Used 1998 Dodge Dakota Consumer Reviews
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Good looking piece of ...
Michael Mazzio, 12/06/2003
1998 Dodge Dakota SLT 2dr Extended Cab 4WD SB (3.9L 6cyl naturally aspired 5M)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
After the first few thousand miles replaced the #1 spark plug every month or so(cracked). Strange clunking sound in steering. At 10000 replaced the front brakes, then again every 10-16000 miles. At 18000 replaced rear shocks. At 37000, just out of warranty, Transmission rebuilt for the first time. At 44000, rear rebuilt. At 46000, lower and upper ball joints and outer tie rods replaced. Odds and ends replaced until 96000 where the transmission was rebuilt a second time, transfer case, back-up light switch and have new seals put in steering box. I'm at 166000 now, upper ball joints and transfer case needs to be rebuilt again. One good thing, truck still runs.
Dodge Rocks
Krude 1966, 10/08/2007
1998 Dodge Dakota Sport 2dr Extended Cab SB (2.5L 4cyl naturally aspired 5M)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I bought this truck brand new, ordered just the way I wanted. V6 , 5 speed manual tranny, sport edition 2wd. I bought it to haul firewood and it has hauled anything you can imagine. It now has over 120000 miles and the only major problem was replacing the tranny in the spring of '95. That has been my only complaint is shifting from 1st to 2nd is very clunky. It gets reasonable mileage of 22mpg on the highway and 18mpg in town. This truck will be in my possession until I die, a very worthwhile investment in my book.
1998 Dodge Dakota for sale near you
Showing 3 of 11 listings
- Reg Cab 112 WB SLTMSRP: $4,999500 mi away
- SLT Regular CabMSRP: $2,999599 mi away
- SLT Extended CabMSRP: $7,950844 mi away
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Issue with catalytic converter
Bryan64, 05/10/2002
1998 Dodge Dakota SLT 2dr Extended Cab SB (3.9L 6cyl naturally aspired 5M)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I LOVE my 98 Dakota. It has performed reliably, except in one dept: I seem to be replacing cat's annually. A rattling begings to develop when the engine is pulling (I enjoy pulling G's out of my V6 w/ low geared rear-end). Dodge warranty has replaced the cat twice, and a muffler once because part of the cat went down the pipe and damaged the muffler. I have discussed my need for acceleration with the Dodge Boys and didn't get any indication that my driving is affecting the cat. Dodge wont evaluate the O2 sensor when they replace the faulty cats.
Stay away from dodge
celticstallion, 12/21/2014
updated 12/27/2017
1998 Dodge Dakota Sport 2dr Extended Cab 4WD SB (3.9L 6cyl naturally aspired 5M)
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
My dodge has 113k miles and is ready for the grave. Despite me treating this truck gently it still wants to quit. Since I had it I have replaced the throttle body sensor, crankshaft sensor all relays, distributor with cap rotor, spark plugs and wires, ignition coil and fuel pump. So after replacing all this it still dies at unexpected times and once you fix one thing and think you have a handle on it something else will quit.It drives like crap its slow and the transmission is a 4 speed cheap piece of garbage. In my opinion the 6 cyl engine is useless because its so weak it struggles to move the truck. I cant imagine what a 4 banger would be like. Its just a poor design from top to bottom.
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
J. Garcia, 09/14/2007
1998 Dodge Dakota Sport 2dr Regular Cab SB (2.5L 4cyl naturally aspired 5M)
3 of 5 people found this review helpful
The Good: Good interior, lots of truck for the money. Fairly decent fuel mileage. The Bad: Ball joints were completely worn out. Replacing them requires chiseling and/or grinding steel rivets off. Cheap plastic interior pieces, not very well put together. The Ugly: Designed by an accountant. Control-arm bushings are not replaceable. The whole control-arm needs replacing at over $300 per. Rubber plug in the differential cover. Non adjustable clutch master/slave cylinder. Very notchy 5-speed, with completely wrong ratios for the 4 cylinder engine. Will not pull even a moderate incline at highway speeds in 5th gear. 50 year old pushrod engine design. Not even a crossflow cylinder head.