need some tech help with a dodge dakota

[Ben824]

ok so im tryin to help my brother find a used dodge dakota for his first car because he will be turnin 16 soon and with me owning a chrysler era jeep (97 xj) and being a huge mopar fan i insisted he buy a dodge becuz he said he wants a truck. well the parents said no full size trucks so we are lookin for the next best thing, a dakota. i know he is going to want to lift it and i refuse to desecrate a nice truck with a piece of sh*t body lift so i started lookin at different suspension lifts. he wants the quad cab with the four real doors which i havent seen those any older than 2000 but the tuff country 5.5" suspension lift that they make for the dakota only goes up to 1999. i was wondering if anyone knew why they stopped at 99 and what makes the 2000 and up suspension different from the 99 and if there is anything that can be done to make it work?

 

[Lawn Cher']

Get a Comanche.


That is all.

 

[bjoehandley]

In '00 or '01 DCX went to a rack and pinion steering arrangement on the Dak and Durango, that's why theres no lift. WHy would he want such a small but heavy truck anyway, that thing weighs over 5,000lbs in Quad Cab form!

 

[Grzz701]

They changed the front suspension in 2000. Just sold my 2002 quadcab, one reason as fabricating a lift would have been a real pain. They don't make a suspension lift for the 2000 and up because there wasn't a demand for it. I know one company tried and discontinued it after one year, can't remember the name of the company. I do know it was a fairly small company. The newer Dakotas (2005 and up) came with front coil overs and you could probably modify a Tacoma lift for it. I didn't look to deeply into this though so do some research first.

 

[Ben824]

well we already have an 88 comanche but its not reliable enough for a first car and we r tryin to fix it up. he also wants a truck with four real doors. tacomas r way too expensive for such a small truck and u can hardly ever find one thats TRD and 4 wheel drive not to mention i hate workin on foreign cars. i hate GM so the S10 and Sonoma r out and who the f**k would buy a 5cylinder Colorado or Canyon and take it 4 wheelin and think that it would actually do well. and well that honda ridge hahahahahahaha im sorry but r they serious that thing is pathetic. and the dakota is the only mid-sized truck with and available V8 in it. so what kinda steering setup did it have b4 then? was it problematic? would it be possible to convert it to that style steering?

 

[casm]

i hate workin on foreign cars

Some questions for ya on that one...

What's more 'foreign' - the Subaru built in Indiana or the Chevrolet built in Mexico?

Does this mean that you would never work on, for example, an AW4 in a Jeep?

so what kinda steering setup did it have b4 then? was it problematic? would it be possible to convert it to that style steering?

I'm guessing worm and roller. As for it being problematic, friend of mine with a '99 had virtually zero issues with it other than normal wear & tear and he used it hard as a work truck. Re: converting the steering: no idea, but I suspect it's not going to be easy.

 

[THRASHER]

I have a 98 with a bodylift and and the 3in rancho also. I am not a fan of bodylifts, but the dakota shows almost no frame, and with a bodylift, shows less frame than on a stock chevy...I will get some pics of mine up to give you an idea.

 

[Ben824]

Some questions for ya on that one...

What's more 'foreign' - the Subaru built in Indiana or the Chevrolet built in Mexico?

Does this mean that you would never work on, for example, an AW4 in a Jeep?


i guess u missed the part where i said i hate GM and i didnt say that i hate workin on foreign parts in domestic cars i said i hate workin on foreign cars there is a difference and as for the AW4 unless its got 300,000 miles on it it shouldnt be worked on anyway. i will say this, foreign car companies do make good transmissions (the reason i like the AW4 in my jeep) and reliable yet wimpy engines. i dont like workin on foreign cars simply becuse when u do have to they r a pain to work on