Ugh, flippin' Durangos and rust

"WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89) 08/25/2015 at 10:46 • Filed to: None

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So, I have two Durangos. One blue 2000, and one red 2002. The red one is going to be regularly driven, and the blue one is relegated to parts duty. However, both of them have pretty rusty hatches. The blue is pretty bad, but not as bad as the red. Neither one is fully serviceable though.

It’s looking nearly impossible to find a rust-free first-gen Durango hatch. I know of one off hand, but it’s the one on my mom’s ‘99, and she drives that, so obviously I can’t use that. I mean, I suppose my really viable option right now is to use the less-bad blue one until I can come up with some extra money for a better color-matched rust free hatch. It’s pretty frustrating! Those 90s-00s Dodges are awful for rust. Just look at the fender on the blue one.

Here’s ol’ Django during his days as a daily driver, a year ago, and not quite looking so rough. Though, that rust hole still existed behind the wheel well trim even then.

CalzoneGolem > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 08/25/2015 at 10:50

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Can you not patch it?

crowmolly > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 08/25/2015 at 10:51

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You can’t repair it?

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > crowmolly 08/25/2015 at 10:53

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It’s pretty gnarly. It might be patchable. It’s one of the options, but I forgot to mention it. I mean, I’m going to try, but I’m not sure how it’ll do.

crowmolly > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 08/25/2015 at 10:54

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Post some shots. Are they rusted in the same places?

I know it’s horrible form but sometimes fiberglass and plastic filler can work OK on a beater.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 08/25/2015 at 10:55

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My mom has a 2001 dark blue Durango with zero rust on the body. literally ZERO rust on the body that will be for sale in the next year or so. It’s in SC. Great truck.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > CalzoneGolem 08/25/2015 at 10:58

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I’m going to attempt to. It’s all above the bottom lip, and kind of impedes the hatch from opening because of how it’s rusted.

CalzoneGolem > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 08/25/2015 at 11:00

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That sounds like a pain in the ass to patch.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > crowmolly 08/25/2015 at 11:02

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They’re rusted in mostly the same general area, it’s just a larger spread on the red. I don’t have pics right now, as I’m at work, and the trucks are at my stepdad’s house getting a new exhaust put on.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > CalzoneGolem 08/25/2015 at 11:02

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Looks like it will be.

crowmolly > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 08/25/2015 at 11:02

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Gotcha. And rust as in rusted through? Sorry for all the questions but banging on old metal has been an unfortunate hobby of mine for a number of years. LOL

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 08/25/2015 at 11:03

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Sounds like your mom got lucky. And the dark blue is a gorgeous color on those.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > crowmolly 08/25/2015 at 11:05

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It’s all good.

On the red one? Yes, in a couple spots. Blue one is close.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 08/25/2015 at 11:09

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Wonderful color.

And she didn’t get lucky. She bought it brand new. While living in NJ where there was snow and salt it was garage kept 100% of the time. In SC now it sits outside, but no snow. She’s also a sissy and doesn’t even like driving her big 4x4 in rain let alone snow so my dad’s 2 Door Yukon got most of the snow duty, well giving he used it for a plowing business...

So it’s been crazy well taken care of. If you really like them I’ll let you know whenever it goes up for sale. 2001, V8, 4x4, 3 rows, crazy well maintained, about 115k miles. I doubt she’ll be asking much for it.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 08/25/2015 at 11:23

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No kidding. Of the three Durangos in our family (my mom’s ‘99, my ‘00 and ‘02), two were a screaming deal, one was decent.

Our blue 2000, we got with a rebuild title back in February of 2014, for about $2400, and proceeded to drive it for a year with almost no problems. And we put over 20k miles on it in that time. It’s got around 150k on it right now, but we parked it after I got the Infiniti, because the Durango was just nickel and diming us with non-powertrain related issues. (Brakes, wheel bearings, suspension components, rust, minor electrical gremlins). It’s been sitting for a few months now, but it was dead reliable and great in winter.

The ‘99 my mom has, we got off one of my coworkers and good friends back in 2011 I believe. It was $800, had less than 100k miles, and just needed some engine work, and the rust on it was minimal. It needs some engine work again but it’s been great as well.

The red 2002, I just bought in March. Paid $1,000 for a fully loaded model, with a replacement engine that’s somewhere in the mid-50k mile range. 222k on the body, but again it runs really well. I love them completely.

I’m glad your mom’s was so well maintained. It sounds like it was truly well taken care of. I doubt I’ll need another one next year, but only time will tell. And I wouldn’t buy such a clean example for parts anyways. And I’m definitely loyal to Dodge, and Durangos especially. Both of mine have the 4.7 V8, and my mom’s is the 360 ci V8 (the 5.9L top end).

Did your mom’s ever have the shift interlock solenoid removed? All three of our Durangos, as well as my stepdad’s 2000 Ram 1500 have all had them removed because the shifter got stuck in park. Seems like a notoriously common issue.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 08/25/2015 at 12:03

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No I don’t believe she has. I think she’s done a computer, and ball joints, and that’s about it.

She has a minor evap leak on it right now. She’s replaced the window motors I think.

Only thing off book or out of the ordinary is the driver airbag is turned off. But that’s because she’s 4’11” and only about 110 pounds. It would kill her, she’s too small and too close.

She has the 4.7L too btw, she babies the hell out of it and never hits the gas hard even. She’s barely towed with it too.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 08/25/2015 at 12:09

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Oh, those window motors fail so much on Durangos. I’ve replaced window motors in all of them. Ball joints are pretty bad for them too. Sounds like this car is a really cherry though. If the price is truly good when she sells it, then look me up, and I may see what I can do. If I wouldn’t buy it, maybe my stepdad would. Including mine, there are 6 1/2 Dodge trucks at his house right now. Three Rams and three Durangos, and the half being my daughter’s little Kid Trax ride-on Dodge Ram 3500.