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03:29:49 - 04/16/2024
V6 Dakotas
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Rick
Dodge Dakota
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12/11/2004
14:22:26
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 Subject: Happy Dakota owner
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Mine is a 93 Dakota Club Cab, 3.9L, 4x4, 5spd. I blew the original engine by sucking water up the intake (bent rod & broken piston) while bowhunting elk last September, but replaced it with a used 95 3.9L. The original ran great at 145k miles, and the replacement runs even better. I'm not sure how many miles it has on it, but it's a good one. I had no mods on the original, but have done some minor ones on the 95. (K&N drop-in air filter, home-made air duct made from 3" abs, IAT relocated, TPS modified & adjusted to 0.78v, 180 thermostat, autolite 3923 plugs, and a Dynomax Super Turbo muffler.) Our 93 Dakotas come with 3" exhaust, so no further exhaust mods have been done. All this for about 150 bucks. I had no complaints with the way it ran before, but man what a performer now! I'll be sure not to get into anymore stream crossings in beaver ponds next hunting season. My only complaints with this truck are the WIDE turning radius and the low front end. Both are detrimental to Colorado trail busting. Thanks for listening(reading?).
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Budysr
Dodge Dakota
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12/11/2004
15:24:32
|  RE: Happy Dakota owner
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I bought a used 93 with the 3.9 last year and it had pretty high mileage(around 160,000). Anyway, I discovered this site after the purchase and eventually did all the things you mentioned but I also bought the V8 throttle body online and did the cranksensor mod., and had the timing chain replaced too. Man this truck is light night and day better than it was when I bought it! I bet the previous owners would freak out if they drove it right now. Bought it for 1700 cash so I feel like I did pretty good.
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Trest
Dodge Dakota
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12/11/2004
16:22:12
| RE: Happy Dakota owner
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get a snorkel =)
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Rick
Dodge Dakota
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12/11/2004
17:00:53
| RE: Happy Dakota owner
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I paid $2400 for mine in April 2003. Had it painted by my brother, so just paid for paint($250), not labor. It also needed a fan clutch($80). Other than that, no real expenses except $600 for the used motor, and $150 in mods. Real satisfied with it. Might do a body lift or just crank the torsion bars, but hate to give up the way it rides and handles right now (except for the WIDE turning radius). I guess the turning radius is the price I pay for having the back seat, due to the extra length. Maybe I'll put some 31" tires on it at some point before I take it hunting again to get a little more clearance. As for a snorkel, I think I may have come up with an alternative solution. I put a T in my 3" abs intake duct and turned the middle opening straight down, then used part of the stock air tube to run out the splash guard at the wheel well. This gives any water a gravity-powered escape route and also gives me 2 sources of cold air all the time.
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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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12/11/2004
20:03:02
| RE: Happy Dakota owner
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Hey Rick. I have a '95 CC 4x4 3.9 auto. It's got 147k miles on it. I agree about the wide turning radius. The other thing I don't like is the skinny stock tires. I want to upgrade to something wider like the new ones have. I haven't yet, mainly because I don't do as much off roading as I used to. It will come eventually.
- Dan M
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Rick
Dodge Dakota
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12/11/2004
20:32:24
| RE: Happy Dakota owner
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Dan M: Mine has Dominator p235/75r/15's on it. I bought it used from the original owner. They're pretty low-quality though. I ripped the sidewall out of one the first time I went off-road. I know the stock tires are p215/75r/15's. Those are really too small for a 4WD truck. If I don't go with bigger tires, I'll probably get a set of BFG LT235/75r/15's. I have those on my Cherokee, and I've never had a better tire. 50k miles on them and still lots of meat left.
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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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12/12/2004
07:36:10
| RE: Happy Dakota owner
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Rick,
Mine has 235/75/15. I think they're still not wide enough for any decent offroading. I bought mine used with the original wranglers on it. Replaced with BFG AT's, then went to futura (pep boys brand made by cooper) and they didn't last that long, but were a much better payement ride. Currently I have widetrack's on with do much better pavement handling in both wet and dry traction.
I loved the BFGs, never got stuck, I was using 2wd when others were using 4wd. Great tire, but they aren't as good for pavement driving which is what I mostly do now.
My personal favorites were hoosier tires. They are big on some racing circuits and some of those in the midwest might be familar with them. They no longer make non-racing tires, they didn't sell well. That's too bad, best tire's I've ever owned. I used these on my old 85 ranger 2wd. They were 13", rated for 50k miles and I had around 75k on them and they still had plenty of tread. I paid $92 mounted,balanced and installed for a set. My friends/family had their AT series and they performed just as well as the BFG's and provided a quieter pavement ride. I looked everywhere but noone had any left in stock :(. That's why i got the BFG ATs.
- Dan M
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