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ProStreetS10
Dodge Dakota
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3/26/2002
09:51:21
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 Subject: RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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I keep coming to this forum because I see so many people flaming how their 3.9L is faster than a 4.3L. I am just trying to uphold the respect for the 4.3L's. I think ALL trucks are cool myself and I wish we could all just get along! :)
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fourgivn1
GenIII
3/26/2002
10:09:18
|  RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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This is true. I'd definitely have to agree. I WILL say that I went shopping recently and it just so happens that after all the research was done, the Dakota fit the bill perfectly. But before that I'd never owned a Dodge, and I'm not going to be 'brand loyal' if it turns out that my Dak breaks down 2843 times. So far it's AWESOME, but who knows.
Current mods: A MUFFLER. That's it. (For now.)
Future mods: Tonneau cover
Underdrive pulleys
Removal of clutch fan
K&N FIPK
17" rims
And much, much more...
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Montag
Dodge Dakota
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3/26/2002
11:01:12
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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The 4.3L up holds it's recpect on it's own. We had a 97 GMC Safari with a 4.3L in it. It had 100K on it when we traded it in for the Accord, never had a single eingine problem with it. Chevy doesn't know how to make all-wheel-drive systems though. But every manufacture has their weak points. Dodge happens to make a crapy auto trany. Ford...well...they have more than one weak point. It all boils down to, there is no such thing as the perfect car, truck, or van.
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SloDak39
Dodge Dakota
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3/26/2002
11:10:08
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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sure wish my 3.9 would idle right, then i'd almost be happy with it.... :C/
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Montag
Dodge Dakota
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3/26/2002
12:09:09
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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What is it doing SloDak?
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SloDak39
Dodge Dakota
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3/27/2002
11:33:30
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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Montag: Whenever i put it into park, it wants to stall and sometimes does(has actually stalled only a few times). Upon putting it into park, the rpm's shoot way up to like 900 to 1000 and then it drops way down to around 500 or less and starts to stumble and shake like its gonna stall, then it recovers itself and returns to normal idle speed. Its so annoying, sometimes people in a parking lot will look over when it does that. People riding in my truck will commment about it.When it was still under warranty, the dealer never did anything about it. It just has poor idle characteristics it its driving me nuts. Sometimes upon coming to a stop at a light, it will stumble for a second. Its like it can't cope with changes in engine load. Any ideas?? I need to check out someone else's 3.9 and see how it idles and stuff........
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Montag
Dodge Dakota
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3/27/2002
14:09:59
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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It could be the idle speed motor. My grandfather had to replace the one in my truck while he had it. My truck is a 92. What year is yours?
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SloDak39
Dodge Dakota
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3/27/2002
19:05:48
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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its a 99 and i've already replaced the iac motor.....i think its some kind of computer fault or a vaccuum leak or more likely, just a bad design....its also got California emmissions so i don't know if that screws things up.....sometimes i wonder if all the people that think thier dakotas run so great do not have CA emmisions. I could see that extra emmisions stuff and different ECM programming causing a drivability problem, especially with a dodge.
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The Judge
Dodge Dakota
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4/05/2002
18:31:14
| SlowDak is a whiner
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Geeze o pete buddy....im not one to come on here and talk trash about anyone or anything but my god! If your really that unhappy with your Dak then sell it and get somethin else, obviously you got a lemon. Whatever you do for gods sake stop flippin whinin about it in EVERY THREAD ON HERE! I know I can't be the only one on here that's tired of hearin it.
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n8 dawg
Dodge Dakota
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4/05/2002
23:03:01
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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man i hear you the judge. SloDak99 i could prove to you my dak is problem free and is faster than 3/4 of the 4.3's on the road. and i agree with prostreet i am in a truck club and i am the only dodge in the club(7 ppl including me) 5 are s10's and 1 is a 3.0 ranger(slowest in the club) and most ppl respect the Black Dak seeing how its problem free at 80k miles when most s10's have problems within 40k miles. so i believe you got a lemon SloDak99 so sell your truck and get a 5.9L 360 R/T DAk
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Montag
Dodge Dakota
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4/06/2002
11:15:44
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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Hey now, our Safari van went to 100K and still going and it runs like the day it was built. We never had any trouble out of the engine. No offence to anyone, this is just my observation, but it seems like Chrysler makes alot of lemons. We had a Plymouth Voyager before the Safafi and that thing was basicly a rolling sh!t box. My friend had a Neon and the starter just fell off. Fell off! Now, if it's not a lemon then the hit the nail right on the head and the thing runs till the cows come home. Like my truck is doing, 114K and it can still hang with a rustang(V6 of rustang of corse), I don't think he liked that very much :)
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ramblinman
Dodge Dakota
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4/06/2002
12:34:41
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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hi everyone. really like this site. everyone seems to be fair about most of the subjects. I'm a Dodge man and love everyone I've owned. I will have to give respect to the 4.3. I didn't care for them until a coworker had one. Performance to me wasn't that impressive but the truck just kept on running. As of last week it had 320,000 miles on it. I've seen plenty of lemons from every make, but someone built his right.
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drunkace
Dodge Dakota
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4/07/2002
01:58:40
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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Come on people...have you ever noticed that MOST of the cars and trucks with 300k+ miles(without major problems) are directly related to how the owner took care of it? That's why there is a factory warranty to break it in-then it's all up to the owner. At least you don't have to rebuild the engine every 50k like they used too--(just got back from a visit with grandpa...)
I love the size of my Dak and how easy it is to maintain....Dakota rocks!!!
P.S. I have a family member who bought a voyager new and it lasted 15 years/320k and sold it running.
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SloDak39
Dodge Dakota
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4/07/2002
14:54:26
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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Ummmm.....screw you "Judge".....i can gurantee you that most dodges do indeed have lemon-like problems and the ones that don't are in the minority.....also, if you don't like what i have to say, then ignore it....everyone is allowed to say what they wish on here and if my comments hurt you feelings, then YOU, not me, needs to stop whining......
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IntenseDak39
*GenIII*
4/07/2002
20:05:20
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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how would you gurantee that?
http://www.geocities.com/intensedak39/index.html?1015106010330
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SloDak39
Dodge Dakota
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4/07/2002
21:39:36
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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by surveying everyday people that own dodges.....not the people that come one here and think dodge is the mesiah....i have yet to meet a person in real life (off the net) that is satisfied with dodges they own or have owned....
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IntenseDak39
*GenIII*
4/07/2002
22:15:02
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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that still doesn't gaurantee anything. that's a poll about opinions. i am not saying dodge is the best thing around... i think that they are good vehicles for the money. the people come on here to talk greatly about their dodges because they like them and have had good experiences with them. Just because you might not of had a good experience with yours doesn't mean we are all wrong about ours. my family has had six dodges that i know of.... a 1980 aires station wagon... lasted 10 years and countless miles. a 1985 dodge b150 van (285,000 miles and still rolling with original motor, trans rebuilt because my brother thought it would be neat to see if the van could get airborne...it did... but the landing was bad), a 1987 omni... it lasted while we had it but the motor had problems (it was a mitsubishi 2.2) and i have had a 1982 lebaron (total peice of sh!t but it too was a mitsubishi 2.6) a 1985 shelby charger T1 (wonderfull car....it's american 2.2 was much better than the mistu.) and my dakota ( no problems i haven't cause). use that for your poll... oh wait... i like my dak... can't use that!
intensedak39
http://www.geocities.com/intensedak39/index.html?1015106010330
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italkcrap
Dodge Dakota
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6/03/2002
15:58:49
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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i have always liked the dakotas and i thought about getting one of those 5.9 r/t pickups. then i found my 96'S-10 SS. the day after i got it i took it to the track and ran a 15.7 on crappy tires. i ran persistant 15.7's and 15.8's. i now have a vortech supercharger and a couple other little goodies that might surprise you. i warn you that the whineing noise coming from my truck isnt a crappy motor. and for all those who say "i havent met a 4.3 who can touch me yet" why dont you get in your truck an drive down to Kansas and ill let you meet what ive got.
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kryp2nite
Dodge Dakota
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6/03/2002
17:07:02
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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hmmmm turbo dak
or S/C S10
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Carl Vick
Dodge Dakota
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6/03/2002
19:09:26
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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im sittin on 76k miles on my 3.9 no engine probs what so ever all ive had wrong with whole truck is the heater core btw its on a 98
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2damnslow
Dodge Dakota
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6/04/2002
01:45:58
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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now that everyone is done complaning to each other lets stop and look around. the s-10 has been based on the same basic design for the last(hell 15 yrs) and how many that were built in 1980s do you still see running today. problobly quite a few. same goes for dodge you just have to look around a little. now lets take a look at the to companys chevy has on of the slowest concept to production lines known to man and they stick with the same tried and true design for years. dodge on the other hand is relitively quick at concept to production and has brought alot of there concepts into production with the expected problems that go with being quick.ive owned almost every make of domestic vehical at some point in time or another and have been happy with everyone of them for whatever it was about them that i liked flaws or no flaws i chose it and i drove it some lasted some did not so lets all just enjoy ower trucks and get along and remember that something will always be faster!
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SuperBee
Dodge Dakota
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6/04/2002
01:52:01
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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i agree, there are lots of people who beat their cars, drive them poorly, dont maintain them like they should and b!tch cuz they doont last, i know, my brother is one of them, the tranny in his 94 lebaron was rebuilt, and he didnt take one thought to baby it cuz it had jsut been rebuilt, he figured, hey, its rebuilt, i can drive it liek a maniac and should not have problems cuz its been jsut rebuilt, guess what, that was 4000 miles ago and guess wher eit is, back at the shop, dumb@ss
i haveent really had any problems with my dak besides a few age related things, heater core was cracked, tranny blew a front seal, may have blown the rear one too, they put in a new tourque converter cuz the old one was messed up cuz somone tried fixing it themselves with little luck, but, as far as i know there havent been any problems with my dak that wasnt casued by me or most likemly a previous owner than did not give her the respect she deserves or half as much respect as i give her, i dont floor it for no reason, no power braking, no neutral drops, dont off road with it much,
99% of the time I baby it, its theat 1% that can get you,
also each and every engine has slight differences from the factory, they are not ALL 100% IDENTICAL, so some will have problems and some wont, lets hope there will be a smaller percentage of problematic dodges when they start really hitting the QC department with some major changes
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Rooknute
Dodge Dakota
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6/04/2002
07:15:15
|  RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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I love dodge, and yes there are some things I would love to talk to dodge about fixing but hey, i bought one cause i like them, every car company out there has problems. I just wish dodge would do something about their Sh*ty Tranys!
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hemi
Dodge Dakota
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11/08/2002
01:58:22
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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ok i have race chevy ford other dodges with my 3.9 and this 3.9 is a 87 i raced 2 4.3s one being in a van and i killed it. i raced a s-10 and still beat it it was a closer race but i still won. and i have raced other dodges with a 318 and kept up actually tieing with most 318's in the 80's and all there is on my truck is headers so 3.9l's in my eyes are a dam good motor and mine also has 250,000kms on it u would think it would be worn out and not very good any more but its stil going hard and ohh did i mention nose and nose with a 302 ford half tone. i thought that v8's were supose to beat v6's easly.
im sure there is someone who can beat me out there and i have been beat but only by a couple car lengths with a sun fire and the only thing so far to realy kill me was a 92 plymouth laser.
my buddy the other day raced his 4x4 ford with a 4.6 against a dakota 4x4 with a 4.7 and the dakota just killed us i was impressed and it just shows that dodge is on the right track compared to ford. dodges trucks are naturally fast they dont have to come supercharged or with a turbo.
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SloDak39
Dodge Dakota
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11/08/2002
13:01:58
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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I like the 4.7 The 3.9 sucks. I don't know how you guys can beat some of the vehicles you're mentioning(if you're stock). I got beat by an old rusty escort the other day. And when i pass people, i have to plan way ahead or risk getting into a head-on. Usually, i elect not to pass at all. And when a 3.9 winds out, it sounds horrible, like it doesn't like being revved up. But thats the only way to get any power out of it. Then it sucks gas like a V-12. By the way, i've never encountered a 4.3 that wasn't powerful. And they all seem to last forever. My friend tows his boat with a 1990 astro and it feels like the boats not even there. When we use my truck to tow it, it feels like we are trying to tow a semi trailer.
1999 ext cab, 4x2, auto, 0-60 in 3 minutes
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Kracker
Dodge Dakota
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11/08/2002
22:32:20
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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dude... I don't know what's up with your 3.9, but mine don't do none of that, this truck has got a lot of power, and I recovered it from someone who didnt take care of it, at all... Hell, the oil was at least 9k miles old... Plugs and wires looked almost stock, were all burnt up when I pulled em... but now, after a year, I'ts runnin almost like new... Hell, I know if my Dad still had his 94 S-10 Blazer, MY dak could stay pretty even with his 4.3, and that bitch had good power too... and on top of that, mines got 178k, and his has 59k so think about it for a while... of couse, I do understand that your 3.9 differs from mine in lots of ways, since mine is Pre-mag (1991)... so that could be one thing...
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SloDak39
Dodge Dakota
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11/09/2002
12:06:40
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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There's nothing "up" with my 3.9. Its just ball-less. Hey, i only report on how my truck performs in my eyes. All the problems i've had with it sour my opinion of it even more. I'd get rid of it if i could afford to but i can't right now.
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stealwings582
GenIII
11/11/2002
13:17:51
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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I'm not trying to put down the S-10's but go look at the bluebook resale value on both trucks and you might find out that the Dodge Dak's hold there's better than the S-10's and the Ford Rangers. Greg
Wouldn't want any other!
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timsdak
Dodge Dakota
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11/11/2002
21:15:28
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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i dont know what is wrong with you guys daks, by my 3.9 is awesome. it has 40 thousand on it and it screams. i have cold air intake, hollowed out cat(which actually made it slower i think) custom cat back exhaust, lowered, 20" rims, and a ram air hood. I dont have any problem beating imports, s 10's, rangers or anything of that sort. so everyone that says there 3.9 sucks is on crack, becasue its the best thing around up here in NH
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rlong
Dodge Dakota
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11/14/2002
17:25:56
| RE: 3.9 vs. 4.3
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I have 2002 Quad Cab 3.9L with 5,000 miles and a 1995 Astro with 105,000 miles. The vehicles are pretty close in weight. The 4.3L Astro definetly has more power. The mileage is about the same for city driving (14.5 mpg). The Dakota is a little better than the Astro on the Hwy. The fit and finish of the Astro is something less than desired. Overall, the 3.9L does feel a sluggish. I had higher gas mileage expectations but overall my impression of ther Dakota is favorable.
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