99 Dakoter

Dr.Jass said:
It's the standard upper right side, lower left corner mount pattern Chrysler adapted with the 1975 B-bodies and stuck with through 1993 with the B-vans. If you find one with two 7-pin flat connectors on the back, one grey and one black, it's a plug-in job. There are dozens of variations on that radio chassis.
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That should read "2003 B-vans".

Yours definitely has the 7-pin flat connectors. I mentioned them so you'd know what to look for without taking yours out. No point in going into the dash more than necessary. Taking off the dash bezel should be pretty straightforward, though. At most there's 2-4 screws, and the rest should be clips that pry away relatively easily by hand. Just be careful--don't try to rip the whole thing off with one harsh motion. Work from one end to the other, just prying enough to disengage the clips. Once that's out, the radio comes out with two screws, a nut for the ground strap, and simple uunplugging of the two flat connectors and the antenna. On my '92, the wires were just long enough to facilitate the change--they were stingy with the wire length.
 
Do all Dakota headlight assemblies melt? Both of mine have. I took the bulbs out after fighting the assy sort of back in place. There's no reason to leave them laying in the housing except to melt some more stuff.

Just wondering if it's even worth trying to find junkyard parts.

Maybe it's because the retainer was broken? Or maybe they all melt. There seems to be aftermarket support for them on e-bay. Probably not up to snuff compared to factory, but OTOH they're not old enough to vote either.
 
The assembly itself melted? You may want to look into other issues, the first coming to mind being the ground circuit or the socket itself. If there's corrosion or broken wires, a lot of heat is going to be generated at the bulb connection. Standard Motor Products makes a high-heat extension harness (LWH108) as does Dorman (645-997) with the Standard being of much-better quality. Most guys cut/solder the wires to the originals rather than leave the old socket there (it's just another failure point if it's left inline). However, it's only part of the solution if there's also a grounding issue.

Once I dig into the '68 Valiant, my plan is to do what the aftermarket headlamp guys suggest and use relays to power the headlamps. The general consensus is to pull the power directly off the power stud on the alternator, particularly on older cars with an ammeter. Stretch did the relays on his Dart, but pulled from the battery. His ammeter acts a bit silly but everything works as it should. He did nothing different with the bulbs and says the difference is dramatic. I have H4 conversion housings for the Valiant with 55/100W bulbs, so results should be even more dramaticker. Doing just the wiring might be worth your time, though, based on Stretch's results.
 
The melt seems to be from the bulb. The best guess I have is the retainer was broken (missing on one side, broken on the other) and the bulb laid on the housing. The one bulb that was in, had a gob of plastic stuck on it. It's not the wiring (y)

I ordered a set from e-bay for about $100. Two from the junkyard are going to bring half of that or more. The new ones come with new bulbs too. I checked the feedback on sales of the item and it was all OK but that could or could not be reliable info.

I'm going to have to take time off work to pick up the engine so I'm sure to be home long before dark.
 
I got the new headlights, they're pretty nice, definitely worth the extra $$ over JY parts - if the plastic is up to snuff so it lasts.

I'm having a time getting them to fit back in the hole. The park lamps are attached to the headlight assembly with a tiny screw. I think you're supposed to separate them, install the headlight, then attach the park lamps. The problem is that tiny screw is tight as hell and wants to not hold the screw driver. And I sure can't put as much downward force on them as I need to, because the assembly is plastic. So the screwdriver tends to slip. I spent several minutes on one and got the screw to turn but didn't get it out before I gave up on that.

There's only four bolts that hold the bumper on, and I can get to them with the headlights installed, so I'm thinking about taking the bumper off then reinstalling it after I've got the headlights mounted.

Here is what was wrong with the original headlights

,
 
I realized that taking the bumper off won't help because you can't get one of the bulbs in without separating the upper headlight from the lower turn signal/park lamp.

Then I remembered to use valve grinding compound on the screwdriver to keep it from slipping. Six bucks and a trip to the parts store later, those tiny screws came right out. That is definitely a tip worth remembering.

Now I've got a problem that the driver's side headlight isn't bright. Tried two bulbs, same result. Google tells me it could be any number of things but it seems to be a common symptom of Dodge trucks.
 
I had a blown fuse causing the problem.

Turns out there are two headlamp fuses supplying power to the headlights. Each headlight has constant 12v to it and two grounds from the high-beam switch that turn on low and high beam respectively.

If one of those fuses blows, that headlight can still pull a little bit of voltage from somewhere. That's the part I don't understand, but OK. The ground is still switched, so when the lights are on, the headlight will glow from the residual voltage but there's not enough to really light it up.

I also saw reports of people using a 9007 bulb in place of a 9004 and having this problem, and bad grounds can cause it of course. I'm glad mine needed the simple solution.
 
I'd still investigate the ground points. Headlamp bulbs don't get hot enough on their own to melt the housings like that. If that melting is a "common "problem, that just tells me the grounds are the common problem. It would also explain the blown fuse. Contrary to popular misconception, fuses neither wear out nor just blow without a reason.
 
As the Doc said, check connections. Weak connections cause arcing which cause heat. (think welder) And arcing cause power surges which are hell on fuses.
 
The other headlight had warped from heat but I was able to get the retainer on that one so I kept it for parts.

I'm from the old school of wrapping fuses with tin foil so I definitely know that fuses don't just wear out. The dumb things I did as a kid ...

There are so many grounds on the truck that the FSM has a separate section to identify grounds and their location. Splices too. All the systemization and detail in the wiring diagrams is a blessing and a curse. I never did find a "big picture" wiring diagram like you find in muscle car era Mopar FSMs.

TBH I'm tired of working on it. It's started a small coolant leak - I haven't looked it up yet but it looks like the Magnum water pumps uses a heater hose nipple that has an O-ring so it plugs into the water pump and an attaching bracket/bolt holds it in place. If that's right, the O-ring is leaking.
 
b-body-bob said:
TBH I'm tired of working on it. It's started a small coolant leak - I haven't looked it up yet but it looks like the Magnum water pumps uses a heater hose nipple that has an O-ring so it plugs into the water pump and an attaching bracket/bolt holds it in place. If that's right, the O-ring is leaking.
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That pipe is such a common issue that we stock it. The best of luck to you should you attempt to remove it, though... they're usually corroded solid. I don't think I've ever sold that pipe without a water pump, or vise-versa.

Come to think of it, I probably have that pipe lying around because I'd bought one for my own Dakota. I have a new water pump, too, but it's the earlier bolt-on pulley style. There was nothing wrong with the pump on the truck, but I'd planned on doing the timing chain and switching to underdrive pulleys (as a fuel economy move). Some of that stuff is still around somewhere, I'm sure.

b-body-bob said:
There are so many grounds on the truck that the FSM has a separate section to identify grounds and their location. Splices too. All the systemization and detail in the wiring diagrams is a blessing and a curse. I never did find a "big picture" wiring diagram like you find in muscle car era Mopar FSMs.
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Your brain would melt trying to trace anything in a "world view" wiring diagram of that truck. I doubt one even exists. All the options you might not have would still be cluttering up the diagram, with Durango shit thrown in for good measure.
Obviouly, things got a lot more complex after the musclecar era. The AM/FM/cassette in my Challenger has five wires; there were 14 going to the radio in my Dakota. The wiring in my Imperial--an '82, mind you--is so ungodly there's literally an entire separate wiring service manual for it in addition to that of the other J-bodies. You follow a wire until you get to "Refer to Imperial wiring manual", then go to that one. You finally find the other end of your trace only to learn it then directs you back to the basic FSM. Fun stuff.
Oh, yeah--the Imperial's separate wiring manual is on blueprint-type paper about the same height as an FSM page, but three times wider. I keep them rolled up in a cardboard tube labeled "Dead Sea Scrolls" since they were almost as hard to find, are just as fragile, and to this day remain only partially deciphered.
 
The truck's back in the garage. I finally drove it some without a load on it, and the danged exhaust hits the drive shaft pretty much all the time. It's broken all the rigged up hangers and can rotate on the headpipe.

1685380043853.png
The old pipe is the catcon, the other is the headpipe.

It looks like I need to cut the cat con off there where it was clamped and is now split. I don't remember that split, I think that's happened since the last time I messed with it. Also don't forget to notice the old pipe approaches the new pipe at the wrong angle.

I might have (meaning yes I did) tightened up the headpipe before getting it connected to the converter. Hopefully loosening that up again will correct the angle?

The muffler ($43 and tailpipe ($33) are about shot but if they were hung correctly they'd be good for a while yet. But right now I'm mostly trying to avoid replacing the catcon. That thing is ex-pen-sive ($184). I could replace it with a straight pipe but that doesn't seem like the right thing to do, to because it was working with the check engine light OFF. (until that cheap O2 sensor I bought failed)
 
I would start by getting the right hangers if those are missing. They're just rubber as I recall. If the metal part of the double-pronger ahead of the muffler is broken, AP makes a nifty clamp-based replacement, part number 8189, but the one on the tailpipe isn't so easily solved. 'Course, that one usually rusts off because the pipe fails and can be re-welded. Either way, using the right hangers essentially ensures the exhaust will hang where it's intended. That alone makes the rest easier.
It's entirely possible that the crack is causing your Check Engine light. It could also fail the converter if it's not addressed. Air introduced before the converter gives unburnt fuel a new oxygen source, which could melt the catalyst. It's pretty hot inside those things; enough to ignite an air/fuel mixture. Hell, my Imperial's converter case started a grass fire.
If the converter is straight in and out, you could replace it with a universal for a lot less money. The converter itself doesn't seem to be the issue, though. I'm not sure there's much you can do with that inlet pipe since it looks like it's essentially had it. It's just going to keep cracking at this point. I'm not sure if/how the local exhaust shop would handle it, but I'm betting it would cost more than replacing the converter. You might call around asking if any of 'em can duplicate a short section of pipe for you. If they can, cut yours off (leaving some room for overlap at the converter inlet), and bring it in to have copied. It doesn't look terribly complex--just a couple of shallow bends. Just make sure the inlet and outlet will slide over/inside the parts you've already got, and add a couple of inches of length for the overlap. Don't cut anything off until an exhaust shop gives you the go-ahead.

Honestly, $300ish for the whole system, hangers and all, seems like a bargain to avoid the headaches. It's a one-and-done expense that'll likely outlast the truck. I understand saving a buck, but how many nickel-and-dime repairs will eventually exceed that amount whilst the parts keep increasing in cost or going dodo? How times do you really want to revisit this? "I was going to work on the A12, but I have to mess with the Dakota exhaust again." Oy.
 
All hangers at the muffler are broken. I wondered if I might be able to use the same one on both ends but apparently not. I've got some 1/8" cold rolled or whatever steel rod I can bend up and weld to a clamp to hang the end I can't just buy a hanger for.

The hanger is $8 at RA, + $11 shipping to get it on the say day I can have the $21 part at NAPA.

I cut er off on the back side of the crack and it seems kinda solid and there's a good inch of right sized pipe to stick a 2-1/2" adapter in. I could weld it if I had to but I don't think I will. The big end of that adapter should slip right over the headpipe, and bob's your uncle, it's fixed.

I will probably have to trim it some, and whether I can get it at the right angle to sock both ends home, I dunno. It should be at the same angle as the original pipe because the expanded section is straight.
 
Tah-Dah
1685404798538.png

It's not tightened up yet, still need hangers.

To get this much clearance
1685404862503.png

I had to twist the tailpipe like so. The weight is on the wheels so that's how it's going to sit
1685404899116.png

I'll have the clamps off the muffler when I replace the hangers so I'll try to get it to turn then. Tighten down the catcon to the head pipe, take the front muffler clamp off and try twisting it via the tailpipe.

Don't expect success but you never know. The front hanger might help move it over some too
 
I found the front muffler hanger at O'Reilly's yesterday so I finished it up. For the rear muffler hanger I used a piece of the rod from the broken front hanger and welded that to a new muffler clamp. With the tailpipe twisted back in place, it looks like it won't hit. Hopefully the hangers will keep it there.

Installing that front saddle hanger is a real pain in the butt with the pipes all in place but thanks to a jack stand and brute stubbornness I got it installed.
 
I took it out for a short drive around last night and it's a different truck. Until the exhaust rattles loose again. Here's to hoping it doesn't.
 
I figured out what was wrong with the radio. It was the serpentine belt. I replaced it and the radio started working. Cause and effect. :unsure:

The speakers are all blown out though. Sounds wonderful. Turned it back off.
 
Perhaps new taillamp bulbs will unblow the speakers.

Sadly, I junked my Dakota with four brand-new Kicker coaxials in it. Totally forgot they were in there until I read this.
 
Dr.Jass said:
Perhaps new taillamp bulbs will unblow the speakers.

Sadly, I junked my Dakota with four brand-new Kicker coaxials in it. Totally forgot they were in there until I read this.
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I like the way you think.

I could scrounge up something to toss behind the seat but TBH unplugging all those blown speakers sounds like too much work for too little gain.

I'm more liable to pick up a cheap MP3 player and stick a bluetooth speaker in there. I don't drive it that much though, so that kind of falls into the too little gain category too.
 
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