I was wondering if anyone has put a slant six in a Dakota.

Gary

I've never heard of it and I really don't know why you would want to; it would be a very tough fit due to the length of the slant and the relatively short engine bay on the DAK. I'm sure it *could* be done; I've seen pictures of a Viper V10 powered Dakota.

_________________
David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

The most reviled vehicle in the fleet here is my GFs 87 Dakota. This revulsion is based on its uncanny ability to diappoint. It turns pistons upside down in the bore,,,,blows out frost plugs,,,cracks heads,,,you freekin name it. It has the dreaded 3/4 V8....the 3.6 V6 TBI.

I measured and measured and figgered till I was blue and there is no sensible, daily driver way to do it for reasonable money.
If you want to have a non sensical , show car that cost a lot of money,,,it can prolly be done. You still end up with a piece of crap.

By the way,,,GF bought an Eagle Talon TSI AWD(way fun).....and the Dakota is a yard truck.....some times it goes 3 miles to the dump....still dont trust it.

_________________
Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Why don't you leave it there?????????

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

It costs money to leave it at the dump.

We need something to store garbage in ( think about a self propelled dumpster.

We move at least 4 cords of firewood every winter.

When the boys mistreat the Valaint the punishment is the Dakota.

It makes everthing else look so good.

NOW it wont quit!

_________________
Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

My daily driver is a 98 Dakota and I love it. It has a 5.2 ( 318 ) and automatic with 4X4. Next time however, I'm going full size with a Cummins.

_________________
David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

My Dakota is a 91 which has the longer front end. It has a 4 banger in it. I really never like 4 cylinders, even though this one had been good to me. I never did like Chryslers 3.9 v-6. 87 was the first year for that engine. My brother bought a brand new one 87. In the first year the engine had been rebuilt. Alot of people he talked to had engine problems in their Dakotas that same year. It was just one my crazy thoughts.

Gary

Compared to the slant the 3.9 was pretty gutless. Apparently it inherited none of the 318's reliability.

_________________
82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

Hmmm... except for expecting to do a timing chain around 125K, most 3.9s I have seen have been very reliable. They are an "odd fire" design like the old Buicks were, meaning that the plugs don't fire at an even 120* like a slant or an "even fire" V6 would. The firing happens at 112*, then 128* then 112 again,etc. The uneven gap in firing is why they all run a little "rough" and I'm guessing also part of the reason that they like timing chains. Like a slant, you usually know one when you hear one, only instead of clicking solid lifters out of adjustment, it sounds like a dragging chain... it IS against the inside of the cover once they loosen up. But I have seen many of these well over 200K and still going. My 90 that I had, wasn't that bad on power and never left me stranded. "sold" it to my brother in law, at 125K and its still going strong, only now being driven by one of those that NEVER pops the hood-for ANYTHING... lucky he adds gas once in a while!And NO, that one hasn't had a t-chain yet, now around 140K.

The early 3.9s did have some teething problems, not so much due to the design of the engine but due to Chrysler's lousy quality control and rock-bottom budget for vehicle build in those days.

I've yet to see one of these lop-a-V8-to-make-a-V6 efforts produce a genuinely good engine. The Mopar 3.9 (a lopped 318) was never systematically unreliable, but didn't have particularly good manners for the first five years; it got better in '92 when it was Magnum-ized, but I've always looked dimly on it (perhaps because it was the tool of the slant-6's death!). It's kind of like a cockroach, or a Chev Cadavalier—tends to carry on running long after you wish it were dead. Don't know if Ford has a lop-job V6 per se or if they're still foisting off their "modular" garbage on anybody who doesn't know better than to buy a Ford. Which is pathetic, because Ford Australia has a honey of a fully-modern 4-litre inline six. The GM 4.3 has had less-worse years and more-worse years, but has never had a good year. It's somewhat better than the 3.1/3.4 junk they put in a great many McRentalmobiles and SUVs. Don't know much about the 5-cylinder they put in TrailBlazers etc. except that it's said to be a gas hog.

The 4.0 Jeep six is (about to be "was") a terrific engine. But the snotnosed know-alls at Car and Driver Magazine bitch and moan about the "agricultural" sounds of any inline six except the ones made by BMW, so the Jeep motor's being replaced by the 3.7 litre V6

_________________
一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Dan, I could'nt agree with you more on the last part of your post. Car and Driver and Consumer Reports bitch about every old school engine because it is not as "refined" as Japanese cars. I guess they wnat their engines to be completely silent. Would you classify the slant as "refined". They complained abut the "coarse sounding Chevy 4.3" when in reality it was a pretty dtrong little motor that embarrassed lots of Japanese truck with torque (do have to admit, it was a pretty torquey little motor).

_________________
82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

I agree, the 4.3 is a torque monster—when it is together and running!

_________________
一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I've got a Jeep Liberty with the 3.7... it seems to be a good match for that platform. Nice and peppy around town although a bit on the noisy side. My wife loves it.

_________________
David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

Well...yeah. The Liberty is a cute li'l SUV aimed at cute li'l owners. Perfect for suburban marathon runs to the mall.

_________________
一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Which is basically how it is used.

_________________
David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.