranny fluid is pretty pink and the brakes are stiff. Tires in great shape and the body is solid. I purchased the part from O'Reily's for 150 bux as I planned to give the guy 200bux "as is" for his truck and get my buddy to install the new programmed ECM.

I'm only buying an older truck to drive it to and from the lakes and rivers in Tallahassee. 30 miles tops/2x a month. Im towing a 14ft Aluminum Jon with a lightweight Magic Tilt trailer.

My questions are:

Should I risk buying the truck without knowing what caused the ECM to short?
-Mayb whatever shorted that ECM could have also damaged other computer components

I hear Dodge Trucks aint worth a cowpie and that I should stay far away from them, especially around 94-97. Frequent problems with the fuel pump and transmission. Whats your opinion on the quality of these vehicles?

Should I go for it or just wait around and see if I can find anything else?

Your answers are greatly, greatly appreciated.



Diddle
Dodge Dakota
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8/02/2013
21:57:04

RE: Should I buy a 94 Dakota Sport??
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Message:
All vehicles have their own specific endemic
problems. The nice thing I've found about the
different Dakota generations is that by and large,
whatever problems crop up, I can fix! The only two
issues on my own Dakota that I took it to the shop
for were a worn rear differential (just didn't feel
like doing the job myself) and reprogramming a
keyfob (obviously don't have the hardware for that).

That being said, I'd personally avoid a vehicle with
> 200K miles. I don't know wtf is up with people
these days that think it's perfectly fine for a
vehicle to have over 100K miles. "They're built to
go that long and more." Baloney. I'd give the guy
$500 or less for that truck, because that's how much
I'd be willing to risk losing if it turns out to be
worn the H out and needs a rebuild.



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