Non Jeep related.

[Andrew XJ]

okay yeah as I know this is the Jeep forum but I have an idea, I was thinking about buying a cheap Dodge Dakota for like $500 if I can find one and doing a solid axle swap and making it an off-road only vehicle I was curious if anyone knew which engine was best I'm going with 6 cylinder manual. at this point this is just an idea for some weird reason it just popped into my head all the sudden I really want to do it.
I was also wondering if I would be able to use Jeep axles for the song axle swap or if the Dakota would be too heavy?



thanks all

[XJ Wheeler]

I'd have a hard time not going with the 5.2l personally.

And if you're swapping axles anyway, minimal Dana 44 (in my opinion). But there's so much i don't know like width, drivers or passenger side drop t-case, etc.

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[Andrew XJ]

I don't know almost nothing about the Dodge Dakota series but, isn't the 3.7 v6 the same as a 3.7 in the Wrangler. and I believe you can bore out the 3.7 liter to a 4.0. and for smaller pickups I prefer v6 over v8 don't get me wrong I love my 302 in my Bronco but I am going for lightweight.

[XJ Wheeler]

I can see the weight factor then.

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[Andrew XJ]

actually I've already found one for 600 bucks on Craigslist that motor caught on fire but mechanically it is sound trans is good transfer case is good and it is 5.2 extended cab I already emailed them but more than likely just need new wiring harness and spark plug wires. but I rebuilt my Broncos 302 from the ground up I built the motor in the transmission in the floor of my garage. I think I can handle a wiring harness

[4.3LXJ]

First thing is you have to match width. I think our axles are a bit narrow. So you would be stuck with D44 front and you would want to match it in the rear

[Andrew XJ]

to be honest I'm just floating around ideas at the moment but I would probably go big or go home I'll go get a set of axles off of an old Chevy military truck

[4.3LXJ]

If you do that, you will need to go big on the tires too or you will be dragging the diff centers everywhere

[Andrew XJ]

I don't know very much about axles but I would probably use quarter ton truck axles all the way around. I would like to be able to run 40's