Pre purchase 2001 Dodge Dakota Sport 4x4

From : fearless fred

Q: hi all! im looking at buying a 2001 dodge dakota sport 4x4 with the magnum v8 ... guessing this is the 4.7 litre would appreciate any feedback from the group on experiences with this model and year. tia fred .

Replies:

From : fearless fred

thanks mac ... appreciate the feedback. like what im hearing so far. fred on sat 30 aug 2008 183954 gmt fearless fred fx08allen@shaw.ca wrote hi all! im looking at buying a 2001 dodge dakota sport 4x4 with the magnum v8 ... guessing this is the 4.7 litre would appreciate any feedback from the group on experiences with this model and year. tia fred id check the glove box plate or even better if its sold through a dealer or you know someone in a dealershipask them to get the build list for you.. that will tell you what engine gearing accessories etc. that it left the factory with.. might be apples & oranges because ours isnt a sport or a 4x4 but... we have an 01 dak built in 2000... 4.7/auto/2wd/355 gears.. slt cc 16 factory wheels etc.. weve had a few problems with it but mostly caused by the 1st year of its life when it was owned by enterprise rental.. all covered under warranty and were very happy with the truck.. its comfortable less expensive to drive than our 99 ram has good power/acceleration and has been a quiet comfortable truck.. we dont drive economically and get maybe 10 mpg in town and 17 or so on freeway trips.. i know we could do much better if we drove it easier but then why have a v8 in a mid-sized truck gotta have fun too.. from our experience id recommend a truck like ours any time... otoh i know nothing about the difference with the sport package or how reliable the 4x4 is.. ymwv mac please remove splinters before emailing .

From : mac davis

on sat 30 aug 2008 183954 gmt fearless fred fx08allen@shaw.ca wrote hi all! im looking at buying a 2001 dodge dakota sport 4x4 with the magnum v8 ... guessing this is the 4.7 litre would appreciate any feedback from the group on experiences with this model and year. tia fred id check the glove box plate or even better if its sold through a dealer or you know someone in a dealershipask them to get the build list for you.. that will tell you what engine gearing accessories etc. that it left the factory with.. might be apples & oranges because ours isnt a sport or a 4x4 but... we have an 01 dak built in 2000... 4.7/auto/2wd/355 gears.. slt cc 16 factory wheels etc.. weve had a few problems with it but mostly caused by the 1st year of its life when it was owned by enterprise rental.. all covered under warranty and were very happy with the truck.. its comfortable less expensive to drive than our 99 ram has good power/acceleration and has been a quiet comfortable truck.. we dont drive economically and get maybe 10 mpg in town and 17 or so on freeway trips.. i know we could do much better if we drove it easier but then why have a v8 in a mid-sized truck gotta have fun too.. from our experience id recommend a truck like ours any time... otoh i know nothing about the difference with the sport package or how reliable the 4x4 is.. ymwv mac please remove splinters before emailing .

From : fearless fred

bob more really good info ... thanks very much. fred fearless fred wrote hi all! im looking at buying a 2001 dodge dakota sport 4x4 with the magnum v8 ... guessing this is the 4.7 litre would appreciate any feedback from the group on experiences with this model and year. tia fred -- could also be a 5.9l magnum. this is a great engine for towing and working. gas mileage stinks but theres gobs of torque. the 4.7 definatly gets better gas mileage. but it was one of the first years for the 4.7. in that year the torque curve was not favorable for work. where the 5.9 was wide and flat the 4.7 was narrow and peaked. ok for a daily driver. not so good for a work vehicle. the one big problem with any dodge truck is the rear end. they often dont last beyond 60-80k miles. place the truck in neutral and set the parking brake. then place the trans in park. crawl under the truck and grab the drive shaft. if it turns back and forth any measurable amount it needs to be rebuilt. some 4x4s came with a limited slip diff. and most did not. obviously the lsd is more desirable. another issue with all magnum engines with the beer barrel intake is the belly pan gasket on the intake manifold. after a while it gets brittle and starts to leak. if the engine knocks or pings under hard acceleration thats probably the reason. look down through the throttle body. if the bottom of the intake manifold has oil on it thats where its coming from. -------- .bob 2006 fxdi hot rod 2008 mustang coupe 2001 dodge dakota qc 5.9/4x4/3.92 1965 ffr cobra - 427w efi damn fast. .

From : bob

fearless fred wrote hi all! im looking at buying a 2001 dodge dakota sport 4x4 with the magnum v8 ... guessing this is the 4.7 litre would appreciate any feedback from the group on experiences with this model and year. tia fred -- could also be a 5.9l magnum. this is a great engine for towing and working. gas mileage stinks but theres gobs of torque. the 4.7 definatly gets better gas mileage. but it was one of the first years for the 4.7. in that year the torque curve was not favorable for work. where the 5.9 was wide and flat the 4.7 was narrow and peaked. ok for a daily driver. not so good for a work vehicle. the one big problem with any dodge truck is the rear end. they often dont last beyond 60-80k miles. place the truck in neutral and set the parking brake. then place the trans in park. crawl under the truck and grab the drive shaft. if it turns back and forth any measurable amount it needs to be rebuilt. some 4x4s came with a limited slip diff. and most did not. obviously the lsd is more desirable. another issue with all magnum engines with the beer barrel intake is the belly pan gasket on the intake manifold. after a while it gets brittle and starts to leak. if the engine knocks or pings under hard acceleration thats probably the reason. look down through the throttle body. if the bottom of the intake manifold has oil on it thats where its coming from. -------- ..bob 2006 fxdi hot rod 2008 mustang coupe 2001 dodge dakota qc 5.9/4x4/3.92 1965 ffr cobra - 427w efi damn fast. .

From : fearless fred

jmc thanks for sharing ... much appreciated. fred suddenly without warning fearless fred exclaimed 8/30/2008 239 pm hi all! im looking at buying a 2001 dodge dakota sport 4x4 with the magnum v8 ... guessing this is the 4.7 litre would appreciate any feedback from the group on experiences with this model and year. tia fred i have a 2001 dodge dakota slt 4x4 with the magnum v8 - and yes its a 4.7 liter. right now in mixed city/highway im getting 18mpg which is pretty good - in the past ive gotten 14-16mpg mixed and the best ive gotten on the highway i think was 21mpg. i love my truck! it still looks in good shape despite the abuse of being shipped from here to a really wet cool country and from there to a really hot dry country. there are a couple of recalls for this make/model/year but nothing horrific. id suggest doing your homework and see if theyve been completed. yea theyre still recalls and thus free but still you lose your truck while things are being fixed. lessee i think it was ball joints the child seat holders on the back and something electrical. lessee. i had a very slightly warped manifold front rotors that failed inspecti

From : jmc

convinced they were bad though and a leaking pinion seal. replaced something in the steering column - cant remember what offhand. oh and the infamous blower motor resistor - been through two of them. thats about all i remember that needed to be fixed over the last 8 years most within the last 3/5 that i wouldnt call normal wear-and-tear. considering what the truck has been through id say thats not too bad especially because i think some of the inspection failures were suspicious. some places do take advantage of us supposedly rich americans it has never left me stranded on the side of the road yet knock wood. if you search this ng on my name youll find more details. ive been here pretty much since i bought the truck. jmc . 222 345527 6hu0l4fnkl0pu1@mid.individual.net suddenly without warning fearless fred exclaimed 8/30/2008 239 pm hi all! im looking at buying a 2001 dodge dakota sport 4x4 with the magnum v8 ... guessing this is the 4.7 litre would appreciate any feedback from the group on experiences with this model and year. tia fred i have a 2001 dodge dakota slt 4x4 with the magnum v8 - and yes its a 4.7 liter. right now in mixed city/highway im getting 18mpg which is pretty good - in the past ive gotten 14-16mpg mixed and the best ive gotten on the highway i think was 21mpg. i love my truck! it still looks in good shape despite the abuse of being shipped from here to a really wet cool country and from there to a really hot dry country. there are a couple of recalls for this make/model/year but nothing horrific. id suggest doing your homework and see if theyve been completed. yea theyre still recalls and thus free but still you lose your truck while things are being fixed. lessee i think it was ball joints the child seat holders on the back and something electrical. lessee. i had a very slightly warped manifold front rotors that failed inspection for rust degradation tie bar ends that also failed im not convinced they were bad though and a leaking pinion seal. replaced something in the steering column - cant remember what offhand. oh and the infamous blower motor resistor - been through two of them. thats about all i remember that needed to be fixed over the last 8 years most within the last 3/5 that i wouldnt call normal wear-and-tear. considering what the truck has been through id say thats not too bad especially because i think some of the inspection failures were suspicious. some places do take advantage of us supposedly rich americans it has never left me stranded on the side of the road yet knock wood. if you search this ng on my name youll find more details. ive been here pretty much since i bought the truck. jmc .