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Should I stay or should I go?
Curious as to what the thoughts and expieriances of others are with the Dodge Dakota. I bought a 2003 Dakota, regular cab, V-6 base model, a few months back as a spare car and a handy truck to haul things. It cames "as-is" . The truck looks great , runs smooth, feels good...HOWEVER.....
I am concerned with reliability and major repairs. What I discovered since buying it is a small and slow leak that comes from the power steering unit occasionally, not a lot , a dime sized drop occasionally. And, once in a while there is a drop or two of coolant on the lower pulley. Most likely from the "weep hole" on the pump. And its not predictable, it just shows up on the garage floor once in a while.
Finally, at about 40 to 45 mph, with light pressure on the accelerator, I hear a "drone" sound that goes away after it shifts gears and the rpm's drop.
So, the question is sell or keep? Are these problems that are going to cost me a couple of thousand to fix, or minor annoyances? Is the Dodge Dakota a reliable truck, or trouble?
I am concerned with reliability and major repairs. What I discovered since buying it is a small and slow leak that comes from the power steering unit occasionally, not a lot , a dime sized drop occasionally. And, once in a while there is a drop or two of coolant on the lower pulley. Most likely from the "weep hole" on the pump. And its not predictable, it just shows up on the garage floor once in a while.
Finally, at about 40 to 45 mph, with light pressure on the accelerator, I hear a "drone" sound that goes away after it shifts gears and the rpm's drop.
So, the question is sell or keep? Are these problems that are going to cost me a couple of thousand to fix, or minor annoyances? Is the Dodge Dakota a reliable truck, or trouble?
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It has a 4.7 V8 with 5 Speed auto trans and towing package. I've pulled an 18' travel trailer with no effort. You know that it's back there but it pulls fine.
I do most of my own work on it. Things wear out and I fix or replace them. This truck is definitely worth keeping.
Personally, I've always liked Fords but when I bought this the F150 was bigger than I wanted and the Ranger was too small.