[02GenDakota]

So I figured I may as well start a project thread now even though I haven't gotten a lot done yet. A few months ago I bought this 2002 Dodge Dakota 4.7L V8 Magnum RWD (yes, I would prefer 4WD, but in a way RWD is nice because suspension related parts like leveling and lift kits are sooooooo much cheaper lol. Not to mention in the two months I drove it I learned how to get out of some muddy messes with RWD, so it's not too big a deal). To give you a quick overview of what's on the way/planned for it: as far as general maintenance, I've got a water pump on the way that should fix a coolant leak, new drilled and slotted rotors, master cylinder, brake lines, and possibly a new battery (it was dead this morning, if it keeps happening I'll get a new one, but I hope it won't), PCM and related stuff will come eventually too. And as far as fun mods, new glass pack and exhaust tip will get put in when I get my manifold leak fixed, I'm building a custom mesh grille for it and I ordered tint film to go over the taillights (but due to a misunderstanding the stuff for the last two things is being literally shipped on a ship from China and won't be here till January 2021), and I have a leveling kit which I hope to get on tomorrow. After market tinted headlights will come in a while, along with color matched paint for the bumpers. The goal is to put a 3 inch body lift and 33s on it eventually (probably a new bed too, the current one is pretty bad), but that will be in 1-3 years.

Right now, I have two 7 inch LED light bars and some cheap blue accent lighting (which will probably have to go when I color match the bumpers), and today my decal eraser attachment for a drill came, so I took the Dodge decal off the tailgate and cleaned it up with some goo gone. I'm going to debadge it too. So like I said, I haven't got much done, but I hope to change that soon! I'll keep posting in this thread as I get things done. In the meantime, here's the few pics of the truck I have. Since the brake lines blew it's tuck in my barn for a while, so I don't have any better ones.

 

[02GenDakota]

So I was hoping to get everything in the wheel well taken apart tonight and get it back together another night with the level in and new rotors in, but I ran into a little trouble with the wheel. The driver side came off no problem as I had never tightened the lug nuts from last time I took it off to fix my inner plastic fender, the passenger side though was a different story. The breaker bar broke pretty quick and I lost the socket for my pneumatic impact, so I ended up using the tire wrench that came with the truck and a metal pipe for leverage, not the most professional thing I've ever done lol

When I finally got the wheel off everything was pretty rusty and I was pretty tired, so gave it all a good spray with penetrating oil and called it a night. Hopefully I can get it all apart tomorrow or Friday though! Until then, there it sits.

 

[CNTLOSE]

Looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[02GenDakota]

Thank you! Can't wait to get it all finished!

 

[mynameiskoebel]

Good job! The fun has just started! It’s going to get addictive and expensive real fast! I’ll be watching and trying to one up you along the way! Hahahaha

 

[02GenDakota]

Hahahahaha you’ve already done more then one upped me! 😂 Its a budget build so as much as I would love to dump money into it, I’m making myself stop. The goal is in the next few years to get a push bar or brush guard and 3” body lift on 33s or something, possibly a new bed too depending on how the rust progresses. Once I get everything I have coming on it should be a big improvement though!

 

[mynameiskoebel]

We all want the very best for our trucks! Not sure where u live but keep an eye on the local classifieds and salvage yards. Lotsa dumb ppl out there who scrap things for free or little cash! I got my bull bar for 50$!!! Sanded all the rust and pulled the dents out and some paint and it’s as good as new! At the end of the day it’s just a truck and as long as it does what it’s supposed to do it’s a good day!

 

[02GenDakota]

Wow, that is a good deal! I'll have to start checking!

 

[Kevin from Calgary]

Almost every day I check the local U-pick wrecker for Dakota arrivals. A while ago I missed out on a winch bumper by being too slow to get there, but I have recently gotten excellent front fenders, a hood, and clear (not yellow) headlights.

 

[mynameiskoebel]

Free and cheap is the way to go!

 

[02GenDakota]

Didn't get much done today, everything is froze up good so a lot of penetrating oil and a lot of waiting is in store. I did get a few pics though! Rust isn't near so bad on the other side btw

 

[02GenDakota]

Almost every day I check the local U-pick wrecker for Dakota arrivals. A while ago I missed out on a winch bumper by being too slow to get there, but I have recently gotten excellent front fenders, a hood, and clear (not yellow) headlights.

Kind of a silly question, but how do you check for new arrivals? Call or look at their site or something? Obviously I've never tried to get anything from a salvage yard haha

 

[Kevin from Calgary]

Kind of a silly question, but how do you check for new arrivals? Call or look at their site or something? Obviously I've never tried to get anything from a salvage yard haha

There are two Pick n Pulls in Calgary that I use. Picknpull.com allows people to search by vehicle and distance, but not by part. All their listings have dates. Car-part.com will allow you to search independent auto wreckers (not U-pull type) for individual parts.

 

[02GenDakota]

There are two Pick n Pulls in Calgary that I use. Picknpull.com allows people to search by vehicle and distance, but not by part. All their listings have dates. Car-part.com will allow you to search independent auto wreckers (not U-pull type) for individual parts.

Thanks for the info! I live absolutely in the middle of no where so there aren't any local wreckers around me, but I'll keep on aye on car-part.com!

 

[mynameiskoebel]

I went today and gave a 1$ donation for a screw I needed

 

[mynameiskoebel]

Wanted door clips for nothing

 

[mynameiskoebel]

But a good cause

 

[02GenDakota]

Finally getting somewhere! Since I'm planning on buying a chip and throttle body spacer, I got bored and started taking my intake apart, before I knew it I was all the way down to the throttle body 😂 There's a few things I need to figure out with the throttle body spacer, but it should work out all right. I got a $300 cold air off a wrecked 1500 that's in usable shape, just gotta get some kind of an adapter to get it to fit on mine and find a snug place for it to set, it's definitely on the big side and there isn't much room there.

My new water pump came, so I got out the fan cover/washer fluid and coolant reservoir, and with the help of some guys here and on another forum, got my fan and belt off. As most things on this truck are, all the bolts to the water pump are froze up with rust, so another case of penetrating oil and a lot of waiting. They aren't as bad as all the bolts and nuts on the calipers, control arms, etc though, so hopefully by tonight or tomorrow I can have them off, new pump in, and get everything back together.

Since yesterday was the last day warm enough for spray paint here, I got some fishing line and took off the front badge, taped up the clear plastic part good, and gave it a coat of high-gloss spray paint. My tape job wasn't perfect so there's still a little silver around the edges, but as long as you don't look too close it's good haha! Now I just gotta figure out how to get it back on!

 

[mynameiskoebel]

Looking good! The tb spacer I bought should be an exact match to yours. It’s easy to do and comes with all the parts u need. Comes in red black n blue

 

[02GenDakota]

Thanks! Yep, saw your reply to my thread on the other forums! But do you happen to have a link to the one you got? Having a really hard time finding the right one on ebay