Dodge Dakota Owners - Meet the Members

pan699 · December 2007

I just bought a '99 Dakota from an auction that didn't come with an owner's manual. I would like to get a manual for free and was wondering if anybody had a line on any thing like that. For the mean time, I was wondering if I could get the process to take it into four-low. I had a Durango years ago and I kind of remember there being certain gears and speeds associated with the process. I would be greatly appreciative if I could get this information about four-low.

Matt

probertson · January 2008

93 Dakota 4X4 V8. I have a very frustrating intermittent electrical problem. I get a voltage spike on the meter, the fan etc rev's up and the check engine light comes on. I happens about once a day and lasts only a few seconds. THE ALTERNATOR HAS JUST BEEN CHANGED. So that isn't it. My mechanic (who I do trust) says it is a "wiring problem" and is at his wits end. It spikes for a few seconds and then runs just fine. (The computer has also just been changed too for a different reason.)
This is a very low millage vehicle which did a lot of "sitting in a garage" before I got it two years ago. It runs like a dream otherwise.
Any help would be appreciated.

probertson · January 2008

The computer (ECU) has been changed too

themacguy · April 2008

hey, haven't been here in a while! oilfield's been real busy lately. gonna miss bookitty's wit and wisdom, as he's gone the way of andy_jordan - andy and i got roped into the 'co-hosts' spot on this forum wayyyy back in, what, mid-late 99 or so. bpeebles will remember, he's always great with the little details... ;-)
anyway, just dropped by to say hi! we still have the 2000 quad which we got the day before thanksgiving in 99! it has gone over 200k with nary a visit to the shop yet. only parts replaced (by me) are the usual mobil 1 with the k-n filter, and 5 sets of tires to date, except for the set of rt's i used to autocross it back in 2000. they're hanging on the wall and the truck will go to my daughter in 3 years when she can drive. just graduating the oldest one now, and i bought her a chevy cobalt.
she's the reason for my absence these past years, as she was dx with an inoperable brain tumor (craniopharyngioma) a few years ago. it's the same tumor that lou gramm from foreigner and scott hamilton the skater both had. you just radiate and hope for the best. we believe she's going to live a normal life now, but she'll be short at around 5', as all of her hormone sites were damaged.
anyway, just dropped by to say hello, and i'll check back in from time to time to see how things are going. glad to see so many of the old familiar handles still around!!!
looking forward to the new dak diesel model, since there's been a couple running around the firestone test track down this way for some time now. i'm sure ya'll know a lot more about that stuff these days than i do, since i spend most of my time in a motorhome either trying to keep all your tanks full or going to classic rock concerts. will have our website up soon, and again, i'll start checking in a bit more often.
vaya con dios muchachos,
jack b :-) in
midland, tx usa

bpeebles · April 2008

Hi themacguy !

Thanks for the kind words.

WOW-- your 2000 has over 200K miles on it!!
If you recall, I took delivery of my 2000 about a month before you did. However, I only have about 85K miles. I look forward to another 100K miles (if the body holds together)

Can you tell us more about the Diesel Daks? Is it the 4-cylinder DetroitDiesel that has been used in Daks from Brazil?

I have a Diesel VW and LOVE the 56MPG. (that is over 700 miles per 14-gallon tank!!!)

themacguy · April 2008

my quad's miles were put on in just over 4 years. it sits covered now, with maybe a couple hundred miles put on it now and again. i was running about 40k a year, at 120 miles per day to the oilfield and back. my partnership split, which is typical with trust babies (my ex partner) in the oil business these days, so in late 04 i pretty much parked the truck. i usually take the old 89 v6 dodge raider into downtown, or maybe the lincoln ls we bought in late 04 on longer trips. but i've missed the dak, so i'm spending some time in it too now. sure is a nice truck. looks new, runs new, don't even want a new one. heck, i think they're cheaper now than back then!?!

and i figured this diesel thing was more well known here than my just talking to a couple of test drivers in ft. stockton at a local truckstop there over the last, about 5-6 months or so... all i really heard was 2.2 liter, bluetech(?) and 'tdi' (i actually asked one of the guys) - for sure those were the exact words, dunno about spelling. also mentioned was 'tdi' and '4-banger' and i'm pretty darned sure these same guys have been out there (on the track) in dodges and mercedes over the last several years - mostly high speed cars and various trucks - i saw one of the first new challengers out there, and it was moving pretty good . don't think i remember anything about veedubs or detroit diesel. i'd remember cummins (see below) or detroit or international, because we're looking at replacing our 95 winnebago elante with a diesel pusher in the next couple of years, so i've been watching those motorhome capable engines for a while now, and i'd know if i'd heard of any of the main diesel companies being out there. lots of cummins ram trucks on the track. oh, and i think there've been some cummins in some ford trucks lately, which is weird enough, and what's up with that? don't quote me, but i'm pretty sure i saw one at lunch with the emblem on the fender and the whole front end was covered in a very large, and very ugly, bra thingy. lots and lots of vettes and vipers and (loud) mustangs there all the time in the hot months. i know a lamborghini, like the one carty beal had loaned out in odessa that crashed at high speed and killed that father/son combo last year, have been running over 200 mph recently, testing some new fangled high speed tire. i think that story even made the news.
remember this is primarily a tire testing facility, but it's also used for high speed and long haul testing in desert conditions (very hot and very dry). in the late 70's our san angelo based corvette club ran some laps out there. we also had our original 1976 26' gmc palm beach fwd (455 olds) motorhome up for a commercial back in 1999 for the centennial. they also wanted our orig. chevy 70 1/2 cheyenne super pickup and my 78 silver anniversary vette for the same dealy, but it got canned at the last minute. i'd sold the s/a vette but knew where it was, and we had the other two vehicles stored at the ranch. bummer.
anyway, glad all is well with the site. looks like it's really grown in scope. i remember when we had just a few main topics, and we'd all be hanging around at night typing on our 28k and 56k modems like madmen. pretty intense there for a while anyway. i'll sign off now and let somebody else have the bandwidth. will be around some. stay in touch all.
jack b :-) in
midland, tx usa

gpg429 · July 2008

I am looking at buying an 07 Laramie QC but cannot find a spec sheet that shows the standard features and options. I looked at Dodge site but have had no luck. Would appreciate any assistance.

themacguy · October 2008

haven't checked in here in a while, thought i'd stop by to let ya'll know a coupla things recently noticed out near the firestone test track (or whatever it is these days) near ft. stockton, tx.

just back from ft. stockton (tx.) again, and i had been down to alpine and was eating at the dairy queen when a dodge of some sort pulled in, and two guys got out and went inside to eat. i casually walked out and noticed it was a dakota sized vehicle with different wheels on it. 4 doors, short bed and mostly clad in some kind of plastic sheeting in several areas, had a bed cover over it, which looked store bought. the front end had a cheap kind of bra on it, looked cheesy, actually, real cheesy. the paint job was a dark silver/grey color with a dark(er) interior in cloth, i believe with a large center stack that doesn't look anything like a dak dashboard.
from what i could see without gawking at the interior and getting myself in trouble. two things jumped out at me: a LARGE (single) exhaust with heavy, heavy soot in it that didn't smell quite right when i took a small sample and smelled it (dropped my keys at the rear of the truck and swiped my finger in the exhaust (pretty warm, ouch!). and two, there was NO gap behind the cab, between it and the bed, like my dak quad cab has. the sides were smooth from the front all the way to the taillights!!! just like one of those honda jobs. the bed was taller than my 2000 as well, as the main selling point for me on my 00 quad cab, at 5'9" tall, was that i could reach over flat footed and nearly reach the center of the bed while i was standing next to it. the one i saw the other day would require a small step ladder or maybe a step stool. speaking of which, i don't know if it was a 4wd to make it higher, but it had regular center caps on the front wheels and it didn't have a separate shifter on the oddly shaped floor hump.
another surprise, when i went back in to refill my root beer, the guys had just picked up a to-go order and were walking out the door, so i went out in the parking lot and asked the passenger about all the plastic on the thing and he said two words, 'test mule.' that's it, then they got in, started it up and DIESELED off down the empty highway towards marathon. not only that, now wait for it, you gotta wait a little longer here, yep, it had a slight turbo whine. i'm not kidding.
it's definitely, positively, absolutely a diesel dakota quad cab. and whether they were showing off or late to an appointment back at the test track near ft. stockton, that thing m-o-v-e-d! so i think now the post i made a while back might have some oomph to it. if dodge builds it and it's anything like i saw the other day, i will be the first guy in texas to have one in my driveway. i'm pretty sure that it's a finished truck, because i've seen some kinda, sorta test vehicles over the years in that part of texas that just were not 'finished' vehicles. other than the wheels and maybe the smooth, attached bed, this thing was very probably a 2010 dak quad cab under the plastic. it just sounded like a real, finished truck. man, it moved too...
cain't hardlee wait!
jack b :-) in midland, tx usa

switchhitta · November 2008

its an extand cab dak that has seen its share of sawzall blades, cutoff wheels, cutting torches, welding, and custom frame fabrication..... bought this truck in nov. 07 as a plain, stock daily driver. wrecked it in jan. 08. repaired the wreck damage in feb.08 and decided, "why stop there." first came 22in rims and tires, window tint with some custom graphics, some custom interior work, and some bada$$ audio and video mods. mar.08 i decided to lower it. well it wasnt low enough with the 22s so i traded them for a set of 20s. in apr.08 i realized lowering it wasnt enough for me. with the help of BIG JAMES, off came the bed, and we started cutting away everything that the factory put there for no reason.( like the e-brake linkage...who needs that???) made an 11inch notch with custom cross bridge over the axle and cut out part of the stock frame. installed the slam 8 bags in the back and moved to the front..... cut away a huge chunk of the stock frame in the front and plated what was left. made the bag brackets and installed the bags. then ran into problems..... after we cut out the stock weel tubs for wheel clearence and cut out the center of the bed for the notch and bridge clearence, we realized that the wheels were a hair too wide to tuck. so after riding around for a month with no bed and my air tank, gas tank, compressers and and whatever else mounted to the top of my frame(cause, this is still my daily driver) i finnally got a set of 20s that tucked. they were made for a honda, and drilled to fit my dak. oh..........and the new drive shaft was olso installed. yeah... the stock one got severed in half when it rubbed the back of the cab while draggn

had to cut out a section of the cab floor and custom fabricate a tunnel for clearence. in june i cut out a majority of my roof and installed a sliding rag top. i recently shaved the backend of the truck by removing the taillights and welding in steel plates and body working it to a smooth finish. olso installed a reverse tailgate handle kit and shaved the stock handle. then welded in a 3in deep tag box at an angle in the tailgate. the 4 link rear suspension, snug top, and some custom metalwork in the bed will hopefully be done within the next few weeks or so. then some paint by feb. 09...... all of the work to this dak was done by big james and myself... and all air suspension and hardware was supplied by rodney from ABOVE REALITY.... custom doesnt come in a box.......
dragg, destroy, and let the sparks fly...................

mtrialsm · January 2009

I said good-bye to my '01 Quad Dakota in Dec.'08. It was a good ride since new.
The same problems most Dakota owners had over the years. Overall I say it was
a good truck and ride. I wanted a new truck. Drove a new Dakota then a new Takoma,,,,well you guessed it, I purchased a new '09 Tacoma double cab long bed.
I missed my old Dakota for about a month (sentimental). But now really love the new Takoma. The 20 to 22 mpg sure helps also!
Thanks for all the help over the past years with questions and answers to fix the Quad.
Mick

disumia · February 2009

i just got my 2nd dodge dakota after a 18 wheeler took out my old one. this one does not have the floor console like my last one did. i dont want to pay 400 at the dealer but i really liked the bigger center console. would anyone know were else i can find one other then the junk yard been there done that no luck

switchhitta · February 2009

im gonna be making a fiberglass console for my dakota soon... ill be removing my stock floor console... if you havent found one by the time i remove mine (around end of march or beginning of april) ill send it to you... no charge... you can reach me here or www.myspace.com/843dragger or billbill843@yahoo.com

disumia · February 2009

that would be great if you could. may i ask what color it is?

switchhitta · February 2009

its black, floor mounted, from a 02 dakota... its got the lil cubby in the back, dual adjustable drink holders, and the lil holder area in the front...

disumia · February 2009

thank you so very much. thats great.

switchhitta · March 2009

i havent forgotten about ya disumia.... im gonna be getting started on the custom console in a couple of weeks... the stock one is still yours when i do... sorry its taken soo long...

themacguy · March 2009

okay bp, here's your belated answer. this is from my most recent sightings (getting to be less and less of them) of the thing (dakota quadcab DIESEL) that's being tested in and around ft. stockton, texas. it has a smooth body = NO gap between the cab and bed. i have checked the 2 (or 3, can't really tell) that i've seen and NONE have a bed gap. it's like a honda ridgeline body, but it's covered in black, poorly fitting 'mats' so i can't really tell... it sits about the same height as my 2000 qc sport, which as ya'll remember, was about 1.5" lower than the slt's - iirc. i know the newer daks got a bit taller, so this is a much lower truck at the cab bottom. i also know it is a FINISHED chassis, as it looks absolutely production underneath. there are coil springs on each corner (i looked). it has a rather FLAT bodypan from front to back. the engine is a diesel, but it was longer than 4 cylinders, so i checked underneath some trucks at the local midland dealership and, it sure looks like A FACTORY CUMMINS 6 CYLINDER DIESEL!!! at least it looks that way to me, but i'm not a (current) diesel guy. sorry, i just don't know. if somebody could tell me what to look for, i'll look if and when i see one down there again. the chassis looks almost exactly like the 300c on the lot in midland. in fact, it looks a lot like the challengers, and i've crawled all over a friend's hemi - looks just like both of these cars underneath. is something going on with a car/truck (dakota) hybrid chassis? they surely aren't putting diesels in the 300c or challenger???
anyway, the trucks are very similar, but only one of the guys parks around the side when he eats so i can 'drop' my wallet and quickly crawl underneath the truck to take a look. oh, the tires are changing too. i saw yokohama geolanders on the one last weekend. i'm sure of that since i use them on my class 'b' telstar motorhome.
that's the update for now. will check back when i see or find out more.
repeat: quad cab that sits like my 2000 model, smooth underneath, unibody, coil springs (big 4 wheel discs as well) on all 4 corners, interior looks like a newer dakota (to me) and a 6 cylinder cummins diesel (4+ liter?).

personal note: about 2-3 summers back, we went to see hall and oates outside of las vegas at a lakeside concert (naturally, they were no shows) and we rented a 300c to drive around town for the 4 days we were there. i commented that it 'rode like a truck/stiff as a board' to the rental agency, who noticed we only put 50 miles on the thing. we actually just preferred to walk and ride the elevated train thingy. the car was very uncomfortable to both of us, as we have a lincoln ls, which was new at that time. anyway, it may actually be that exact chassis under the new dakota, if Fiat-Obama-Chrysler motors is still around. anybody's guess at this point. but if it is as it appears to be to my eyes, the dak is going to get some serious sedan-like ride and mpg at the expense of being a 'real' truck. is this what we asked for? dunno.
:confuse:

jack b :-) in midland, tx usa

atki978 · June 2009

Don't know if anyone knows the answer, but I'm real curious. When I was 19 years old, I special ordered a 1998 Dodge Dakota. I ordered what I could afford: regular cab, 2wd, 5 speed manual, no power or A/C. But what I did order was the 5.2L engine. This was a half year before the R/T existed. I still have the truck. It has 58,000 miles on it. My question is: how many of this truck exist? It's got to be rare, especially with the 5 speed. Any info is appreciated!

duckerii · September 2010

My name ids Donald Murray

I am on my third Dakota.
first was a blue '88 3.9 long box had 250k the day i wrapped it around a tree(was playing too hard) the engine still runs a saw mill down the rd.

second was a red '94 3.9 long box again reached 245k before i sold it (vehicle was seen driving through peoples yards, i was not a good boy) woulda been in trouble if i kept it.

now I have a goldish colored '00 3.9 short box slt, I'm about to pass the 265k mile mark. This truck is a hell of a worker too, about 2,3 times a week i load it with almost a ton of crushed stone or sand. She struggles a little under the weight, but takes it like a champ.
I can't say enough good things about these trucks. I work them very hard, and have few problems. Mostly i just keep up on maintenance, and have only once needed a garage to fix something. When I'm done with this one I'll be getting another for sure.
On a side note, do they make the newest body style in a regular cab. I don't like extended cabs, think they are just ugly, and they steal from box length.

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