99 Dakoter

b-body-bob

b-body-bob

Well-known member
I continued with the Dakota after finding I need a new head pipe by checking the brakes.

The front end was fine, I gave everything a couple of pumps of grease while I had the wheels off then put that back together.

The rear end, not so much.



Paper thin and coated with grease



I put the wheels back on but forgot to measure. I figured they'd all be the same, but no, you can get 9" or 10" brakes. Those look like 10", right? Yeah I better take the wheel off and measure it to be sure.



Need grease seals and a cover gasket for a 8-1/4 rear. I was surprised Rockauto lists a 9-1/4 rear for a Dakota also. Maybe that's for the 4wd version.

I found pdfs of the 2000 FSM and the 1999 parts book so I'm ready to go other than buying parts.
 
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Those definitely look like 9" brakes to me, based on comparison to the bolt circle. In my limited experience, 9" drums outnumber 10" about 5:1 on Dakotas. Even my 4WD extended-cab Dakota had 9" rear brakes.

9¼" rear axles were pretty commonplace on V8 trucks, and mandatory with the 5.9L.
 
Got it. Once I started thinking there are two different rear ends, and two different size of brakes it started to seem likely that the smaller rear would have the smaller brakes.
 
FWIW I measured them, 9"

I think if the shoes weren't greasy and would actually grab you might find the failure limit on those drums.

Now debating on whether to buy the $60 Ultra-Power serpentine kit or a name brand (Gates or Dayco) kit for $100.
 
b-body-bob said:
Got it. Once I started thinking there are two different rear ends, and two different size of brakes it started to seem likely that the smaller rear would have the smaller brakes.
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While I'm pretty sure all the 9.25" axles had the bigger brakes, a lot of the 8.25s did as well. I'm not sure if it was a heavy-duty braking option or what else might've triggered it, but back when you couldn't swing a cat without hitting a Dakota I saw plenty of both. Mine had the smaller drums, but it was also RWABS.
b-body-bob said:
FWIW I measured them, 9"

I think if the shoes weren't greasy and would actually grab you might find the failure limit on those drums.
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Not likely. If I recall they're 9x3, which is a lot of swept area. It's also a fairly massive drum for its small diameter.

b-body-bob said:
Now debating on whether to buy the $60 Ultra-Power serpentine kit or a name brand (Gates or Dayco) kit for $100.
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Why does it need a kit? Unless something's broken or screaming, I'd just fling a belt at it. Otherwise, a quick once-over at Rock shows it's less expensive to piece together the three parts of the kit than it is to buy the kit.
 
I had a Durango that puked the idler or tensioner. I looked at them on the truck and they looked good enough, or IOW, they weren't wobbly.

Yes it's cheaper to buy the cheapest parts but I don't know about that on something that has a bearing in it. If you add up the more expensive parts, it's right up there with the kit cost - assuming the kit includes expensive parts and not just an expensive price. But I think you're right, I probably don't need anything but the belt anyway.

I need one of these headlight bulb retainers. Since rockauto only lists the Mopar part 55077046AA (not in stock) I'm skeptical I'm going to find it from Dorman or Help but you never know. $20 on ebay. I could hit a junkyard or two but don't have time for that until at least next weekend. JY is probably going to want $10 or more for it and probably would only sell the whole headlamp assembly for $50 or more. Maybe I'll call the dealer Monday.

s-l500.jpg
 
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Dorman & HELP! (Motormite) are the same company. They've been quietly eliminating the Motormite and HELP! brand names, while retaining the same 5-digit part numbers. Regardless, they've never made that retainer.
55077046AA still shows as available in the Chrysler system. Dealer list is about $16. Usage was:

1999-2004 Dakota
1999-2003 Durango
1998-2001 Ram 1500
1998-2002 Ram 2500, 3500

Another potential option is Dorman 42413. It fits an '89 Mercury Tracer and several '80s Toyotas. The locking tabs are similarly clocked and it's the same finger-style retainer, just without the convenient grip wings. It fits a 9004 bulb, which is very similar in the flange area to the 9007 in your truck. They even use the same socket. The only potential fly in the ointment is whether the retainer is captive on the wire harness. It often is on those bulbs. You might have to unpin the headlamp socket to change it.

On the belt bits, I didn't go cheapest route. I went all brand-name that I've sold successfully: Dayco and Dorman.
 
I noticed that Rockauto's page listed "OEM / Interchange Numbers: 4388589" and found that on e-bay, for $9 each w/ free postage. I bought two just in case it turns out they get brittle and the other one breaks when the bulb goes out over there.

I took a flyer on looking at other cars that use the same bulb, but they seem to all be different enough that it wasn't a good idea to look very hard. It's never surprising how far most car mfrs go out of their way to avoid creating a universal part.

The harness plugs/unplugs from the bulb so the retainer isn't captive.

Hopefully I can get all the parts together this coming week and be up to my elbows in stinking 24 year old gear oil next Saturday.

Oh yeah, I was looking at the original hoses and clamps and realized I hadn't opened the rad. It looks to be dry as a bone, but the temp gauge works and the truck didn't overheat so hopefully all that needs is a refill. Now that I've typed that out, I need to try to get a good luck at the water pump in case it's leaking. Seeing it without disassembly is probably easier said than done though. I'm not touching those hoses unless I have to.
 
The radiator wasn't more than a mouthful low. It's an optical illusion the way the neck goes in hides the level. I put some in the overflow though.

No leaks on the front of the engine and it looks like I don't even need a belt right now.

1675619171633.png

I definitely need a radiator cap, and a flush later.
1675619355852.png
 
FWIW I just found out why a brake kit at a slightly higher price is a better deal. I had parts coming from 7 different places. I changed to the kit and reconsidered always buying the cheapest and took about $30 off the shipping total. Once I figured that out I switched back to selecting the individual parts prices and saved a little bit more. It's good that Rockauto gives you the ability to tweak that and updates the shipping prices and times as things changes.
 
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Hoo ray - I've got some bolts rounding off on the diff cover. Don't know if it was caused by rust, someone who had it apart before, or maybe even me.

They were torqued to the point a DeWalt impact wouldn't break them loose. Nuts.

It's the 3 across the top.

20230207_190250.jpg

Man I hope I don't have to take that thing out.

Any suggestions besides vice grips or welding a nut to them?
 
I thought of another option that would be more likely to succeed - welding the vice grips to the bolt heads.

A tip to all of you nuts out there - to make your brake shoes last longer, grease them.

20230207_182435.jpg

I think those would've lasted forever.
 
I think the nut welding would be the best option. Nuts are cheap, decent Vise-Grips ain't.

Seeing that 8¼" reminds me that I need to get after the A-body one in my yard for the '68 Valiant. Gots a brandy-new Sure Grip and 3.55s for it, but I'm not sure if I want to waste the Trac-Lok on that car. The axle had a B-W cone-type in it with a bad cross pin, but I found a replacement pin so I may use that one. I'd just hate to assemble it and find out it's worn.
 
I can't see what I'm doing well enough to break out the welder. With my luck I'd weld the bolt to the cover.

I'm thinking about trying a set of these - anybody have experience?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/IRWIN-BOLT-GRIP-5-Pack-Bolt-Extractor-Set/1003021030

  • For easy removal of rounded-off, rusted-tight or painted-over bolts
  • Set will remove sizes: 3/8-in and 10-mm, 7/16-in and 11-mm, 1/2-in and 13-mm, 9/16-in and 14-mm, 5/8-in and 16-mm
  • Reverse spiral flutes are designed to bite down to provide maximum gripping power
 
you can always try smashing a metric size smaller socket onto them and then useing a breaker..impact will just re-shred em
 
68R/T said:
Got a full set of those. They can be a real God-send the rare times when you need it. They work best if you choose a size very slightly smaller & have to lightly tap it on. Once you start turning, they WILL NOT slip.
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Good to know. I'm going to pick up a set before I try again. They'll be good to have whether I need them this time or not.
 
I was able to get 2 of the 3 bolts with a better socket so I'm down to one stuck bolt.

The bolt extractors almost worked, but in they end it didn't, so now it's really round, but still too big to use the next smaller size on it. I think the problem is that the bolt itself is stuck, too tight, rusty. That's why it rounded off, it's stuck tighter than the bolt head was strong.

Dead battery so no photo, but the stuck bolt looks like it has a rusted off tag under it - but the tag was under another bolt. Maybe it's a layer of the cover that's rusted away and left just that little bit under the bolt head? Any suggestions on working that to an advantage?

Unsure what to do at this point. Going to look at it long and hard concerning welding a nut to the bolt head. It didn't come off with the bolt extractor, it's not going to come loose with vise grips. Maybe try some heat on it and try shocking it with some spray oil, but I kind of worry about setting leaked grease afire.
 
Wire-wheel it and weld a nut to it. That would've been my first course of action, with my next being a left-hand drill bit. Even if the bit didn't jam and back the bolt out, it'd make a hole for either an extractor or to get a better weld on yet another nut.
 
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