"Mr. Plow" <adam_is_mr_plow@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I'm curious what year they switched to the newer 3.7 engine?
> Is it actually any better in terms of fuel economy?
>
> I'm planning on selling my '02 Durango and getting back into a Dak. :D
Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to give you any data that
you can actually use, but just wanted to chime in to say you are
definitely wise to ask! I know that with the Magnum series of
engines, the 3.9 didn't do all that much better than the 5.2 in the
fuel economy department, especially when you actually use the truck as
a truck. If you had a really light Dak and drove it like Grandpa,
then maybe... However, I know that does not apply to you - I know
what the "two words" are, and they are not "slow down"! ;-)
Again, I have no hard data, but based on the previous experiences
of DMLers with the 3.9 vs 5.2, I would not be surprised if the 3.7 got
even worse mileage than the 3.9, given that the Daks the 3.7 got
installed in are heavier than ever, and the 3.7 probably gives up some
low end torque to the 3.9 due to the pushrod to OHV change. (I could
be wrong about that, I have not tried to pull up any dyno data, but I
have talked to folks who have owned both the 5.2 and 4.7 who were not
happy with the lack of torque in the latter as compared to the former,
so I am assuming - dangerous I know - that the 3.7 and 3.9 are similar
in that regard.)
--
-Jon-
.- Jon Steiger -- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -.
| '96 Kolb Firefly, '96 Suzuki Intruder, Miscellaneous Mopars |
`-------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
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