I’ve never seen an R/T. Nice. 4 WD?
By the way, there is no such thing as too much power ; )
HI wayne i wondered when you would get bored not building a new wood gas canidate, Those southern trucks hold there value much better than the rust belt,NICE TRUCK.THANKS
Nice looking truck,looks to be in great shape.
Going to be hard to cut the first hole I bet.
Calvin…
That truck would look good out too the wood gas race track,?YOU probbly would’ent want too ovel track it though as it would get tore up raceing.JUST jokeing,it feels like i should be loading IT up on the trailer too head up too the local race track after working so fast and hard too get the project done. I remember raceing the clock like this getting ready for a race night.A few years in circle track comp.
HI Wayne Keith,good after noon,all your experimentation trials will help us hard working low income folks enjoy driveing.I may rework the frame on my s10 too get less wind drag and a little more wood, as much as posible.I am sure we will all learn something valuble from the new dakota build.THANKS
ARE YOU GOING TOO TRY A SQUARE HOPPER, I was starting too make my hopper wider and backed down, ado too uncertainty on funnel fit and lid holding on a larger hopper.the 24" i chose holds 8 or 9- 5 gallon buckit of wood.and then there was running out of room for hopper cooler,and still keep all three behind the back window.
Hello Kevin ,
I think it will be a while before I gasifie the 99 dakota . I had started on a 95 dakota last year an then bought my tractor and pulled off the dakota and gasified the tractor .
I have started this week when I have a spare hour on the 95 again. ( the 95 will have a round hopper ,55 gallon drum )
I hate to start cutting on the new truck until I have put a few miles on it. This week while crawling around under the truck I noticed it looks like it has never been on a dirt road .
I also have been reading some of the warning signs in the truck . I think gasifing the truck will help with the breathing problems
9 Likes
I wouldn’t rush into it either after reading the warning signs Wayne.
I dident realize you had one 1995 project started unfinished, good luck with the wood gas medicine,for the 1999,maybe next year if its a road test hot rod.YOU MAY WANT TOO GO THE LIGHTEST ROUTE POSSIBLE ON THE 99RT.TOO keep it thrillish on wood.
1 Like
Wayne…after seeing that warning sticker I’ve decided I need to find me a similar truck…lol
1 Like
http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/5143957656.html 1998 Dakota R/T for $3400. 134,000 miles.
2 Likes
Hi Wayne,
Looks like you haven’t posted anything regarding your '99 Dakota R/T in a while, do you still have it?
I was wondering if you ever had a chance to hook it up to woodgas and see if it would let you advance the timing by moving the distributor like the '92-'96 Dakotas will?
There is a nice 2000 Dakota R/T for sale in my area, but I’m a little hesitant to buy it without knowing if it will run on wood or not.
Thanks,
Larry Graves
Hello Larry .
I ended up selling the 99 dakota and never got a chance to run it on wood gas but I’m almost certain it will operate as the 318 92-96 . There is a shock absorber that will have to be relocated if you plan on going through the bed with the gasifier .
The 99 was just to nice of truck to be cutting on when I had sever other here in the yard.
One other note.
My phone and internet has been down for three days now and hope to get them restored Monday. I took my Chromebook with me to town and was able to get internet connection while at a burger shop.
3 Likes
Thanks, Wayne. I really appreciate your quick reply.
I hope to go look at the truck some time next week, the 2000 R/Ts are regular cab so they probably has the best power to weight ratio that you can get in a production truck that is woodgas friendly.
When did they start making the 4.7 V-8? Don’t get that engine!
1 Like
The 2000 Dakota R/T only comes with the 5.9L engine.
I think 2001 was the first year for the 4.7L V-8. That 4.7L engine has a high failure rate plus it’s not woodgas friendly since you cannot advance the ignition timing.
2 Likes
My 2000 had 4.7, I think that was 1st yr.
My 2003 Dodge Ram has the 4.7L engine. It has been trouble free. It is a mersadies Ben’s engine. It has more towing power than any engine in it’s class size. I tow my boat and it has plenty of power going up hills. You can not wood gas it. You need a bigger engine for the truck. Someone tried on this site and gave up try to get by the OBD2 computer operating system trouble problems.
Bob
1 Like
Like too many big-auto designs the first year on these engine DID have a few problems. The one’s I had to cylinder head replace were in the first year-in-use Jeep Grand Cherokees. They would drop out an exhaust valve seat insert after hard running. Or; the left side camshafts would break in the middle.
Dodge/Jeep did overcome these problems.
But these very L-o-n-g chain driven OHC engines (ALL MAKEs) are very unforgiving for, never-change-oil, owners.
Well used overhead cam engines, it is much safer to buy belt driven. Just a belt, maybe a few tensioner pulley’s/bearings and maybe a few shaft seals. And done for another 100k miles.
Long chain driven? Listen for noises. Insist on recorded oil change records. Or, enjoy tearing the whole front end down for new chains, guides, gears and sprockets!!
And on both T-chain/T-belt types if it drives the water pump, a new one while down if you are smart, or believe in bad-luck.
J-I-C Steve unruh
4 Likes
I drove my 4.7 Dakota 200,000 miles, no mechanical problems at all, but used Lucas products in engine, and trans.
5 Likes