I have been searching for trucks and so far in my area , I haven’t had any luck finding a 92-96.
Well did find a few but they are just junk and I really don’t want a truck that I am going to have to
put a lot of time into to get it running right and so on…And whatever I get ,it will have to be a king cab.
I have found tons of 98-2005 dakotas,rams,ect…I know that obd2 can be a major issue…
Which I’m in no real hurry (in a way I am,cant wait to ride down the road on wood chucks)…
I am willing to have to do some extra things to get woodgas working good on a newer model,but just
want to know if it would be feasible…
Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
I am waiting for my book to get here and already collecting parts for the gasifier ,I’m really looking forward
to this adventure…
Thanks , Johnny
We were just talking about this the other day in the hangout. The newer body style trucks are largely the same as the older ones, but the engine bay (and the cab) is smaller/tighter working area, and overall I think they are heavier. The OBDII issues have been discussed elsewhere (a quick search for OBDII will turn up a lot); all I’ll say here is that early Dodge ODB2 seems to be very basic and quite similar to OBD1. We don’t know at what point the computer gets upgraded to more advanced OBD controls. Get as early a model as you can for best results. Be sure you get a 318/360 and not one of the newer V8s which are completely different and much harder to deal with.
Thanks for the info.I am just going to do a bunch of searching before I buy.I will just have to be patient till the perfect candidate or almost most perfect one comes along .I don’t think I will mess with anything beyond 2000, just to be on the safe side.
Hey JohnnyC
The issue between earlier 96 to ~2003 OBDII systems to later systems was a change over in the manufacturers “Save the Catalytic Converter” stratagies.
Manufacturers had a US EPA trade off from having to guaranty emissions systems compliance from earlier MANY engine/exhaust parts for 5 year/50,000 miles to just 8 limited parts but now those out to 8 years/80,000 miles. The Cats were one of these parts. So . . . they then reprogrammed thier systems with a detected catalytic possible overheat condition like engine cylinder misfiring to go into rolling individual cylinder ignition AND indiviual cylinder fuel injector shut off to force you to shut it down and be towed in unable to anymore be forced driven except very slowly with very low power. With the transmissions then later now intergrated “Powertrain” Control Modual computor controlled they then could lock out your gears to just one forward and reverse to enforce this, “Save the Cat!”. This was to save them a lot of manditory catalytic converter warranty replacement money. California vehicles were State mandated for manufacures to be responsible for more parts like timing belts for 8 years/105,000 miles.
“I think” from experience you would be safe with any Dodge/Chrysler engine that still had an ignition distributor in it. They could not induvidually cylinder shut off the spark. Coil pac types can give you these fits anytime after ~2003. Most (not all) Fords for sure after this date. GM’s, I am not sure. But will also happen sometime after 2000-03 depending on the model.
Regards
Steve Unruh
Johnny,
I be in the same boat you are looking for a Dakota (crew cab) that doesn’t have a quarter million miles or rusted so bad you feel like fred flintstone.
I’m looking at 00-04 Dakota’s to use for wood gas. I dont have emission testing where I’m at so that’s a plus. As far as computers go I will make it work even if I have to cheat every sensor or install performance electronics. Once upon a time you could open the hood and see the ground along side the motor. It’s not that way anymore so plumbing can be a challenge but not insurmountable. Steve’s comment on some of the new protections programed into the computer is correct. We just have to come up with a work around that’s smarter than the computer. Looks like one of us will be the first to pioneer down this OBDII road. I have a friend who is a mopar geek, I will be checking with him b4 I take the plunge. I’ll post what I can find out.
Thanks Steve for the info on that stuff…
Thanks for the comment Wes …Yes looking for a truck has been a task , I am having even a bigger task finding parts for the gasifer.
No one seems to have anything ,done been to 3 scrap yards and have walked away with nothing …But anyway the search continues haha…
I just have to be patient I guess …
Johnny,
I looked at a 03 dakota Crew cab today. It had a 318 and was a 4x4. Two observations-
- There was room on either side of motor to pipe up wood gas, which is good.
- I think I will have to abandon the crew cab for lack of box room. There is little room from wheel well to front of box. I dont think a 55 gal barrel would tuck up into the front corner without interfering with the wheel well, or hang out in the middle of the box. I didnt look under the truck for additional obstructions but as for me I would like to see more real estate from the wheel well to the front of the box. I’m going to look at an extended cab to see how much better it is. The wheel base is the same so perhaps the front of the box is longer. I’m trying to avoid a std cab if possible.
Hey Wes ,
Yeah I have looked at a couple newer models my self and notice some of the room options were not that great …I’m just going to keep looking till I find the perfect truck.Maybe with luck I will find one .I’m still in the process of collecting everything for the gasifier , got over half so far .
As far as trucks go ,everyone that I have found so far that would be perfect , needs a transmission or ,something needs to be fixed on it, or its just a compete junker … But the search continues one lol…All in due time I guess