98 dango {DURANGO)

[98dango]

Hi all


I am a 27 year old parts sliger soon to have a family and found that my well built toy dosent seat 3 so i started looking 4 some thing bigger

requierments haul my the missies babby and the dog. I found a good deal on this durango. I traded some crap 4 it after it was wrecked cost to me $500 lic and minor required repair


here is the specs
158k
damaged body BAD
5.2 318 replaced 20 k ago
re44 4 speed automatic
np242 pos t-case
dana 35 ifs front
chrysler 9.75 rear diff
3.92 r/p limitd slip rear
power seats
a/c all the goodies


the plan of mods

sas
i cannot deside what i want for suspension
35-37
new bumpers
lockers
and roof rack
truck must still be able to tow my tent trailor and go where i want

truck its replacing
89 toyota x-cab 22re 5.29s arbs front and rear dual cases lots of flex and dents

parts i have collected over the years

dana 44 front from a 79f150 4.10 gears
ford 9" rear from 79 f150 4.10 gears spool

also have
dana 60 front from 95 f350 4.10s
dana 60 rear old ford 4.10s

6" coil springs from a 88 f150
rancho 44044 leaf springs

 

[98dango]

heres some pics

the day i brought her home

the end of an era

first lift and tiers 2" 37 irocks

now sits on 33s

 

[02TahoeMD]

Needed only minor repair? :yikes: I do admire your sense of optimism! Good luck on the build.

 

[98dango]

its minor i have run the rig 6k sience owner ship so far it needs a t-case rebuild and sheet metal


t-case rebuild 0000 dollars

front fenders hood grill 150

grill free
left fender free
hood 100 bux
right fender 50

 

[RocTrac]

so what lift did you use to clear the 37's?

 

[98dango]

lots got done today at work

rebuilt the 242 transfer case
changed all the fluids
ran all the wiering for my cb and in cab lights also installed rear back up lights and ran the wiering for my roof rack

 

[rickc]

I'm very interested in your choice of suspension and lift mods. There are so few after market options for Ds.

My 99 Durango eats balljoints and it's our family truck, 95% paved roads. For a real "truck" chassis, the D front suspension was woefully under-engineered. After the 3rd time, I put in Moogs with zerkels. The stock D balljoints were not greasable.

Post more pics!

 

[98dango]

thay are lacking in the ball joint set up

as a mopar parts advisor i replace mine ever 2 months 4 free got to have perks

i soon will be going with a ford dana 44 front axel and all mopar parts to hang it

 

[The Adam Blaster]

In July I picked up a 2002 Durango with only 31,500 km's on it at a decent price.
It smells like a wet dog lived in the thing, but I have some air fresheners for it, no problem. lol

I like the space inside, 3rd row of seats will be nice when my son is old enough to bug me to drive him and a few friends around town.
With that row folded down, there's quite a bit of storage room back there.
Towing capacity is nice as well, up around 6000 pounds.

I'm going to use it as a light overlanding vehicle and get a camper trailer of some sort to match up to it. I'm going to keep it almost completely stock, nice and reliable.

Watching the computer console on the roof, the mpg while going about 65mph is showing between 20 and 22. It drops like a rock in town though, closer to 15/16.

What years are the ball joints bad on these things? Did they ever get the problem sorted out, or did they just move to the newer (05+) model??

 

[98dango]

the ball joints are bad in all of them, if u PM ur vin i will run it and tell u if it has been done



is urs a 4.7 or 5.9

i avrage 14 in mine with 33s and gravel road in every tank

 

[4Rescue]

edit: nevermind, I'm an idiot I should have read the thread more carefully... Good luck with the build, this will be neat to watch, not many people built these rigs up.

Cheers

Dave

 

[The Adam Blaster]

the ball joints are bad in all of them, if u PM ur vin i will run it and tell u if it has been done



is urs a 4.7 or 5.9

i avrage 14 in mine with 33s and gravel road in every tank

I'll get that VIN to you within a day or so...
I've got the 4.7 in mine, and I drive mixed highway/surface streets every day to work and back. I haven't used it for any long trips yet though, and i'm averaging around 18.5mpg.

 

[98dango]

your doing just fne the best thins i can say is CHAMPION PLUGS it gose aginst every thing i know but thay make them run good

 

[rickc]

Mine's a '99 5.9. It drinks more gas than my '98 H1 drinks diesel! It would not surprise me if 98Dango is right about all the ball joints being bad. The originals are so tiny and have no grease point.

98Dango: what about that info on lifting and other mods? Good luck!

 

[98dango]

how much do u want to lift what do u want to use it for

i have turned my t-bars placed my ball joints under the a arme and shackels in the back