Anyone experienced with 4-cyl Dodge Dakota?

[UncleS2]

Years ago, (9/94-7/97) I owned a Dakota club cab, 3.9L V6, Atx, it was a nice vehicle. I bought it new, & if hadn't needed to get a better long distance commuter would surely have kept it much longer.

And once in a while, the lack of a pickup is a real pain in the- neck. Yeah, that's it, a pain in the neck.

I'm toying with the idea of a "little" 4-banger Dakota; reg cab, 5-sp manual, don't require much other than good condition & cold a/c. I can always add a radio- heck, it might accept the spare OEM head unit for the Neon! Does anyone have experience with the Dakota 4-cyls? I'd consider anything from about 1993 up till they discontinued the 4-cyl engine, around '03 or so. An occasional good deal shows up on these here, while similar Toyoas, Nissans, & (sometimes)Rangers are priced much higher. And if I happened to find a Dakota Mtx shorty with the V6 instead of the 2.5L 4, that'd probably be OK too- except that here in Tx it'll cost more.

In fact, in general, here in Tx pickups sell *high*.

All help appreciated.

 

[JTK]

A co-worker of mine had a 1994 2.5L 5spd some years ago. He had over 200Kmi on it, but put a Jasper reman'd 2.5L in it at some point. I believe the engine is just a RWD version of the Chryser OHC 2.2/2.5L they put in everything from cars to minivans for years. Gutless, but reliable. I doubt it does all that much better MPG wise than the much easier to find 3.9L Dakota.

Joel

 

[greenaccord02]

I like my 3.9. If I wanted a 4 banger truck I'd look into an toyota tacoma. You have to watch, because up until '05 the frames were made of an alloy that road salt tore up.

 

[tomcat27]

They're OK trucks as long as you dont tow anything heavy with them. they're also a bargain since most people want the V6. the 2.5 is alot more NVH at higher RPM's and has less power. If they offered the 2.4 (I dont recall if they did) its a much smoother engine altho the mid/late 90's variant had a problem with the head gasket leaking oil from an oil return to the outside. I put nearly 200k miles on 4 different 2.2/2.5's

 

[dishdude]

Remember they switched to the AMC 2.5 in the early 90s on these. I don't remember hearing anything bad about the AMC 2.5, but I always had good luck with the Chrysler 2.2/2.5.

 

[UncleS2]

Thanks for taking the trouble to post. FWIW, I'm sure that the 2.5L I4 is *not* one of the old K-car engines. I think Dish dude is right- maybe the same as the 2.5L 4 used for years in the Jeeps.

And it's all about price- a Tacoma would cost about 3 times as much as what I have my eye on. The heaviest trailer I'd expect to tow would be a lightweight 4'x8' utility loaded with wood or a lawn tractor, or maybe a small boat. Still, if I could find a V6 Mtx shorty at the same price- you bet I'd go for it!

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: Stuart Hughes
I'm sure that the 2.5L I4 is *not* one of the old K-car engines. I think Dish dude is right- maybe the same as the 2.5L 4 used for years in the Jeeps.


Indeed they were a K-series 2.2, then 2.5L right up to 1995. 1996 and 97 used the Chrysler/Jeep 2.5L.

Joel

 

[UncleS2]

My bad- I didn't clarify that I was talking about the 4-cyls used in the "baby Kenworth" body style. A quick glance confirms that those are not the K-car engine. I guess they used the K-car engine in the original square-nosed Dakotas. An old family friend drove the first Dakota I ever saw in person(87? 88?), but his had the V6.

It's all no matter now- the truck(97 Sport, $1350) was sold. : Something like this shows up in the paper maybe twice a year around here- just gotta keep looking I guess. Right now there's a 95 S10 pretty cheap, but I'd much rather have a Dakota.

 

[mrsilv04]

I know this is a little different than what you're referring to, but my sister had a 1989 Jeep Comanche pickup. It was a 2.5 liter 4 cylinder, 5 speed manual, short bed, with no A/C.

It got excellent gas mileage, had more than enough power. She drove it well over 100,000 miles, then sold it to a guy that was an electrician, who works to wire many of the Casey's General Stores being built all over the midwest.

Last I knew, that little truck had over a quarter million miles on it, and the guy was still trying to run the wheels off of it.