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2nd gen dodge dakota is the best midsize pickup ever built.

montrose818

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Facts:
-Pretty beefy fucking frame (I swear its beefier than some chevy 2500s that Ive seen)
-Big fucking 5.9 Magnum engine, same engine used in RVs and 2500 rams
-Very good quality interiors. No dashboard bullshit, no weird rattles or noises, really no interior issues whatsoever
-Looks great (opinion, but many agree)
-CHEAP. No fanboi premiums here.
-TONS of aftermarket. You want to road race? check. 800hp drag race? check. Joose a messican hauling lumber for thr last 20 years? also check.

Cons:
-Transmission
-8mpg

Ive been meaning to make this thread for a while. I love these trucks and have been owning them since 2003. I keep waiting for a midsize pickup replacement to steal my heart, but it doesnt seem to be happening.



​​​​​​Fuck your midsize pickup. Teh Dakota pwns you.

:throws mic down and leaves the stage:
 
I posted about it in the other thread but yeah the trucks are bad ass.

"The new Dodge Dakota, It's full of surprises". :smokin:

photo21230.jpg
 
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Seems like most tuff truck races on YouTube some ass clown shows up with a Dakota or duwrongo and every one of them ends up bent at the firewall after a jump. Great frames indeed. :homer:
 
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Damn,I brought the Memories back for Ol' Spawny. The way back days working on the street in front of the Apartment complex :grinpimp:

He discovered Grease and a Digital cam at the same time :lmao:
 
DWT said:
Seems like most tuff truck races on YouTube some ass clown shows up with a Dakota or duwrongo and every one of them ends up bent at the firewall after a jump. Great frames indeed. :homer:
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dont jump front-heavy rigs and expect frame to live? crumple zone maybe? sorry its not acaged trophy truck. But close. :flipoff2:
 
montrose818 said:
dont jump front-heavy rigs and expect frame to live? crumple zone maybe? sorry its not acaged trophy truck. But close. :flipoff2:
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When I can watch full sized trucks, s10s and rangers as well as fucking jeep Cherokees do the same thing and not fold that does not make the Dakota frame look as superior as you'd like everyone to think.
 
montrose818 said:
said the guy whos never had one :flipoff2:
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I used to see what I guess now is a 1st generation Dakota towing moderate loads well enough and as I recall it had a v8 emblem on the front fender. I thought that seemed cool and promptly forgot about it. As I now have 2 Dodge cars that have been pretty damn good If I saw one of those trucks in my price range of free to cheap I might pick it up but I'll let fate be in charge of that. All the shitbox memes in the Meme thread hit close to home for me.
 
Let’s not forget the weak rack and pinion steering on the 02+, and the tiny bed on the qc trucks. Typical dodge transmission issues also.
 
Midsize pickup trucks are gay. Dodge trucks are gay. That makes the dakota double gay. :flipoff2:

I guess if you never use it for actual work it might be ok.
 
DWT said:
When I can watch full sized trucks, s10s and rangers as well as fucking jeep Cherokees do the same thing and not fold that does not make the Dakota frame look as superior as you'd like everyone to think.
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How do you know they aren't ending up with warped and bent frames? They could be tweaked but body doesn't show it.
 
Poopyface said:
How do you know they aren't ending up with warped and bent frames? They could be tweaked but body doesn't show it.
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They very well could be but they aren't visibility is bent like the Dakota's and duwrongos consistently are.
 
Bamajeeper said:
Do these trucks have the Dodge electrical disease that most Dodge vehicles have?
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Yes. I used to know a princess that had a 4 door when they were new. 04 ish I think, stock vehicle with less than 10,000 miles on it. Sitting at a stop light On her way to work, smoke started coming out from the cowl so she grabbed her purse and jumped out while it was still running. The horn started honking and she got to watch from the sidewalk crying her eyes out as it burned to the ground.
 
I had an '01, was a great truck. 4.7 and a (probably rare) 5 speed. Good power, ran smooth, comfortable seats, nice ride, big enough bed for my uses. The downside was it literally started to rust apart on me, Dodge's most popular bonus feature. Sold it off because of the rust, nothing mechanical... I still think they're great looking trucks, style-wise.

photo21348.jpg
 
-Big fucking 5.9 Magnum engine, same engine used in RVs and 2500 rams
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Yea a whopping 250 HP.....

You could only get the 5.9 in a 2wd R/T Dakota, most of them came with the 4.7 which make more HP but less torque than the 5.9.
 
muddysamurai said:
Yea a whopping 250 HP.....

You could only get the 5.9 in a 2wd R/T Dakota, most of them came with the 4.7 which make more HP but less torque than the 5.9.
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On that note, I am selling the complete drivetrain from a 99 Ram 1500 4x4 Sport, with wiring harness and computer for someone who wishes to upgrade their 5.2 Dakota to 5.9... The Ram's frame was too swiss-cheesed to go forward with life.
 
I bought a 99 R/T new. It was a good looking truck, but a pile of shit. Most gutless V8 I had the pleasure of owning.
 
Aggie06 said:
. Typical dodge transmission issues also.
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AX-15 you must have forgotten about.

The 3.9 v6 was a pretty decent engine. upgrade the throttle body to one off a 5.9 and drop the new cable linkage in and its the best wake-up ever.

overall, underrated truck. and it was a half-ton, not a 1/4 ton like the S-10 of similar vintage.
 
I had an 01 RT access cab... sounded fast.. looked kinda fast... not fast. Trans lasted until 61k miles, just out of warranty. Ball joints had gone out around 45k miles. Infinity soundsystem had blown speakers, possibly my fault. I got the trans where I could drive it and then I traded that POS in. I guess the interior didn't squeak but I didn't own it long enough to find out.
 
Texas97 said:
AX-15 you must have forgotten about.

The 3.9 v6 was a pretty decent engine. upgrade the throttle body to one off a 5.9 and drop the new cable linkage in and its the best wake-up ever.

overall, underrated truck. and it was a half-ton, not a 1/4 ton like the S-10 of similar vintage.
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Can’t speak to the ax-15, but the 45RFE (I think that’s what it had) had a few issues.

Also, it seems like the 5.9 in mine liked to crack The passenger side exhaust manifold. Never did have any real electrical problems. I did replace the rack and pinion unit twice, but larger tires didn’t help that situation. I want to say I sold it at 175K.

I agree it was built more like a 1/2 ton than a 1/4 ton.
 
Title contender: First-gen Tundra is the probably the best mid size pickup.
 
Shitty ball joints, shitty transmissions, gutless engines, caravan interiors and chocked full of chryslery goodness. Turds for sure but I agree that they looked good.
 
Jackie Treehorn said:
Shitty ball joints, shitty transmissions, gutless engines, caravan interiors and chocked full of chryslery goodness. Turds for sure but I agree that they looked good.
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gutless? i pulled 6k up steep hill at 60mph without breaking a sweat. sure i was barely able to come to a stop and the transmission took a shit, but it pulled it like a champ. torque bro. :flipoff2:

p.s. why is your username Jackie?
 
ExWrench said:
I thought first-gen Tundras were midsize like the T-100 :confused:

If not, then substitute "T100" for "first-gen Tundra" in what he typed & you've a Dakota-beater
(not to be confused with a beater Dakota :flipoff2:)
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google shows an 00 dakota at 71.6" wide and an 00 tundra at 75.2 to 79.3, i remember tundras being more like f150s in size, def in the bigger side, for a truck back then anyway
 
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