That's a great looking truck man! Love the RAM lettering on the tailgate! And that's a sick Rebel, is it yours? I see what you mean about the vacuum hose haha
2002 4.7L RWD Dakota Build Thread
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Yeah ok maybe it's a good thing I bought a chip instead lol!
Got the old water pump off and new pump on today! Something was goofed with the two bolts for the coolant and washer fluid reservoir so eventually I gave up and used zip ties 😂 Apparently I made a mistake with the cold air so that's back off now btw. Decided not to lift it at this point (I was thinking a 3 or 4 inch front and 2 inch rear, found a kit on ebay for $100) because I've already dumped so much money into it and it doesn't even have brakes still haha! But I'm in the process of returning my leveling spacers right now, they were supposed to be 1 inch spacers but they sent the wrong thing and I ended up with some weird ones that would only lift it 1/3" (I don't think they even fit anyway), so if I can work out a return I might go with 2 inch coil spacers. Just gotta measure and make sure that's not gonna make the front higher then the back. Atm everything in the wheel well is still froze up good though, it might take a whole week of PB blaster at this rate 😞
Got the old water pump off and new pump on today! Something was goofed with the two bolts for the coolant and washer fluid reservoir so eventually I gave up and used zip ties 😂 Apparently I made a mistake with the cold air so that's back off now btw. Decided not to lift it at this point (I was thinking a 3 or 4 inch front and 2 inch rear, found a kit on ebay for $100) because I've already dumped so much money into it and it doesn't even have brakes still haha! But I'm in the process of returning my leveling spacers right now, they were supposed to be 1 inch spacers but they sent the wrong thing and I ended up with some weird ones that would only lift it 1/3" (I don't think they even fit anyway), so if I can work out a return I might go with 2 inch coil spacers. Just gotta measure and make sure that's not gonna make the front higher then the back. Atm everything in the wheel well is still froze up good though, it might take a whole week of PB blaster at this rate 😞
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Thanks. I always took good care of it and it’s paying off.
That’s not a rebel parked beside it though, That’s my buddys 2018 power wagon. Mojave sand. It’s mint and done right up with suspension and tires. I’ve driven it. The damn thing almost gets the same gas mileage as my truck hahaha. I did his CAI install and installed a diablo pulsar tuner for him.
Beautiful machine. But I’d never trade the Dak for any ram. I love zipping around town in it and getting attention with it. Wish they’d release a new smaller Dakota and I’d be first in line.
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Here's a pic of all three taillights with the tint film! Looks great, at first I didn't like tint film, and although it's a pain in the neck to get right, once I got the hang of it it went smoothly and I love the glossy look! Definitely a big improvement! Apparently with the soap and water mixture method I used to put dilute the sticky they have to cure for 24 hours at least, I can't wait to get them on the truck haha! I wasted several feet of the small roll before I looked up on youtube how to do it, but I still have just enough left to do my front turn signals. Can't decide if I wanna do it or not though..... Oh and I ordered LED bulbs for my headlights today off amazon, I just hope I didn't cheap out too much! They were $13 lol
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Hopefully the LED bulbs aren't for your HI/LO beams. LEDs suck for that.
What's the expected life of that wrap -- and the cost?
What's the expected life of that wrap -- and the cost?
Looking good sir!!!
Uh yup that's what they're for lol I know a guy who built a GMC Sierra and I love his LED headlights, yeah everybody who has to see my headlights at night will hate me but I mean.... 😂
I don't know the expected lifetime. How good you are at putting it on has a huge factor I think, the more wrinkles on the outside edge the easier for dirt and dust to gradually get behind it until eventually it would just look awful. Personally I prefer the look over a smoked cover though. The cost... $10 or less I think? don't really remember. BUT keep in mind, it is only for people who have a lot more time and patience then money, because I cannot stress enough how painstaking, difficult, and downright frustrating it is to put on, even with an extra set of hands to keep the heat on it. Look it up on youtube and know what you're getting into before you buy, but my advice to anyone who is going to do it: HEAT and STRETCH. It's the only thing that works to get as many wrinkles out as possible, but don't expect it to be perfect. You will have a couple small defects and some little creases or wrinkles at the edge.
Thank you! Dying to get the brakes back together and go for a spin in this, it's been waaaay too long!
You'll hate the LEDheadlight bulbs. Super bright but incorrectly focused, they never light up the road correctly. Stick with Halogens.
We'll see 😬
I put the taillights on today, I love the look! A bulb was burnt out on the third taillight so it's not in yet, and I realized I kinda forgot about the two screws holding it on haha, I guess Ill have to cut a hole for them.
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Since I got sent the wrong coil spring spacers I'm thinking about getting 2 inch ones instead, so to make sure that wouldn't make the front higher then the back, I put the front wheels back on and took it off the jacks. And according to my measurements the back sits 2 inches higher on one side then the other lol, I'll have to look at it and see whats up. Some of it might be the ground or something, but 2 inches is kind of a lot. I forgot how low the front sits, I really need those leveling spacers!
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Since I got sent the wrong coil spring spacers I'm thinking about getting 2 inch ones instead, so to make sure that wouldn't make the front higher then the back, I put the front wheels back on and took it off the jacks. And according to my measurements the back sits 2 inches higher on one side then the other lol, I'll have to look at it and see whats up. Some of it might be the ground or something, but 2 inches is kind of a lot. I forgot how low the front sits, I really need those leveling spacers!
Is it the driver's side that sits lower? Sports car buffs used to call that the "bachelor's lean". Suspension components wear and compress on the driver's side.
Nope, it's the passenger side.
Well I ran it yesterday and things didn't go well... so much for trying to stick with my budget, looks like I'm out $100 at least haha! Check this post out to hear the story: Need new head gaskets; Long or short bolts? | Dakota Durango Forum (dakota-durango.com)
On the bright side though... got the smoked third brake light in and they all work! The tint is darker then I expected but it doesn't affect it too much. Also, I tried twice to order LED headlights, both times the order got canceled by the seller for various reasons. It's a blessing in disguise though, that's $20 I can put towards fixing this head gasket deal instead!
Ouch! Glad I did my rebuild in the spring! Was well worth the 500$ kit from rock auto.com! Hope everything goes well!
I wish, I'm broke after this though 😂
I just ordered the gaskets and bolts from rockauto yesterday, wish I could do a full rebuild! I started ripping it all apart last night, basically I'm just taking everything I took off and put back on last week back off.
The last couple days I’ve made quite a bit of progress on tearing it down. The intake, fan and reservoir are all back out, a bunch of connectors and hoses are out, and the coils are out. Need to borrow a set of quick connect fuel line tools, and then u think the valve covers are next.
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Haven’t got much further on the head gasket replacement, but the new gaskets came yesterday and I got a few little things like new wipers, a pack of lug nuts to replace some damaged ones, etc.
And I finally did my grill! I sanded it all down so it’s ready to paint (although it won’t be warm enough to paint until spring, it’ll look wierd until then haha), cut the mesh and zip tied it in place. There are a few minor imperfections in it, and the pattern isn’t ideal, but for $8 I think it’s pretty good! I ordered automotive goop from eBay so when that comes I’ll glue it all together and put it on the truck!
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And I finally did my grill! I sanded it all down so it’s ready to paint (although it won’t be warm enough to paint until spring, it’ll look wierd until then haha), cut the mesh and zip tied it in place. There are a few minor imperfections in it, and the pattern isn’t ideal, but for $8 I think it’s pretty good! I ordered automotive goop from eBay so when that comes I’ll glue it all together and put it on the truck!
Looking good! I was gonna do the same but I was worried that over time the mesh would get weak/stretched out and look bad in the middle. I may go with stainless steel and do the same thing once my bro in law gets some more different stock in. I just used gorilla glue and it was hard in 2 hrs. 1/2 tube needed.
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