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Mopar Moe
Dodge Dakota
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3/09/2006
16:12:58
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 Subject: 318 durability
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Alright, I've been looking around for a first truck for my son. He is a straight on Dodge and Mopar fanatic like myself. Anyways I was looking at a 92 or 93 318 automatic extended cab. The body is in great shape, but it has 174,000 miles on it. This truck is located in Georgia so it probably earned those miles through hot, hot highway driving. But it's only $1900. I was wondering if anyone out there knew what to expect out of this truck. I haven't heard it run yet but it has a dual exhaust and a Mach III(?) body kit on it. It seems to be pretty solid but the miles scare me. Anyone know what to expect out of this truck as far as mechanical and powertrain aspects. I know the 318 can take a beating but I don't know anything about the past owner so...
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JEcht
Dodge Dakota
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3/09/2006
16:46:19
| RE: 318 durability
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beings you dont know the condition maintance of the truck. might want to take it to a mechanic and check it out. always heard 318 can take a beating but if wasnt maintained good even bullet proof engines can die from neglect. look in the calve cover oil cap port for sludge and other build up. if looks clean in there then the engine is well taken care of. look at the PVC valve and see if and build up is on that.
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Mopar Moe
Dodge Dakota
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3/09/2006
17:24:58
| RE: 318 durability
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Well I really can't take it apart or anything because it is a used car lot. I'm just wondering if anyone knew what to expect out of a motor that old with that amount of miles with average use.
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Kowalski
GenIII
3/09/2006
18:15:42
| RE: 318 durability
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If the used car lot won't even let you open the oil fill on the valve cover to look for sludge, I wouldn't do business with them. I think they'll let you do that though. For a truck that age and miles, I'd talk them down some too.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
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Mopar Moe
Dodge Dakota
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3/09/2006
18:28:45
| RE: 318 durability
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I haven't asked to do that yet because it was closed when I stopped by. But the main thing I was wondering: assume it was well taken care of or atleast decently taken care of. Do you think with the miles it might start having major problems soon? My old Ram Van had the 318 and I put 231,000 miles on it before I sold it, but I maintained it very well. The most I ever had to do was rebuld the transmission at around 190,000.
I just don't know if I should get it for his first truck because it would kick me in the nuts if he had to do anything major to it a few miles down the road.
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toolfan
GenIII
3/09/2006
19:12:28
|  RE: 318 durability
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mopar moe
have them fire it up with the oil filler cap off and check blow by. get underneath and check for oil seepage. when test driving it make sure its all there and the trans is working properly (floor it a couple times)
i have a 98 318 dakota auto that i bought when i was 16 and its got 155k miles on it. bought the truck with 145k. i beat on the truck often and have had no problems with the engine or tranny. i got my truck at a repo yard so you know the truck was probably beat on before i owned it, the exhaust pipe was bent shut and the engine was not able to exhale.
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OBIO3
Dodge Dakota
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3/09/2006
19:17:21
| RE: 318 durability
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well guy.... Your talking a kid here. Read around this forum. very few days go by that some kid isn't trying to impress everybody how fast there truck is or how hard they drive it or how they red line it daily . Not saying your kid will be terrible daily but he will have the need to impress a few friends at the least. even if your sure he wouldn't you don't really know. Mileage is against you here. motor and tranny both at the least. If that dealer refuses to let your mechanic go through the truck at your expence, run fast. He is hiding something. If he refuses to get you in contact with the former owner run. Again he is hiding something. Allowing buyers these opertunities is daily normal car lot expected and allowed requests. Besides all this I crawl all over something I'm looking at and rarely get feedback from the sales people. If I do I'm gone period.My personal thoughts. Spend more now and save later. Look for lower mileage. Enjoy the hunt.
So many problems .... So little time
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Mopar Moe
Dodge Dakota
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3/09/2006
19:22:43
| RE: 318 durability
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I haven't asked to do that yet because it was closed when I stopped by. But the main thing I was wondering: assume it was well taken care of or atleast decently taken care of. Do you think with the miles it might start having major problems soon? My old Ram Van had the 318 and I put 231,000 miles on it before I sold it, but I maintained it very well. The most I ever had to do was rebuld the transmission at around 190,000.
I just don't know if I should get it for his first truck because it would kick me in the nuts if he had to do anything major to it a few miles down the road.
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toolfan
GenIII
3/09/2006
20:00:17
| RE: 318 durability
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i would say the trans is the weak link. check all the seals joints in the front end. if the motor was some what takin care of it should last a good bit longer. the rubber hose and rubber material in general may need replacement.
good luck
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96Dakota318
Dodge Dakota
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3/10/2006
21:21:32
| RE: 318 durability
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yeah mopar moe, if you can get away with going on a test drive alone without the salesman, by any chance, take it to a mechanic if you know one near by have them put it on a lift and go over the whole thing, check the front end, leakage around the seals, and look for new bolts. that would most likely mean that the part was replaced recently. but as far as the 318's go, they last a long time if you take care of them regularly as you know. i just got a 96 318 with 71500 miles on it, so it will be around for a long time. good luck with the truck if it turns out everything is good, your son will love it.
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Justin
Dodge Dakota
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3/14/2006
18:01:32
| RE: 318 durability
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i have a 93 dakota with almost 250k on it.
and beleive it not, it runs great.
like they said, check it over
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
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3/14/2006
20:02:37
| RE: 318 durability
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IMO, the 318 is just about the toughest gas engine ever built. They can take a heck of a lot of abuse and still keep running. My dad owned/operated a small construction company. He always bought Dodge vans with a 318. The rest of the truck might fall apart, but the engines always ran. And he wasn't all that good about routine maint, either.
One day I was driving his old van, and I noticed the oil press light would flicker at hot idle. Pretty common. And the truck ran just fine. I mentioned it to him, and said he should probably put in a little heavier oil at the next change.
A year later, I was driving the same van. The oil light didn't flicker any more. I asked what he did to fix it. He said, "I just reached up behind the dash and took the bulb out." That was my Dad.
5-6 years later, that same van was being used on the job site as a mobile tool shed. The body was all rusted out (New England), and the trans slipped a bit. But the engine always started and ran fine.
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Moe
Dodge Dakota
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3/14/2006
21:42:37
| RE: 318 durability
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I have had a supercharger on my 93 extended auto 4X2 since 134,000 miles I now have 194,000. Needless to say I have beat up on this motor alot. And it was still running strong when I decided to tear it apart to replace the heads. I cleaned the tops of the pistons and they looked great - no scratches or excessive wear on the cylinder walls. The normal things will always wear out (water pump, alternator, A.C....).
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Chris Gregory
Dodge Dakota
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3/14/2006
22:42:35
| RE: 318 durability
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I have a 1996 Dodge Dakota. I got it about 10 months ago with 56,000 miles. It has the 318. It now has 74,000 miles and still runs great. I race the living hell out of it sometimes when I get a wild streak through me. I am 18 BTW if you were wondering. But normally, yes, I normally cruise between 1,800 to 2,000RPM's. Not too hard. Most of the time I go the speed limit though.
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96Dakota318
Dodge Dakota
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3/14/2006
22:51:06
| RE: 318 durability
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HELL YEAH!
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MadDSnarE
Dodge Dakota
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3/14/2006
23:19:25
| RE: 318 durability
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I realize this is not a new post but I thought I'd share....I have a 93 318 extended cab, and it had 153,000 miles on it when I bought it. The overdrive was out when I bought it, and 1.5months later I rebuilt the tranny due to minor slippage. After the tranny was rebuilt, I drove it maybe 10 miles, and the Rear-end came apart, lol. That was replaced too. My engine burns a little oil, but other than that, I love it to death. (I'm 19)
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jayb
Dodge Dakota
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3/16/2006
12:37:04
| RE: 318 durability
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yea, the rear is the weakest link in the older dakotas with magnum v8's. any gen2 dakota with a v8 that ive ever seen, has a loose rear end. mine does and it has 126000 on it. the dakotas with the v6's arent so bad. the rear holds up, but it seems like this is too much engine for the rear. i think a 9.25 should have been used from the get go.
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toolfan
GenIII
3/16/2006
18:29:29
| RE: 318 durability
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just over heated my little 318 today. add the coolant it need and the truck runs right were it should. i think the whole truck will fall apart before the 318 does. not easy on mine either. rev to the redline daily, hydro locked it once, & now over heated it. but i bet it still rans like it did when i got it.
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Chris in SD
Dodge Dakota
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3/17/2006
00:30:14
| RE: 318 durability
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I have a 95 318, i have gone throught 2 sets of barring, i think
another one is one the way, both cv axis. and its got 140k and the
motor never got any love before me, when i first changed the oil it
was black and sluged up, so i changed it evey 4000 miles runs
great, the tras fluid was black and low, the bands in the trany were
2 inces off. and fixed that. She run great. 318 are great motors
even if the dunder head before you had no heart of brain, if you
take care of her, she will talk care of you.
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PB
Dodge Dakota
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3/19/2006
22:07:51
| RE: 318 durability
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I love mine never failed to start up once on a cold morning but anyone ever know why the 318 in a ram five speed pings so much. good god it's horendous in my dad's 99 ram five speed pass in fifth gear at 70mph, clickety clackety clickety clackety, overall most reliable motor they ever made second only to the slant six.
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chris in SD
Dodge Dakota
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3/19/2006
23:29:36
| RE: 318 durability
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on the pinging, if you try unsing a higher grade gas does it go
away, if so use fuel SYSTEM CLEANER, not fuel injector cleanor, that
sould lower the octane rating and clean out the chambers. eather
ur STP of Gumout.
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