need worthy opinions....

From : lee jordan

Q: im thinking about buying a fully loaded 1999 dakota 4x4 with 81000 miles with the magnumv8. are these pretty reliable trucks & is there something special i shoud be checking for. also im guessing with the v8 i should get about 12 miles per gallon. other than power is there much difference between the v8 & the 6 cyl i know it depends on how i drive but would that be a rough estimate thanks for any input you can provide. .

Replies:

From : Annonymous

81000 miles................ 1 if it is a auto trans it will need repair 2 fuel pump 3 water pump these are things i repaired on my 95 around the same miles the v6 will not save you any at the pump -- billy 1995 dakota sport v6 auto 1995 ram 2500 4x4 cummins .

From : mac davis

on mon 10 apr 2006 173035 -0400 goingballistic@webtv.net lee jordan wrote im thinking about buying a fully loaded 1999 dakota 4x4 with 81000 miles with the magnumv8. are these pretty reliable trucks & is there something special i shoud be checking for. also im guessing with the v8 i should get about 12 miles per gallon. other than power is there much difference between the v8 & the 6 cyl i know it depends on how i drive but would that be a rough estimate thanks for any input you can provide. i have a 2001 dak with v-8 and auto.. great truck.. the v-8 is supposed to get you a little over 1 mpg better mileage but imo its going to be working too hard and might get worse mpg under load or on grades than the v-8.. mac https//home.comcast.net/mac.davis https//home.comcast.net/mac.davis/woodstuff.htm .

From : xclimation

im thinking about buying a fully loaded 1999 dakota 4x4 with 81000 miles with the magnumv8. are these pretty reliable trucks & is there something special i shoud be checking for. also im guessing with the v8 i should get about 12 miles per gallon. other than power is there much difference between the v8 & the 6 cyl i know it depends on how i drive but would that be a rough estimate thanks for any input you can provide. i had a 93 with the v6 and got 20-22 m.p.g. it was a 5 speed and 2 wheel drive. both engines are known for having intake manifold plenum gasket problems. .

From : gunner

ball joints....... dodge made a recall for the upper ball joints on these through 2002 trucks. i put over a thousand dollars into my wifes before it was over and all dodge repaid me for was the upper ball joints. the ones the used and their replacements are substandard. look for grease fittings on the ball joints. if you dont see them dont buy the truck. joe im thinking about buying a fully loaded 1999 dakota 4x4 with 81000 miles with the magnumv8. are these pretty reliable trucks & is there something special i shoud be checking for. also im guessing with the v8 i should get about 12 miles per gallon. other than power is there much difference between the v8 & the 6 cyl i know it depends on how i drive but would that be a rough estimate thanks for any input you can provide. .

From : marsh monster

lee jordan wrote im thinking about buying a fully loaded 1999 dakota 4x4 with 81000 miles with the magnumv8. are these pretty reliable trucks & is there something special i shoud be checking for. also im guessing with the v8 i should get about 12 miles per gallon. other than power is there much difference between the v8 & the 6 cyl i know it depends on how i drive but would that be a rough estimate thanks for any input you can provide. ========== ========== lee i second the beware the tranny reply. if its an automatic make sure you pay close attention to how the shifts feel to you. make sure youre allowed to carry this thing on a fairly good road trip to be sure it still shifts okay once its hot. if you get to the point of maybe seriously comitting to the purchase spend the money to have a pan drop done on the tranny so you can see for yourself if theres anything suspect going on even if the truck shifts fine. the automatics in these things take a large amount of abuse and wear but still shift okay......all the way up to the point of being fubarred. a lot of times youll have no symptoms signs or warning that a problem exists.......untill its too late. but a quick look inside the pan a sniff of the fluid and youll have a good idea of how well maintained the unit is. these trannies tend to hold up good if theyre serviced frequently. the ones were building tend to be road hard and put up wet. lack of services and towing make a bad combination any whoooo... jest some insight. marshmonster tranny tech .