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How bad is the D on highway speed?

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shiremux

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Im finally picking my D in few days, the guy told me that they break up mostly from highway speeds and they are not suitable for exceding 60mph, is that true? Its a 5.9 motor with over 350k miles on clock, obviously i want to take it for a highway trip from time to time to my family thats a 600km 1 way far.
Does anyone got some experience with making our rangos more highway friendly?
 
#2 ·
Picking it up from doing what to it? What is that "guy" smoking? You can drive it as fast as you want and as fast as it will go. It's a car, drive it. Maybe the only DDs he sees have high miles and were raced. Now, if your car is rusted out or has other symptoms then there might be something to what he says.
 
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Discussion starter · #3 ·
Picking i mean buying it since i have to drive 600km to get it. Idk, he said something about the motor being low rpm only and gets 2 hot driving with constant speed and the materials expanding when it cools down, idk what he means thaths why im there asking.
 
#4 ·
It sounds like it has cooling problems. Why would you even buy it in that condition, apparently sight unseen? Find something closer with lower mileage and a better or known history of maintenance.
 
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#5 ·
Shire:
This entire story has rad flags all over it. Either the seller does not know sh*t from shinola, or the car is a money pit.
It sounds like nothing short of a fixer upper from day 1. I would pass, and find a better deal!
You might not make the trip home to begin with.

Don
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
He didnt mean that his car overheats, he just heard a story from another guy about all gen 1 in particular being bad for constant speed driving and just told me that, his car is absolutely fine and runs good (Besides high mileage) just came by there to check what u guys think about that BS.
 
#7 ·
What year, and what kind of shape is the body in at 350k+? I hope you aren't paying too much. A Gen 1 Durango in really good shape bodywise, but with those miles, would struggle to bring $4000 in the US.

Don
 
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#9 ·
01 was a good year IMO. My first D was an 01. That year, the interior was updated, as well as the transfer case moved to electric shift via the dash mounted switch, vs the floor mounted manual shift lever.

Don
 
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#10 ·
350K on the odometer should answer the OP. That said, I had to replace the radiator twice and all the ball joints on my '02 Ram. And I had a lot of dirt road miles on her. I only traded due to the A/C evap core plugging up.
 
#11 ·
My 01 Durango 4.7 AWD with 110k miles sweet spot seems to be 60-65mph. I'm not an expert and there's nothing stopping me from driving it faster I guess, I've never had any overheating issues it just seems like when I'm at that sweet spot the drive is effortless and around 70 the rpms are on the high side to my ear or feel.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
Yeah i just picked my durango, it broke 30km from the start on the motorway, had to tow it for 200km from home. Great start. It truly is amazing adventure driving faster than 60mph, it floats to left and right like a boat, thanks God it blow the coolant and i had to stop b4 i died due to steering play ;)
Anyway, it has 31" AT tires right now, if i fix the steering play and stiffen then suspension and change the tires to some 18" rims with summer less aggresive tires i suppose that would make the ride much better?
 
#13 ·
Shire:
Indeed, not off to a very good start. Sorry to hear that. Please keep in mind, that your Durango, on it's best day, was not designed for sustained speeds like you probably can do in your country. In proper condition, it certainly should be able to run 80-90 mph all day, without trouble. At 300k+ though, you'll need to refresh the entire suspension and be sure you have tires rated for the speed you want to run.

Early in it's life, I had my '01 Durango up to 100 mph once, on an empty 4 lane straight away. It was ok, but the road was smooth, and I would not have wanted to try any sort of emergency lane change at that speed. We now know, that the brakes on the Gen 1 (98-'03) Durangos were moderate at best. Dodge did install rear discs for '03, which helped. Higher speeds, more weight via larger tires, etc, do not help unless the brakes are also upgraded.

Don
 
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Discussion starter · #14 ·
I didnt get the one i spoke about at the thread start, got a black one 5.9 with 290k kilometers on the ODO, motor runs great, good car except the clogged thermostat that blown my coolant out, besides that everyting looks fine. Sure i agree 100% with you that they were not designed for that speed, i just dont want to travel 55-60mph trips, even 70mph would be ideal i think its doable with the tire change and new suspension, thanks god parts are cheap for that car.
 
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