1998 Durango - The Purple Nurple
- Thread starter Ianfd1
- Start date
Grassland
Well-known member
What's ballpark costs on parts to do springs and shocks all around, along with any other hardware to get them swapped?
Do you have space/skills to do work yourself?
Whats always sunk me on older stuff is rust.
Body rusts out, and every. Single. Bolt/fastener is seized solid. And doing the work on driveway as nothing since my Ranger and WJ physically fit in the garage.
If you can do the work and the parts aren't too bad, if the truck don't costing you much, why not buy some time and swap stuff?
Or is the rust too bad? What are the KM now?
Do you have space/skills to do work yourself?
Whats always sunk me on older stuff is rust.
Body rusts out, and every. Single. Bolt/fastener is seized solid. And doing the work on driveway as nothing since my Ranger and WJ physically fit in the garage.
If you can do the work and the parts aren't too bad, if the truck don't costing you much, why not buy some time and swap stuff?
Or is the rust too bad? What are the KM now?
Ianfd1
Member
The price for strictly the shocks and springs is gonna run me around $850 CAD. However, the rear end NEEDS to be rebuilt, so thats going to be at least another $300 just for parts. In the end it should run me $1050 before shipping. I do plan on doing all the work myself and thankfully I have a garage available for me to use.
I hear ya on the rust, luckily so far none of it is too structural - I say that with a grain of salt however. The frame itself is fine. The issue is the rockers, front fenders, the front bumper, liftgate, and underneath the gas cap. The drivers side fender has a baseball sized hole in it, which has started to eat at the mount for the drivers side headlight making it droop. similar the bottom of the passengers side doesn't hold any structure and I had to pull the mudflap off because it was just going to fall off. each front and back of each rocker have 1" by 3" holes in them. It seems I find more rust everyday - haha
.Its currently at 328k so its getting up there, the factory service schedule stopped counting a long time ago
The non structural rust isn't a huge issue aside from it aggravating my OCD. For the rest I can buy new(er) fenders from the junkyard or online, repair any rust on them and repaint, along with the rockers I can fix the holes and repaint.
What it comes down to for me is reliability - and fuel economy (in a way). Each system on the truck needs to be gone through. if i fix the axle the tranny which is already wheezing and clunking will need to be gone through, and each trip now requires at least a quart of oil if not more. The entire drivetrain, electrical, HVAC etc... I may just be nit-picky but I plan to keep this forever. Thats the real reason I might take it off the road - to retire it to a project and start on my SAS adventure rig dreams!
Grassland
Well-known member
Making non streetable would help. Body panel integrity is slightly less important then.
But yeah powertrain in the 300s on something designed and built in the 90s
?
It's what made me sell my 2002 WK. Had only 205 k but the unibody rusting and having already replaced over half the suspension/steering components and no end in sight,.and then the Evap system which is surrounded by a rusted box acting up.
But yeah powertrain in the 300s on something designed and built in the 90s
?
It's what made me sell my 2002 WK. Had only 205 k but the unibody rusting and having already replaced over half the suspension/steering components and no end in sight,.and then the Evap system which is surrounded by a rusted box acting up.
Ianfd1
Member
I hadn't even thought about making it non street-able - something to think about.
You said it perfectly right there. Its gettin old
If there wasn't so much sentimental value and memories packed up in this thing it probably would've gotten sold it a long time ago. Unfortunately I can't bring myself to do that
CountryboyNC
Active member
I’m following. I have a 2003 Dakota 4x4 quad cab with the 4.7 that has 250k miles on it right now in the original motor and transmission. I picked it up for 2k as a hunting truck and slowly fixing things. So far it’s got new plugs, coil packs, upper and lower control arms and ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, rotors and pads and front shocks. I have a new radiator (since it has a small leak when you shut it off after driving) and rear shocks in the mail. I’m contemplating doing the water pump, 180* t-stat and housing and hoses while I have the cooling system drained. The body is in decent shape, has its bumps and bruises but the only real rust spots are two small ones above the rear fenders, which i don’t really care about. I’m hoping I can get some time on this motor and transmission before a rebuild. Only thing I hear wrong is it’s a little loud in first gear until it warms up.
Ianfd1
Member
Thats awesome! Sounds like you have a really nice truck on your hands.
Do you have the disk brake rear end? How does it stop? Have you ever compared it to the drum brake rear?
A few winters ago I had a leak in my rad, I think it cracked because of the cold. It was a night and day difference with the new one.
CountryboyNC
Active member
It stops well, it does have the discs out back. For what it is it is doing well. I’m thinking about doing the timing chains while I have the front of the motor off too
Ianfd1
Member
I certainly would if I were you. These trucks are great and reliable if you take care of them
Ianfd1
Member
Update time -
Planned on doing a whole bunch of work to the truck this summer, and in some sense I still do. However, crawled underneath and the exhaust is Swiss Cheese O2 sensors are not happy and the truck is running super rich never-mind the blown cat. rough calculations indicate north of $4500 in repairs just to make it back to stock. So it's time to retire the old girl. BUT... this only means great things are beginning for the truck. I've talked to a few friends who work in the industry and am going to start on the repairs and if i can find a good enough deal on parts/axles - the SAS!!!
Already bought new OEM fenders (the only rust free fenders I've found in 2 years) and all the stuff to fix the rest of the rust.
I've decided i will likely go with 05+ SD axles as they are plentiful around these parts - robust - not too $$$ - and WONTONS
This will be a real slow process and in some sense I will be learning as I go.
Planned on doing a whole bunch of work to the truck this summer, and in some sense I still do. However, crawled underneath and the exhaust is Swiss Cheese O2 sensors are not happy and the truck is running super rich never-mind the blown cat. rough calculations indicate north of $4500 in repairs just to make it back to stock. So it's time to retire the old girl. BUT... this only means great things are beginning for the truck. I've talked to a few friends who work in the industry and am going to start on the repairs and if i can find a good enough deal on parts/axles - the SAS!!!
Already bought new OEM fenders (the only rust free fenders I've found in 2 years) and all the stuff to fix the rest of the rust.
I've decided i will likely go with 05+ SD axles as they are plentiful around these parts - robust - not too $$$ - and WONTONS
This will be a real slow process and in some sense I will be learning as I go.
Ianfd1
Member
Pulled the flares off a few weeks ago. Both drivers and passengers fenders were completely shot. About 3"-4" of rust around the fender wells. To make matters worse i found some rust on the lower cab too..... Looks like ill be doing some bodywork.
However on a more positive note, I struck gold at the junkyard today!
OEM Amethyst Pearl (PCN) fenders from a Dakota, in WAY better condition than the ones on my truck!
They're not 'rust-free' by anyones standards, but for Canadaland they're pretty damn good
This is the worst part, one of the classic rust spots on these trucks. I'll likely cut this part out from spare fenders, and stitch weld it in.
Plus the V6 badges are a nice touch. Think I'll keep them on there.
However on a more positive note, I struck gold at the junkyard today!
OEM Amethyst Pearl (PCN) fenders from a Dakota, in WAY better condition than the ones on my truck!
They're not 'rust-free' by anyones standards, but for Canadaland they're pretty damn good
This is the worst part, one of the classic rust spots on these trucks. I'll likely cut this part out from spare fenders, and stitch weld it in.
Plus the V6 badges are a nice touch. Think I'll keep them on there.
Ianfd1
Member
With mother nature freaking out in BC these past few weeks, I ended up letting go of the golf. It allowed me to pick up a new vehicle for my fleet: an 07 Ranger Sport. Its a 2wd, 3.0, 5spd, No Cruise, no AC, manual locks, and manual windows. it was previously owned by an older gentleman, and is low mileage and great condition!
The gentleman that sold the ranger was kinda choked to see it go, but its going to a good home
The Durango isn't going anywhere, and I've slowly been collecting parts and doing little fixes here and there. Main thing for me is electronics and rust at this point. As those - with my current budget - are affordable.
The gentleman that sold the ranger was kinda choked to see it go, but its going to a good home
The Durango isn't going anywhere, and I've slowly been collecting parts and doing little fixes here and there. Main thing for me is electronics and rust at this point. As those - with my current budget - are affordable.