1989 Dodge Dakota Total Basket Case - DEAD ON ARRIVAL... I can't even open the hood! 

I worked in a Dodge dealership in the late 80s and know this truck quite well! In my experience, they were good trucks for the day. Early EFI definitely had some growing pains, but overall was a pretty good system. Couple things about the engine...the 3.9 is basically a 318 with 2 cylinders lopped off. It was very reliable and had good torque. As for a 318 swap, the ‘89 had the option of a 5.2 V8 (a 318) and is a bolt-in swap. If it were me, I’d just use the 3.9. Plenty of power for a mid-size truck and no swapping necessary!

My 89 Dakota is very good truck. Keep at it. 1st gen Dakota's are cool I think

The perfect recipe for that truck. 318 magnum from 94 to 01. Slight cam edlebrock single plane intake for magnum. Short tube header, sniper EFI. An NV 3500 5 speed from 98 to 01 ram or V8 Dakota. Ease of maintenance and parts available reliability and made for platform. And Sniper can run the electronic fan set up.

Love the old square body trucks, back when trucks were trucks not soccer mom cars with a truck bed attached. Our shop truck when I was installing garage doors was a 99 Dodge Dakota pickup, had the 5 speed manual 4x2 and it was debadged so figuring it was a shop truck I thought first time I got in it to drive it that it was just a 4 cylinder or V6...well it was neither, it turned out it was the 360 V8....fun truck to drive, useless in the winter in the snow and ice though LOL.

My first pickup was a 89 dakota 3.9l 2wd shortbed loved that pickup

For 7 years an '89 Dakota was my daily driver and work truck. The 3.9 was as reliable as anyone could ask for but it was badly underpowered. When the transmission failed at 247,000 miles I decided to retire the truck instead of repairing it. That little V6 wasn't burning oil and never failed to start but the body was getting rusty so it went to the junkyard.

Who else thought the dog panting was someone trying to start a car for a bit😂 nice vid btw

I had an 88 Dakota. It was a great truck, 3.9L, ran great, did everything I ever asked of it (and yes I asked a lot on more then one ocassion). That was around 25 years ago though! Good luck!

I recently swapped my 89 Dakota’s v6 for a newer 2001 318 magnum from a 1500. I carbuerated it and put a roller cam in with .550 lift and it works really well

Those dakotas are awesome. Ive had a few. Best trucks ive ever had

I bought a new Dakota in '98. Black extended cab 4x4 with the 318. Great truck except for the transfer case. Had it into the shop twice for hard 4x4 shifting, both times they found "nothing wrong". Then at 11,500 miles the transfer case shit the bed. They tried to deny the warranty since there was no lube in it, I pointed out if there was a leak it would be all over the bottom of the truck & my driveway but both were clean & dry, plus I'd been there twice for hard shifting and they found no problems. Got a new transfer case under warranty. It came with no/minimal lube from the factory, suprised it lasted as long as it did.

Old school 360 or 383 will fit....electric fan needed.

Late model 318s and 360s use the same motor mounts (they have the old style ears and the new style mounting holes). You need to use the accessory mounts and electric cooling fan as used in the 1989 v8 Dakotas. 1987 Dakotas are carbureted and the fuel tanks will work (no internal pump).

Pull that engine put a 318 or a 360 in it. The Dakota was offered with a 318 since 1987. So yes a 318 will certainly fit.

318 with a 4-barrel carb, can't go wrong. If anything's in the way, hey, you have a sawzall. 😁

318 swap is a must I have a 96 2wd single cab short bed with the 318 it's a blast to drive

318 is the way to go its a good engine and would be a nice fit. I would really like to see you do the 318 swap, or maybe the 340. i loved those engines.

I had an 87--2.2--carbbed, power nothing, stick, 2wd...put 100k on that truck in 5 years....2 head gaskets and one clutch--bought for $2200, traded it for $1000 5 years later

he finally got into the ram ranch

Bit of info. If it cranks with no start. And no check engine light on the dashboard. Its the computer. Unplug it and plug it back in. Also check the round plug next to battery. Make sure there's no corrosion. And a 318 will fit. There has to be a electrical fan. Carol shelby did a version in 89

This particular body style of Dakota and its larger full size counterpart the ram is the only body style Dodge that I actually like there's a lot of modifications you can do to that engine bay I have a friend that had one and he put a V8 in his would I give up my GMC for that probably not but it would still look good sitting in the garage

I’d go with the inline 6, enough power and robust. The 87-89 v-6 were awful, a buddy of mine had a 88 ram p/u with the v6 and it never went faster than 65 mph. Hope your thumb is ok. New sub here Sam( from chester County)

I've had three of these trucks.. My current one is an original engine/trans/axles truck never rebuilt at 400,000 miles... I can say this, I've never had a old vehicle with a better hood latch than my 89 Dakota, so I have no idea why the hell that trucks wasn't working... Because its the most reliable vehicle I've ever seen in the existence of vehicles(I drive 2000+ miles per month on mine for the last 10 years now so do that math 20,000 per year, or 200,000 every 10 years) with manual trans I should point out it gets 22mpg in the mountains 30mpg highway, those autos leaked and died far before 400k) ask me how I know. Btw because I love these I'll tell you my secret (spray LPS 3 on it.. the inside and outside of frame/ body/ and LPS 1 on all electrical/connectors) btw, those intake manifolds leaked causing it to stall in hot weather or throw the fuel/air off and burn poorly, a bad throttle position sensors cause it to idle poorly and have a PAUSE in the throttle response when accelerating, the throttle idle control valve causes the engine to rev to high when you first start it about 3 or 4000 rpms ( it should rev to 1600 rpm, then idle down to around 1100 when cold and 800 when hot) this is because the engine puts out 15psi (hot) of oil pressure on idle (dodge says the minimum is 5psi) but the only other issue I've run into is the Computer wich I happen to have an extra, they are $500 each (used)/ and the distributor has a hall effect sensor wich goes bad and screws up the timing advance, sometimes replacing those throttle-body parts + distributor = fixed dakoter for about $140 bucks... I'd say its worth it.. and also Say I've owned probably 10 chevys and fords at the same time as this 1 Dakota that has outlasted all of them. JUST SAYIN, I would buy that off you if you didn't F the front end up lol.

Awesome! my very first vehicle was an 89 dakota with the v6...i loved it but man those things were lemons

Project Diesel Dakota !!!

NEW JERSEY IS A STATE? WOW! WHO KNEW. LOVE UR CHANNEL AND WHIT! WHIT? WIT? IK. LOVE YA BRO, NO HOMO!

The 318s little brother. Perfect for offroading

I got an 87 and my back window is broke in the same spot as well 😂

I’m playing catch up. I dig the new doa! My best friend that got me into 4 wheelin had an old dodge with a similar body style, but it was a black and grey two tone with red accents. I dig these body styles and crazy that was handed to you! Lookin forward to progress on this one buddy!

My younger brother inherited our Dad's 1987 RAM (full size long bed, auto trans, 2 wheel drive, 318cid 2brl) after Dad passed away. The truck still runs and drives but has, from time to time, refused entry to the engine compartment due to a "sticky" hood release. But no surgery has been required to date just the occasional can (all of it!) of penetrating oil. If you want to stick with a Chrysler-Dodge engine I think a 4.0L from a Jeep or a later model "Slant Six" would fit nicely while providing the torque for pulling a small fishing boat or popup camper trailer. I know from experience that the 4.0L will pull a popup with ease through the Smokey Mountains of the Carolinas and one of my cousins uses a 1976 Dodge pickup with a slant six to tow his high end bass boat on a regular basis.

I had to rewire my cab in my 93 Dakota and had to do a little wiring under the hood but all of it wasn't to bad

Ol Scotty G t-shirt. Haven’t seen him in years since I got out of the parts industry.

I believe dakotas of these years came factory with 2.5L I4s, the same from YJ and XJs

“DOA Decoder” may be a fitting name considering the wiring Gremlin issues you’re going to be fighting. How about putting a VW 1.9 diesel in there if you’re wanting to pull a boat?

For a 318 fit the fan will need to be removed from engine and put electric in front of radiator. They did that for the Shelby Dakota. I still have my 1987 3.3 Dakota that I bought new.

BOY JO JO'S WHINING GOT MY DOGS ATTENTION!

CSB fits everything. Not an original idea by any means, but true statement none the less.

If it has a crank no start, check the hall effects in the didstributer (located under the cap) first. Very common problem on the first gen 3.9 Dakota.

Awesome truck man! Excited to see what you do with it 👍🏻

YES THAT IS HOW YOU DO IT a little bit surprised you waited that long

My dad had one of the later ones with the v6 magnum and it was pretty quick.

if you are gonna bother to drop a v8 in it might as well go with a 360. a 360 is physically the same size as a 318 and will bolt in anywhere a 318 will. same bellhousing pattern as the 3.9 v6. the v8 will fit you just wont be able to run a mechanical fan. you will have to put an electric fan on the front of the radiator

The 318 had an e-fan and different radiator.. the v6 was a decent motor and made almost the same power.. just an fyi

I have the same truck but a convertible. A late model 5.2/5.9 bolts right in, just have to run electric fans. (earlier "LA" engines are missing the motor mount pads) I swapped in a 1994 5.2 Magnum. Get a donor if you want to d the swap. Message me if you have a question

I scrapped several these trucks the V6 is a good engine and so is the V8 what the problem is is when these trucks sit that's what kills them good luck

A 318 fits with those engine mounts too I believe. That 3.9 is just a 318 with two cylinders cut off. A pusher fan under the grill works fine for the 318, 340 and 360 in the flat nose. 1989 Carroll Shelby did it.

don't forget the blinker fluid, it will never run without that.

I wanted to get an old Dakota and do a 4bt swap into it. This will be a great project.

I got one I know all about mine the 1988 it was like a champ

Oh no another knuckle buster,well i had one of these also it was good grocery getter.im with all the guys going diesel, get one out of a used mercedes im not sure but i watched a guy get a conversion kit for bellhousing and put into a wrangler from mercerdes so it can be done.good luck hope the thumb heals quickly.keep em coming.!!!snookie pa.

Jeep 2.5 carburated is a great idea.

Where are you? 🤔 lol Oh man! I'd love a beauty like that! Congrats on the new DOA! PS. I too hate it when the clipies rotate 🤣

On your Chevy avalanche you can let the back sets up and down and take the back glass out to have a bigger bed

This is going to be a great series! Bypass everything and only power what is needed.

Nice truck

Know this is a year old video, but the 318 WILL fit. Look at the Shelby Dakota. 318/auto. But a stick will work too. Can upgrade to the 91 to 02? 318 with multiport injection. Or as I have done, 360/nv3500, posi. Never say cant

Got a 1990 dodge dakota sport with the 3.9

The 5.2 Magnum (318) CAN fit, but you need to fit around the water pump which will bump the radiator in stock position. Shelby used a special set of motor mounts to mount the 318 LA back a bit. A late model 318/360 will fit IF it has the mounting bosses in the middle of the block for the "Magnum" motor mounts. I'd go Magnum 5.2 or 5.9, stroked to 408ci or more ... a A518 (727 with overdrive and lockup torque converter) will fit nicely in that body (since, well, it WAS offered in it ... with the Shelby V8.) 97 to 2004 Dakota 9.25 rear ends will fit with some new spring mounts. It's got possibiliities. Source: I own a 1988 with the 3.9; it is a nice motor for fuzzling around in, but it won't win any drag races if the other racer shows up.

Put a Chevy 4.3 v6 in it, small enough to fit and better then the 3.9, or go with a vw 1.9 Could also go with the “painless wiring system” I highly recommend it with DOAs like this

DOA or "Dodge on arrival". I joke of course. Love the ol' dodge, very minty project! Just really testing your sanity adding another to the list. Good luck with this one for sure guy!

I have a 88 Dakota with a 3.9 and I'm in the process of putting in a 318(5.2l) in it worse case is you push fireworks back

If a comanche had the wonderful 4.0, I'm sure Buster The Thumb Buster has room

Has factory roller cam and double roller timing chain. Holley throttle body

I have a 99 F250 V10 sitting in my garage that just needs a gasket set if you want to drop that in there 😂

I know this video is older, did anyone ever mention the wire you were pullin for the hood latch most likely is a cable style? I'm sure all you had to do is pull the cable in the center of that sheath

I've heard that an ounce of 500000 skoavile added at each fill up, not only cleans your TBI, it also protects it from harmful varnish and oil laiden debris. Looking forward to Buster's new life with your projects. You know, since Lake Effect has a rotted chassis, you might consider dropping all the great elements of her Generous Mothersness into Buster's chassis..... Sorry you busted up your thumb a hope it all gets better soon...

I have a 94 dodge Dakota with the 3.9 she spins great but won’t fire for nothing

I'd have gone to the sawzall after like 20 minutes of f*ckery. 😂

I just saw your podcasts,and i have a question for you.You are very passionate to old-school body on frame cars,but what about the newer engines? Because my feelings are offended when i see that old tough V8 is now replaced with V6 with 2 turbos that gonna break down in 100.000

You could put a 318 on it you just have to go with electric fans and get rid of the fan and the fan clutch

So it’s just every dodge Dakota from this year😂 mine has the same hood problem

7:17 I think this truck CLOSELY mocking you

I’m surprised you didn’t just give her the old Chevy fonzie trick. You pull that latch, go to the front and hit that hood on the front in an upward motion to release that latch

6:20 TOOL ABUSE!

This will probably never be seen but the funniest thing about the hood is if it's stuck just sit on it 🤣

I have 1989 Dodge Dakota but I still not sure if I can add up turbo on it also I don’t know if you know more about 1989 Dodge Dakota

I have a 1987 thats alot like your 1989. It spray with rust inhibitor.

if a 340 will work, 360,s are everywhere an such potential,lighter an bigger stroke..

Do you know if the Rochester 2 barrel bolts right on? The 87 3.9 had it. Wondering if same intake manifold

What about the workbench? Don't leave us hanging. Lol

I can see your problem right now. It's a Dodge lol. I give have to give ya shit. I am not a Dodge fan but I do enjoy your videos. My uncle had this same problem with my 1983 GMC he cut a hole in the top of the hood. Man does that hurt me to see but it works.

Angry pixies appear only when you weld

oof had a 88 with the same engine. Timing chains like to skip teeth on those 3.9's and the Distributor is non adjustable.

What’s DOA?

Cant wait for more, you are too funny!

Jumped a truck once with a stuck hood by hooking up my jumper cable to the main lug on the starter. At least got him going. And he was able to fix the hood later.

Give it as much power as you can and send it!

hey if you find any schematics of any kind for this thing let us know, I've got an 88 Dakota 4x4 3.9L and I just had to replace the entirety of the harness, engine and interior. So anything you find on it would be amazing to know about

Oh sick! New Jersey! You guys can't pump gas either!

Cheaper just to hood pin it p.s take the injection system of and put a webber on it

I bet if you did a 318 with an electric fan off of a 5.9 limited ZJ, it would fit If you wanna go diesel, I'd recommend considering a TDI (and joining TDI swapped trucks on facebook) or something slightly older school like an OM617 (or even better an OM606!)

A cool swap could be a 3-53 two stroke Detroit diesel, a 4.2 straight 6 or a 4.7 V8. All have awesome sounds

Boy the body looks really good but the wiring under the hood, OUCH. WTF DID THEY DO TO IT ? THROW A 318 IN IT & CALL IT A DAY, UNLESS BY SOME MIRICLE YOU COULD GET THAT 3.9 RUNNING ? NICE LOOKING TRUCK WITH THE 2 TONE FOR SURE.

A lot of people knock Dodge Dakota’s. Are Dakota’s actually that bad?

Nice lookin truck. Now just need to put a new engine in it

Any of these little trucks were pretty cheap to own. Insurance should be cheaper because it's not a full-sized truck.

Love it!

I know it's an old video Shelby put a 318 in a first gen Dakota how to use electric fan

Swap a 1.9 tdi in it. That would be cool.

I'm about to buy an 89 for $650 I'm hoping!