just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (Full Version)

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just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know?

spudsterier -> just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/9/2008 6:04:48 PM)
i have never had a need to venture too far off the neon section, but now i do... this morning my wife and i traded her 01 pt cruiser for a 2005 dakota SLT quad cab..3.7L..2wd..power everything... looks like brand new, has 80,000 miles on it i absolutely love it[:)] anyways... is there anything i need to know about this truck?? any known problems?? thanks for any input

superdak05 -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/9/2008 6:25:41 PM)
well, the 3.7 is only good for about 85000 miles before it craps out. you will need to rebuild the motor, replace the fuel pump, gonna have to have the tranny done over also. if it is 4x4 then forget it,thats gonna run ya some coin also. now that i have your attention, you are gonna have fun times with the truck. dont worry it wont fall apart. my 05 has 55000 miles on it and it has been threw the ringer and back. nothing really to complain about. only problem is the frt suspension. it will tend to bounce up and down at highway speeds. the struts are to springy. monroe is coming out with stiffer struts. they should be out by now. that is pretty much what everyone is complaining about. as for aftermarket stuff, there is hardly any. our trucks are the forgotten ones. just do a search on 3.7 performance and see what you can find. any other things most of us have encountered then and fix the problem. very knowlegable people on this forum

Shibby927 -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/9/2008 10:03:22 PM)
3.7l is only good for 85k? Never heard of that, I like my 06 3.7L but the 3.7 does lack power, its probably even more of a dog in a quad cab. Still it will be a good commuter truck for you. What did you pay for it?

shrpshtr325 -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/10/2008 5:31:39 AM)
ummm he was kidding, he just wanted to get the other guys attention, way to read it all lol

spudsterier -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/10/2008 6:15:32 AM)
the truck actually seems pretty peppy....but im used to fast little neons, so i dont mind going slow for a while.... i just really wanted a pickup to haul my 4-wheeler and sumthing that gets decent gas milage.... i think we paid about $12,000 for the truck i dont plan on doing any performance upgrades, but i would like to get some bed rails, tubed side steps, and a rhino liner

ericemery -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/10/2008 6:42:37 AM)
These are solid little trucks... every once in a while we find the guy who gets the lemon, but for the most part they run great. Some have a rough idle. We have found that most of that can be fixed by installing some cheap autolite spark plugs and gapping them correctly. (factory gaps seem to be all over the place on these truck...) overall, these trucks are great. I think you will enjoy it.

spudsterier -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/10/2008 7:31:50 AM)
i noticed the idle...maybe i will have to check the plugs is it just me, or does the 2wd sit almost the same height as the 4wd???

ericemery -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/10/2008 7:33:50 AM)
yeah, ride height is virtually the same...

MonkeyWrench4000 -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/10/2008 8:03:35 AM)
The 4x4 and 4x2 share the same suspension. They both have the same clearance.

superdak05 -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/10/2008 10:16:18 AM)
12000.00 for the truck is a really great deal. you will be happy when hauling all of your toys around.

spudsterier -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/10/2008 11:33:04 AM)
i think i might go 4-wheeling today just so i have a reason to put the quad in the back... the dealership let us take the truck for a nite before we bought it, it seems to pull my loaded atv trailer pretty well[:)]

viper359 -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/10/2008 5:14:39 PM)
You will love the truck.... Having had both a full size Ram and this, I must say, for most towing and pulling, this stays with the big boys just as well, if not better. When I say better, I mean gas milage wise. I have never been so impressed. The handling for towing is very good too! This was my biggest surprise. Many of my friends have switched to Daks after driving mine for towing. They were shocked. I think Dodge has a winner here, and just does not market it right!!!!

ericemery -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/10/2008 6:26:14 PM)
key word is has... it might be "had' in a year or two...

flyboy1304 -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/10/2008 11:00:33 PM)
Glad u like the truck. i love mine. only thing i dont like about it is the front suspension and the clearance/ rake look it has and the lack of aftermarket support. Otherwise its a great little truck. I love the quad cab. I dont think i'll ever buy a truck thats not a quad cab again. I have the v8 4x4. Ive only done a few things to it so far. Intake (off of ebay) (30 bucks) and it works great u can find it in the stickies i believe if not a search will find it. and a flowmaster exhaust whichis in the stickies with a sound clip. theres alot of ppl in here that are very helpfull.

spudsterier -> RE: just bought an 05 this morning. anything i need to know? (5/11/2008 7:33:15 AM)
well thanks for everyones replies... so far this truck has been well worth the money and its only been 2 days..looks good sitting in the driveway[;)] i honestly never liked the 05 body style...i always prefered the 2nd gens, but now that i have this one, i like it alot more

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