Hey Aaron!
Glad to see you doing your homework ;^P I have been a Dakota owner for over
9 years now. I bought my '92 Sport V6 5spd and have driven this thing for
over 250,000mi. (the V8 did not have a 5spd in '92 so I bought the V6). It
was my first new vehicle and she still runs great! That accomplishment of
having a vehicle hold up after that many miles was enough for me to buy her
big brother last October. I have the model you are looking at except for the
SLT package. I have 16,000 on him already and rock solid performance. I'm
80% highway and my V6 gets 21.5mpg and V8 gets 19.8mpg. Not too shabby for
an extra 750lbs for the club cab and bigger engine!
The brake issue is due to a relative undersizing on the diameter of the
rotors. If you look at an Exploder (my wife's vehicle), their rotors are
about 1 inch smaller that the opening in the wheel. Our Dak's have a
considerable amount more clearance than that. Thus, there is more heat
buildup due to the smaller surface area. With your 5spd, you will not have
the same problems as the autos because we can downshift, and hold the truck
in position without the brake. Yes this can be done with an auto, but it
takes more effort. My '92 has only the second set of pads on her although
they are due to be replaced. I did replace the rotors the first time as I
waited too long and the rivets dug into the rotors. Oops! I was stopping
good though ;) There are some great aftermarket products available to make
up for the design, just check the archives and a FAQ will soon be available.
You are on the money with your size comparison. I used the same logic back
in '92. Just the right size. If you decide to make the purchase, I hope you
will remain a member and learn from this fantastic group of people! Any
question you ask will be replied to with sound advice and some humor thrown
in too.
Hope this helps! I have no regrets.
Sean
'92 RC Sport 3.9L 5spd - 250,000mi!
'01 CC SLT+ 4.7L 5spd 3.92 LSD Mobil-1!
http://www.twistedbits.net/WWWProfile/dakota/DnuuSncssJujU
-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Fuehrer [mailto:afuehrer@acuta.org]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 11:14 AM
To: 'dakota-truck@buffnet.net'
Subject: DML: Dakota Reliability / Quality
I am a new member to the list and wanted to get some answers from real
Dakota owners prior to my next truck purchase. I am looking at a 2001 Club
Cab Dakota with the 4.7, 5 speed, and limited slip - just the basics. This
truck / configuration is great because its larger than say a Ranger but
smaller than an F-150. I don't want to spend 28 to 30K on a full size 4X4
GM or Ford truck, but for a few thousand more than a small Ranger or S10 I
can purchase the mid-sized Dakota with a V8.
My question is quality and reliability. I have heard of several quality
issues with the Dakota such as rotor/break problems, electrical problems,
ball joint wear, and overall build quality issues. I realize that no
vehicle is perfect, but I don't want the truck in the shop more times than
its on the road. I am a long-term vehicle owner and want to keep whatever
truck I purchase at least 10 years or 200K miles. My basis for this is my
current car, 89 Firebird 5.0 V8 with 207K on it. All of the consumer
reports over the years never rated my Firebird very high either, but I'm
still driving it today.
Any input from current owners who want to share their experience is greatly
appreciated.
Aaron
afuehrer@acuta.org
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:01:36 EDT