Faults:

Nothing has really gone wrong with my truck. I did change my ignition wires a couple thousands miles ago. I figured they were old and it wouldn't hurt.

General Comments:

I love this truck. I have normal radial tires and stock engine parts. It goes through mud really well. I was surprised. my 4x4 works excellent. I have pushed mud a couple of times.

It's good on the road - smooth ride. During the winter I put weights in the back. Other than that it's really good in the snow.

Faults:

The only parts that had to be replaced on this truck were replacing the tires every 50-60,000 miles.

Did have to replace the water pump at around 175,000 miles.

Other than that, just regular services, nothing costly.

General Comments:

This truck has a lot of miles on it, and the transmission and engine have never needed repair. That is pretty impressive for a vehicle to make it to 244,000 miles and still have its original engine and transmission running strong.

The truck is great in the snow, and the 4wd always works when I need it.

It gets decent gas mileage for a truck ranging from 15 to 21 miles per gallon on average.

It still has power, and I have no problems passing vehicles on hills.

Never had to replace wheel bearings, ball joints or anything of that nature.

Interior is comfortable seating up to 6 people.

Overall a good, solid truck. I am now a true believer in Dodge!

Faults:

Emergency brake and brakes - lines replaced due to severe rust.

Power steering pump - blew a hose while driving (that was a fun one).

Front end - needs to be re-aligned, pulls to the right.

Engine - starting to rust and pit, also knocks which I believe are the lifters.

Rear axle - axle seal is bad and is slowly leaking.

Transmission - balks sometimes in reverse gear.

Dome light doesn't work on driver's side, only passenger.

The frame is rusted pretty badly because it wasn't taken care of properly. It was in NY before I got it, and the road salt and snow have taken their toll.

ABS system was "repaired" before I got it. It was actually done illegally and cost $1,000 to repair (the e-brake work was included).

Exhaust system - in short it needs to be replaced from the manifolds back, as the muffler is full of holes and the catalytic converter just rattles.

Moon visor - again due to poor maintenance, one out of five lights works, and the wiring harness is falling down.

Sunspots on the paint, and the rear wheel arches are severely rusted.

General Comments:

Overall, I love my '96 Dakota. Unfortunately it was never taken care of properly and is suffering because of it.

It drives pretty well with the exception of the front end and the power steering line blowing on me a week ago.

Transmission shifts easily and the clutch is great on the road.

I think I get between 20-23 mpg city. If it had only been taken care of better!

It's comfortable to drive. The suspension is not too hard and provides great road stability.

The V6 provides plenty of power but it has no speed, which is understandable. The fastest I have driven it is 75 mph (which in the condition it's in is pretty scary). Oddly enough the rear window whistles pretty badly at about 65mph.

Sadly, repair costs for the truck have gotten too expensive and I have to get rid of it. It will be donated to the boy scout camp I work at, where it will probably rust away. Oh well, I've put about 1200 miles on it and it's been great the whole time. I've been thinking about replacing it with a Chevy Caprice, either the civilian model or a 9C1.