Hello from Utah

Thanks.
The plans for it are to keep it stock but it needs upper ball joints and tires.
It had a cold air intake and exhaust already.
Last week I picked up a shell for $125 to put on it. Sent it off for a color match since it was blue.
Also I had a police push bar from a 2015 Durango I was going to put on my jeep but..... decided to put it on the truck.

Modstock said:

Hello from Utah. I recently picked up a 01 Dakota quad cab 4wd. 4.7 V8 , 165,000 miles.
Tell me all about em. Any things to look out for, sensors I should be replacing soon ?
I'll be towing a 6x10 V-nose cargo trailer with it on our longer vaca trips.

Click to expand...

Here is some info from my previous post about these trucks:


Here is what I know.
I have two Dakota’s.
2000 manual 4 wd and 2001 4wd electric shift.
Unless something has changed the transmissions are flawed. The planetary gears are weak causing a failure.
I had the 2001 rebuild by my
transmission shop at 70000 miles.

The transmission has been great with 170000 on the truck now.

Another problem that may have been corrected is the loss of TCCM when disconnecting the battery.
This has happened to me 3 times costing about $175 each time because only Dodge can do it.
Many dealers no longer have the liscence for the tool so you are SOL if you can’t find a dealer who has it.
Now for the brakes.
Both of my Dakotas are quad cab and both have had failures to the front disc.
They are substandard and will easily warp when towing and or driving in the mountains.
I fixed the problem by going to grooved and drilled rotors.
Now for the brake system.
Check to see if the proportioning valve is still available for that truck.
There are most likely two and one is under the M. Cylinder near fire wall. It is connected electronically and needs to be activated when bleeding the brakes.
The dealer and myself worked for days trying to get the brakes to bleed and give a good pedal.
Come to find out the valve was bad and wasn’t opening.
I could only find a used one on EBay that took care of the problem.
Other than those items and maybe a few minor problems thus has been a good truck.
Plenty of power. 4.7 , rides great and performs well in snow and towing.
To conclude:
If it’s 2 wd pass. Price is too high.
If 4 wd and condition is good check everything out real good and buy it.
Take a real good look at transmission fluid taking multiple sticks and look at the condition of the fluid.
Ask when the fluid was changed and what brand. If not Mopar then pass. I hate paying dealer prices but that stuff is key to maintaining that tranny.

Richard
Retired mechanic USPS.

I bought mine new in 2001. 1. Powerstop Brakes from Rock Auto with drilled and grooved rotors provide better braking. 2. The airconditioning system has a steel tube on the passenger side fire wall for condensate release. There is a seal on the fire wall that will leak. The fan motor will overload the connector at the fan and blow the speed resister. Seal the tube to the firewall to prevent this. 3. The gear selector will lock in park at some point. Simply remove the grommet at the gear selector and look inside for a wedge shaped slide mechanism. Spray that with some sort of lubricating oil or grease. 4. There is a rubber reducing elbow at the charcoal vapor recovery canister. The elbow will dry out and you will get a trouble code. 5. The steering fluid is hydroscopic for 2001. Flush this fluid out and use transmission fluid. 6. The radiator drain plug on the stock radiator requires a turn and pull to release coolant. Be sure to figure out which way is closed. It might look closed, but will leak under pressure. The head gaskets will fail if the engine is over heated. 7. The third brake light gasket seal dries out and rain enters the cab. Remove the brake light and make a new seal or use sealant before it leaks. 8. The headlights and tail lights are plastic. They with crack or fog over. Replacements are fairly inexpensive. 9. When you remove the lower control arms to replace the ball joints be sure to torque the bolts when the truck is back on the ground. You cannot align it if the bolts are not tightened after the truck is on the ground. I plan to keep mine as long as i can. I like this truck. Best Regards, Burt

Some great info here. Thanks guys.
It came with new oil pan gasket, heater control, and 02 sensors that haven't been installed yet.
The trans fluid looks new. I noticed it had the resistor done already. I'll look for that tube.

Here's a few pics with the police push bar installed, grill painted black and the shell color matched. Also tested it pulling the trailer.

Finally got around to wiring up the camper shell's 3rd brake light and interior light.
Found the CHTL wire behind the spare/passenger side taped back to itself. I routed it through the nearby hole to keep it above the spare tire.
Used a 5foot 4-wire trailer extension that worked perfectly. Tied into the license plate light for the dome light.
Oh and it got it's first oil change.

Modstock said:

Got around to fixing the brakes. I found the RR brake was missing pin that holds the pad in and the springs, top washer retainer were backwards. 🤨
Fronts had stripped caliper bolts on the driver side. The top bolt was actually missing.
Picked up some oversized bolts $24ea.
Hopefully the holes aren't too wallowed out and these fix it.
Luckily the rotors are good.

Next on the list is O2 sensors then upper ball joints and tires.

Click to expand...

A couple of suggestions on installing the oversized bolts a O2 sensors.

Use a counter sink bit or oversized drill bit and slightly taper the holes.
Slowly turn the new bolt in and out and then repeat until you have a good start of threads. Then take it completely out and add a little lube to the bolt. Now continue until completed in. Now remove and add some anti seize and put it together.
As for the O2 sensors. Make sure you have a good sensor wrench and make sure to soak the old sensors down real good with PB Blaster or a penetrating oil of your choice.
The sensors are known to strip out into the pipe bung.
I found an old open end cheap motorcycle wrench that would fit on both sides of the sensors.
Flatten the end of the tips of the wrench to at as a wedge to get under the edge of the sensor creating outward pressure. Slowly screw the sensor out while driving the wrench further into the sensor.
Really let the sensor soak and spray it numerous times while doing something else. In fact if you can spray it multiple times and then let it set overnight and spray it some more even better.
Turn it in and out a little at a time back and forth until your sure it loose enough to get it out.
Good luck and let’s hope you have a smooth time of it.
Retired mechanic
50 years experience.
I know a lot but certainly not it all.