Got my truck running finally

[scorpmatt]

I feel happy now. My 92 Dodge Dakota has been up on ramps for almost 2 years now!

pic of truck on ramps

This past weekend my dad, my neighbor (who is a mechanic in the army), and myself replaced the clutch and put the truck back together again. For 2 years the transmission and driveshaft (and all their little bolts, nuts, and parts) have been sitting on the garage floor collecting dust and cobwebs.

Went today and got a 15 day temp license, stupid state computers where down. Also called up geico and got myself a basic plan so I can drive the truck around with little fear.

I say little fear because the front driver's shock busted before the truck went on ramps, so there is no shock there. Let me tell you, that is an interesting feeling, seeing as all of the rest of the shocks are basically wore out. so now I get to replace all 4 shocks ($225 installed) and I need to buy 4 new tires. The tires on it are good but one of the rear tires went flat and bald before it went on ramps and the other rear tire is going bald. My spare is a p215 and the tires currently on their are p205's. The standard size tire for the truck is p195. It was that way when I bought it.

 

[mchammer]

looks like a real pos

 

[NutBucket]

You replaced the clutch yourself yet won't just install the shocks yourself?

 

[scorpmatt]

Originally posted by: mchammer
looks like a real pos

*smacks mchammer with a large smelly trout*....wait, you are a trout, weird

it looks that way, but I have a shtload of memories with it, so I am gonna put money into it and keep it. gonna get it repainted and running in tiptop shape

 

[scorpmatt]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
You replaced the clutch yourself yet won't just install the shocks yourself?

clutch easy, shock not. besides, $225 is almost as much as I would be paying for all four shocks anyways

 

[NutBucket]

Alrighty....seems backwards to me but ok.

 

[scorpmatt]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Alrighty....seems backwards to me but ok.

what seems backwards?

 

[mchammer]

Originally posted by: scorpmatt

Originally posted by: mchammer
looks like a real pos

*smacks mchammer with a large smelly trout*....wait, you are a trout, weird

it looks that way, but I have a shtload of memories with it, so I am gonna put money into it and keep it. gonna get it repainted and running in tiptop shape

:thumbsup: Just bustin you. Be sure to get AAA. Has saved me lots of $$$.

 

[scorpmatt]

Originally posted by: mchammer

Originally posted by: scorpmatt

Originally posted by: mchammer
looks like a real pos

*smacks mchammer with a large smelly trout*....wait, you are a trout, weird

it looks that way, but I have a shtload of memories with it, so I am gonna put money into it and keep it. gonna get it repainted and running in tiptop shape

:thumbsup: Just bustin you. Be sure to get AAA. Has saved me lots of $$$.

the only time the truck has left me stranded was when I got 2 flat tires at once, which was my fault, out screwing around, finding mud puddles. already have the emergency road side stuff with my cell carrier, so its all good

 

[dartworth]

dude...shocks are easy to replace get 4 ranchos for under $100

 

[scorpmatt]

Originally posted by: dartworth
dude...shocks are easy to replace get 4 ranchos for under $100

hmmm, maybe, i'll shop around

 

[CraigRT]

grats on getting the old girl running again

those are some reliable vehicles indeed... keep it up and i'll last a LONG time!

 

[mchammer]

Originally posted by: scorpmatt

Originally posted by: dartworth
dude...shocks are easy to replace get 4 ranchos for under $100

hmmm, maybe, i'll shop around

Here what NAPA has. I put in rear wheel drive.

bah link doesn't work right

 

[scorpmatt]

Originally posted by: mchammer

Originally posted by: scorpmatt

Originally posted by: dartworth
dude...shocks are easy to replace get 4 ranchos for under $100

hmmm, maybe, i'll shop around

Here what NAPA has. I put in rear wheel drive.

bah link doesn't work right

thats alright, looked at their page and it seems their selection is down a bit.

to the guy that stated I could pick up 4 rancho's for less than 100 bucks, where do you shop at for that?

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: scorpmatt

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Alrighty....seems backwards to me but ok.

what seems backwards?

That you'd fear shocks yet tackle a clutch. That's all. At least in my experience the latter is much more difficult and time consuming than the former.

 

[radioouman]

This looks a lot like my project.

Except that mine is a 93 Dakota 4x4. The paint was flaking off, so I had to strip it and repaint it:

http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/truck2.jpg
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/truck3.jpg
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/DSCF2368.sized.jpg
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/DSCF2370.sized.jpg

Here it is before I started:
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/truck.jpg

It has 191,000 miles now.

 

[imported_goku]

Originally posted by: radioouman
This looks a lot like my project.

Except that mine is a 93 Dakota 4x4. The paint was flaking off, so I had to strip it and repaint it:

http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/truck2.jpg
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/truck3.jpg
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/DSCF2368.sized.jpg
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/DSCF2370.sized.jpg

Here it is before I started:
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/truck.jpg

It has 191,000 miles now.

WOW, thats a nice job. How much did it cost to repaint it? Was it worth repainting?

 

[jemcam]

So where in WV do you live?

 

[radioouman]

Originally posted by: goku

Originally posted by: radioouman
This looks a lot like my project.

Except that mine is a 93 Dakota 4x4. The paint was flaking off, so I had to strip it and repaint it:

http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/truck2.jpg
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/truck3.jpg
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/DSCF2368.sized.jpg
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/DSCF2370.sized.jpg

Here it is before I started:
http://mercury.walagata.com/w/radioouman/truck.jpg

It has 191,000 miles now.

WOW, thats a nice job. How much did it cost to repaint it? Was it worth repainting?

I did it all myself. I had the sprayer, and I bought Chrysler PR4 paint (same as the new Dakotas have). The bottom gray is still original paint, but everything above the molding I stripped to bare metal. The total cost was about $400 because the paint was about $265. I had to buy lots of sandpaper, chemical stripper and primer.

 

[randomlinh]

geez.. do you have a clean room to actaully paint? or did you not really care about that? nice job tho. I wish I could have done that for my mx6 way back when.

 

[radioouman]

I painted outside. I just wiped the entire body down really carefully before painting.

The paint job isn't perfect. I just wanted to protect the body from rust due to paint coming off.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: lnguyen
geez.. do you have a clean room to actaully paint? or did you not really care about that? nice job tho. I wish I could have done that for my mx6 way back when.

Its not hard to make a "clean" room. Put up tarp walls and then put them on the ceiling and floor, put an air filter in there and let it run for a day or so and you'll have a room that is good enough for this kind of work.

 

[scorpmatt]

Originally posted by: jemcam
So where in WV do you live?

no where. I live in washington state. the driver's door is primer grey because the original door's bottom hinge broke the welding on the door and went into the door. the door on there now is from a 94 dakota w/ the side impact beams

radioouman, will look at your pics later, work is blocking that site for some reason. but if it as good as the others have said, congrats are in order. I plan on finding a decent paint shop in the area to get mine redone, or take it to my old school and have it sit for awhile.

Originally posted by: NutBucket
That you'd fear shocks yet tackle a clutch. That's all. At least in my experience the latter is much more difficult and time consuming than the former.

my dad has plenty of experience in changing clutches and we have already replaced that clutch once. had to do it again because at one point I had a paper route and the damn route burned my clutch up.

 

[radioouman]

I know that everyone else says that shocks are soo easy to change. Well, they are, as long as they aren't really rusted. My truck has been eaten by salty winters for 13 years and the bottom of it isn't in great shape anymore. I broke the lower shock bolt off in the front when I changed my shocks. Then I had to pay someone to extract it for me.

 

[tfinch2]

You should have no problems changing shocks. It's not hard at all...