When I bought my 2005 Dakota in October 2004, I was one of the first to get one, and sadly one of the few. The Gen 4 body style never really caught on like the Gen 3 (97-04) body, and sales were lackluster. But in reality, Chrysler never killed off the body style (but made a few changes in 08) until 2011. Sad to see them go… because really they were a pretty solid truck!

Mechanically there were no real surprises when it came to my 05. Had to change the PCM at 30,000 miles (warranty covered that), and had a trans solenoid go out at 60,000 (powertrain warranty covered that too). So other than your normal maintenance items like oil changes, brake jobs, a belt here and a battery there, I really didn’t have to put a whole lot into it. The one BIG item was the ball joints at 90,000mi… only because Dodge’s ball joints just SUCK, and I hired a shop to do them since I really didn’t want to fight them. And then the wheel hubs got replaced at 155,000 miles… but hey, at that mileage I was happy that I got that much out of them.

The really great thing about my 05 was the 4.7L V8. I still think it’s the best all-around engine for the Dakota. Plenty of power when you need it, but on the highway I got about 20mpg… which some can’t believe, but it’s true. In town got me about 16mpg, and that’s pretty good for a V8. Of course, some of my engine mods helped out the cause (z-tube intake, Fastman throttle body, magnaflow exhaust), but even stock put up good numbers.

The one suprise out of it all was the transmission…. because it lasted! I did a lot of towing, pulling stumps, and pulling s#!t that I had no ungodly business pulling, and it kept on going without skipping a beat. I changed the fluid every 60,000, and had a shift kit put in at 60,000 too… so those definitely helped the cause.

I guess the only bad thing I can say is the interior really sucked. It was boxy, felt cheap, and that grey interior was just crap. So around 120,000 I stripped it all, painted it black, and dyed the carpet black (KILLER EASY)… It helped somewhat.

And one fortunate thing… not a lick of rust on it after 7 years, which I can’t say about my 98!

So in the end, I can say it’s a damn good truck. And if you can pick one up cheap with low miles, it should serve you well… as long as you maintain it!

Back in 04 when I bought the 05, I was really ready to jump ship on The 98. Back then I wasn’t really a gearhead, and fixing up the 98 was the last thing on my mind. That is until a few weeks later when I realized how much I really missed driving the 98. I guess when you put 200,000 miles on a truck, you don’t just get used to it… it becomes part of you. So that winter I parked the 05 under the pretense of keeping it nice, and I hopped back in the 98. And that’s when the bug of modifying really hit me. I could literally do what I want to it, and not worry about having to have it running soon because I had the 05. It’s that luxury that allows someone to really get into things, and take it farther than I ever had before.

That’s where I drew some heat with some people. In their mind the Gen4 platform was so hideous that they even despised people who bought them. I never really got the logic, but in their minds I was a traitor, someone who wasn’t really a true enthusiast. Even though I bought another Dakota, and they had jeeps, mustangs, and whatnot as their daily driver… I was the bad guy. It’s only fitting that 5 years later their Dakotas are parted out, their businesses gone bankrupt, and they’re not on the boards anymore (and still living at home with mommy in one case).

The moral of the story… hell if I know! But I will say this: I’m not ashamed of buying the 05, but I’ll probably never buy a new Dodge truck again after buying the 05. If I had to do it over again, I probably would bought an 04 to drive while working on the 98. But in any case, even though I got another truck… the 98 is still my #1!

Anyone who knows anything about the Gen IV Daks knows that they are not the most popular out there. If you need confirmation of this, walk into any NAPA, AutoZone, O’riley’s, basically anywhere and try to get parts for one. You’ll find the selection between slim and none. As the rule goes, then more popular the vehicle, the more aftermarket selection of parts you’ll find. This does not help someone like me with an 05 with over 100k on the odometer.

So let me begin by saying this…. I knew I needed shocks about 2 years ago, but I decided to hold out until I was able to get something better than the OEM crap shocks. The ride wasn’t too bad, so I let it go. And then last year Monroe finally came out with a shock for the Gen IV’s, which made me happy for about 30 seconds before I found out that they really weren’t making them. Every time I would check warehouse inventories, all I got was a nice “BACKORDER” note. So I waited a bit longer until about 2 weeks ago when I saw Rock Auto had some, So I whipped out my card and put my order in. Got them in a few days along with some new lower ball joints, which was super cool. And then the nightmare began.

So I decided to let my freinds at Frank’s Auto tackle the beast…. I didn’t have the ambition to tackle a front strut setup, plus I didn’t have the tools for the job either. Dropped off the truck in the morning, came back in the afternoon only to find the truck under a huge pool of PB Blaster from them trying to get the lower shock bolts out. They were so rusted in there it took them about all day to get the components out. You’ld think they would put on some anti-sieze at the factory to prevent this, but I guess Dodge is to cheap to do so. And then the ball joints…. Since Dodge is know for having just crap for ball joits you’ld think they’ld be bolted in, or maybe riveted on like the Gen III’s. Nope, They’re pressed in, which makes replacing them on a Gen III look like a cakewalk! (that’s BAD)

And then the kicker… one of my sway bar links was broke, and none of the parts stores had them! The dealer could get them, but it would be $120 for the set and would take a few days. So the 05 sat all weekend. On Monday one of the links came in, on Tuesday the other one. Then we started looking at the tie rod ends and those needed replaced! But we could get those through NAPA so it wasn’t too bad. So when all was said and done, $1200 I sank into the 05 in parts & labor…. goddamn sickning, coulda got a lot of chrome for the 98 with that!

2010 is off to the races! I mean damn, it just seems like yesterday that I drove home the 98 for the first time… not 12 years ago! Maybe it’s just age I guess, or the fact that the clock is ticking and nobody knows when it’s gonna stop, but my resolution this year is just to be more ambitious. Whether it’s in life, work, or this twisted hobby that my 98 has become, just going out there and doing what I feel needs to be done.

Personal things set aside, the 98 is just becoming more refined. I’ve been to enough shows to know what things are looked for, what things are expected, and I really disagree with them all. So I’m just doing things my way, have been for some time… but now they’re done without prejudice. No, I’m not going militant, but rather highly motivated. For example, I knew I could get a better finish from the paint and most shops looked at me like I was crazy for wanting it better, but I found a shop that did a better job after a lot of searching and the job got done.

Now it’s on to two other areas… the interior and the engine. Both are in good shape, but they can be better. But these things I can do on my own, so they’re getting done this winter. So hopefully in the spring I can put everything together and find another area to work on

The best part of doing things my way is not giving a rats ass about what the idiots on the forums think. So what if my truck doesn’t have this or has that… bottom line is the truck has more trophies than theirs, so those wannabes can go fuck off…. pardon the language!

So that kinda fueled me to redo this site. It needs to be where I can just lay it all out there and show people what it all takes. Plus not everyone is so proud of they’re truck that they can put the time and money into a site just for their ride…. not just some trashy cardomain page with a bunch of coming soon bullshit. The real enthusiasts just shut the fuck up and do it, and not waste time on bragging about what they want to do.

So with that said, enjoy the new site!