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Stepside1986
Dodge Dakota
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6/01/2003
22:03:12

Subject: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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I have a friend who has had a 1988 GenI Dakota 3.9L V6 & Automatic Tranny for 1 year now.
There are some questions about it that he needs to know if anyone out there knows and/or will help?
The First Thing is this the truck is either geared incredibly high or has no power.
Is this normal? On the highway is cruises fine, but up a hill you might get 40Mph out of it.

He wanted to either put headers and dual exhaust on the Dakota or a 82" 318 V8?
But will the wiring be a pain on it?
Will the Torsion Arms hold it?
Will the oil pan fit and stuff like this is driving me crazy on it.

I told him I know 2WD you can put a V8 but as far as is it worth it and if it is possible.

I belive the best way to go is a 14"x2" K&N Air Filter & Housing, Better Ignition Wires, Electric Fan, Tranny Cooler, Underdrive Pulleys, Perhaps a accell coil & ignition module?

Then if they make them Headers and Dual Exhaust.

I have drove a 1992 with a 3.9L and it has tons more power.
I'm pretty sure that its a magnum engine.

Well I would appreciate any sugestions you may have.

Thanks




Spencer
Dodge Dakota
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6/02/2003
13:02:41

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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mopar has headers, part number P4529478 for 4 wheel drive, P4529479 for 2 wheel drive, i have them, they are very good, you can also get an upgraded cam, i have the P4452810 hydraulic cam, it gives you an extra .035" intake lift and .055" exhaust lift, he can also take the block plate out of his grill in front of his air intake tube for an additional 5-10, that works really well also, if you can find a 2000 mopar catalog for him, just look in the back, there is a whole list of things to do to premagnum v6s, i am building my engine by their book, but many of the items are discontinued now, so it is just the overstock that they have left over. March makes underdrive pulleys, order the ones for a 318, they are about $230 and give 12 RWHP. With everything mopar says to do up to the point i am taking my engine will give me 200-215 horsepower out of the premagnum sixer, plus the ram air set up i made, if you need more info, just email me



Joe E.
Dodge Dakota
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6/02/2003
16:23:21

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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Hi. I have the edelbrock headers. I like them as well. Summit has them for a little over $200. mine bolted up with only a problem from my exhisting body lift. But Id recomend them totally.
Spencer, how do you like the cam? Is it any good? How hard was it to insall? And were there any other mods you had to do to make them work? Thanks
Joe E.



droptopdak
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6/02/2003
16:49:54

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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hey spencer, what else can you tell me about gaing horsepower for our gen 1 trucks. any more ideas would be appreciated.



Spencer
Dodge Dakota
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6/02/2003
20:24:47

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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lets see...my headers from mopar were $115, but that was jobber price, i have seen some people hook a ram air up with the AAR R/T hood, they just cut out the holes in the scoops to funnel fresh air in, you could get a set of small block roller rockers, but just use your stock rocker shafts and keep the other 4 for spares in case you break them, proform just released a set, price is $229 from summit...you can get small block porting templates to port them, the templates are about $25, that should give a substantial amount, i just need a spare set of heads so i can do it, and one power boost that works good is the outlaw compact performance boost, it cleans your injectors too, and there is always backcut valves from mopar, if u need the part numbers, email me or post a message and i will get them for you



Stepside1986
Dodge Dakota
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6/03/2003
19:40:42

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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Thanks guys for all the info, I will copy and e-mail him all the posts for his truck.





daksport16
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2003
22:44:53

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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hey, i just baught an '88 dakota sport, its my first vehicle ever. i was wondering if anyone knew if there is any body lift kits out there over 2" for the '88 model. i want to put on the body lift kit, and an add a leaf kit, im hoping to get around 4-5 inches with both of them. is there any basic modifications i could do to make this truck one too look out for? you know how a 16 year old boy needs to look cool in their truck dont ya! thanks for reading. write me at footballitus2005@hotmail.com



Chris
Dodge Dakota
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7/05/2003
23:49:29

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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Yes my friend just bought a 2" Body Lift
From Eastern offroad for $100.

You can add a leaf in the rear, but the front
uses torsion bars.

I read that you can apply a Gen II Dakota front end to a Gen I, then get a lift kit for it.





daksport16
Dodge Dakota
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7/06/2003
00:25:35

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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Hey Chris, thanks for the help. I was wondering if you knew what I have to do to raise the front end with the torsion bars. Do I need to buy a whole new setup? thanks.



Joe E.
Dodge Dakota
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7/06/2003
21:43:53

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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Look dude, you can get a 2in body lift or a 3in body from trailmaster. AS for suspension, nata. 2wd have a 2in spacer coil from daystar or rough country. I have them but as soon as I find something selse to takes its place, they are gone! About the GenII susp. on the GenI truck. One person has done this but he had to torch and weld and grand alot to get it to work on his 4x4. Donno if Id try it since the trailnmaster 4in susp kit costs over 1200.00 bucks. Alot to spend on a lift you have to spend alot more to get to work. Good luck. Theres not alot out there for us. Trimming the wheel wells will help alot. You might get 31s on it. No big deal. Have fun.
Joe E.



tony setzer
Dodge Dakota
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7/09/2003
15:04:50

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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My dad has an 88 dakota. He is having alot of problems with it stalling. Is that a common thing. He says it stalls when he puts it in gear and when he is slowing down. I saw a recall for that type problem for the 92. Is there anything for the 88 that Dodge would bother with now???



justin
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7/14/2003
21:17:31

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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Hey Tony i sent you an email about this but i thought i would post to see if anyone else is having the same problem. My 87 4x4 is doing the same thing. It has the 3.9L v6 and the 998 904d auto. It stalls when im slowing down, putting it into gear or going up a steap incline. My transmission is puting out an error code for a bad overdrive valve. But my truck doesnt seem to have overdrive. The transmission shifts rough especially going into 3rd at lower speeds. I'm hoping someone can help me out cause i dont wanna throw money at it. thanks justin



Ben
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7/17/2003
14:34:15

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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I have a 1988 Dodge Dakota 4x4. It has a 3" body lift and 33" tires right now. I would like to put a supension lift on it as well for more clearance, but i cant find one anywhere. Any suggestions?



Joe E.
Dodge Dakota
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7/19/2003
15:32:09

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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Ben, send me a pict please. joelliott82@hotmail.com
Thanks. I am about to do some trimming and run 33x10.50s on my 2wd dak. Thanks.
Joe E.



A. J.
Dodge Dakota
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9/05/2007
12:45:52

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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I've got one for yall, I have an 88' 4wd dakota, and I am missing the passenger side front axle, easy fix I know, I am just waiting for it. But check this out, I put the truck in 4wd on my drive way (gravel) just to make sure at least the driver side pulls, but nothing? I hit the gas, and the rear tires still just spin in 4 hi. Now this is weird. If I put the truck in 4 lo, the brakes barely hold it back, but if I hit the gas, it still pulls the same, and the rear tires spin, ANY CLUES? btw, I just bought it



gavin
Dodge Dakota
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12/21/2016
13:06:56

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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Hello, I just bought an 88 dakota all the rust was patched and everything. I bought it as sorts of a daily/ project. It just needs a trans and paint. I have been looking for a lift for it id like to go 3.5 on the lift and id like to put after market headers and do cams and all that fun stuff. But I cant seems to find anything anywhere does anyone know where I can fond anything or make anything? My other vehicle is a 96 2 door Cherokee so I'm used to being able to just get online and find anything lol.



gavin
Dodge Dakota
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12/21/2016
13:47:18

RE: 1988 Dodge Dakota
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Hello, I just bought an 88 dakota all the rust was patched and everything. I bought it as sorts of a daily/ project. It just needs a trans and paint. I have been looking for a lift for it id like to go 3.5 on the lift and id like to put after market headers and do cams and all that fun stuff. But I cant seems to find anything anywhere does anyone know where I can fond anything or make anything? My other vehicle is a 96 2 door Cherokee so I'm used to being able to just get online and find anything lol.



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