2000 Dodge Dakota, making my Dodge less Dodgy😁

[olds307 and 403]

Since Amazon can't send my CC507 springs for my 70S, despite having 6 in stock, it was Dodge time.
First off I found #7 injector unplugged. Those Champion Truck Plugs made such a difference, I hardly noticed the miss, just felt down on power. That will no doubt help power, felt laggy. I ordered some parts.
Bolt on stainless shorty headers, be here next week.
JBA Y pipe, 2" stainless into a 2.5". Slightly bigger and mandrel steel vs compression with an O2 bung.
A new high pressure power steering hose, second one I will have done.
Ordered a universal seat belt for the driver's side. It is frayed and needs replacement.

So I finally fired up my blast cabinet and figured crappy Dodge Magnum valve covers, I covered in worthless Duplicolor Hemi Orange. I will never purchase that brand again. I actually didn't take a pic of the crappiest looking cover. The first one peeled easy with glass bead. I need to pick up aluminum oxide, the second took some paint stripper to remove the Duplicolor.

 

[joesregalproject]

I think the good methylene chloride aircraft stripper is still available in Canada. The watered down garbage they sell down here is useless on anything but latex paint.

 

[olds307 and 403]

I think the good methylene chloride aircraft stripper is still available in Canada. The watered down garbage they sell down here is useless on anything but latex paint.

I just looked on the can, without methylene chloride. Yeah, this Super Remover Automotive stripper sucked, took like 5 coats, wipe, blast and repeat. We can get some potent stuff, really warms the hands, even though gloves. I will make sure the next stuff has it.

 

[olds307 and 403]

So I used VHT Metallic Black Engine Enamel. It sprays so much better, doesn't react with the little bits of old paint and looks great. The 5.9 Magnum definitely had more power and only slightly smoother, surprisingly. Here is a pic of the painted valve covers and the JBA Y pipe. I assume the Chinese shorties will have a mild steel flange like my Olds headers, so VHT aluminum header paint on it, when they come. I will also coat the gaskets and maybe a smidge in the ball and socket flange. There is one front exhaust manifold bolt that snapped off. I didn't break it off, pretty sure it isn't flush and isn't leaking much at all. Hasn't been in there more than a couple of years, pretty new Ram EQ heads.

 

[olds307 and 403]

These showed up. They look equally as the good. The ball flanges are pretty big, hopefully the 2" JBA down pipes seal properly. I am coating the steel clad header gaskets with Optimum Grey. I may put a small bead on the edge of the JBA pipes.

 

[olds307 and 403]

I just looked at my Olds bolt set that came with the full length stainless headers, they are 5/16". Olds use 3/8" bolts at the heads for manifolds/headers. Guess what size these Dodge stainless shorty headers came with 3/8" bolts. I am positive the 5.9 Magnum uses 5/16" at the heads for manifolds and headers. The collector bolts are right for both, go figure. So I can just flip flop those bolts😎. The actual internal opening is close to 2" like the pipe internal diameter. The balls are just big😁.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Well the shorties and y pipe are on. Those bolts were Metric, not 5/16". I ran them through the Die and made them 5/16"🤨. I needed the smaller 7/16" head, 3/8" would have been better. The broken bolt came right out, none of the manifold bolts were very tight. I had to move the A/C dryer as these have the long, swooping tubes on the back cylinders and contacted it. The Y pipe is super close to the front drive shaft. I already knew that it would be, saw that on a Dodge site. It goes above the driveshaft, instead of below like the stock Y pipe. I had a leak where the Y pipe split, surprising, a very tight fit. The band clamp leaked, so I removed it and had to use two clamps. The stainless Y pipe should have been bigger at the outlet. I used my tailpipe expander it is barely larger after many attempts. I used the lap joint band clamp. Only tiniest leak and it is after the new O2 which now in the new Y pipe. The verdict? It would only spin the tires at a dead stop. Now it will spin from a roll or going around the corners. All the power is down low, opposite of the LS trucks I have drove. Exactly what a truck should be, except it is a Dodge😉.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Well, being a Dodge, it wants my attention. A couple of annoying issues cropped up. My Daughter borrowed it one day. She has the worst luck with any vehicle she drives I swear. I hit the brake, light on, pedal to the floor and generally soft. I didn't see leaks. Couldn't remember the level, dark outside, so threw in the little bit of fluid I had, lights still on, pedal about the same. Top it off later, right full, the light eventually goes out and still can't see any leaks and level didn't drop a noticeable amount. Ordered a master cylinder, not cheap, without the reservoir, nearly $80 off Amazon. Fast forward a week later, check the level, at the minimum. Top it off and check out underneath. Wetness on the back of the passenger side rear, a dam wheel cylinder. Pull it off the drum, super easy. After the one at CT in town was wrong, went to Yorkton and got the right one. The issue was Dodge's hookey self adjuster. If the cable isn't twisted to wear it basically contacts the bottom of the shoe, no adjustment whatsoever. I had to adjust it quite a bit to lightly touch the shoes on the drum. Pretty sure, the wheel cylinder had to push the shoes so far, it blew it's own seals. The brakes work so much better. I am going to check the other side today and adjust if necessary. The other issue was no shifting without revving a lot when cold. Picked up a new filter from CT. I used our Sonic full synthetic ATF which meets the Chrysler 4+ spec. It was 3 dollars cheaper than Mobil on sale. The Coop ATF has a -63C pour point vs -40 for the Mobil. Hopefully helps, if it is a fluid flow issue. New solenoids, fluid and filter was done a few years back. Of I figured afterwork in -20 outside after work was an awesome idea🙄. The fluid looked OK and only a reasonable amount of sludge in the pan. I reused the factory Dodge rigid carrier gasket with sealing beads, cleaned out the pan and installed the new filter. Spilled enough on the snow I was working on, looked like a murder scene. Of course I cross threaded two bolts and guessed on 4 Liters, since it was over full and had over 4 Liters. Somehow, still over full, just not as bad and not leaking surprisingly. I did actually use a couple of stop leaks to fix trans leaks a couple of years back. They are usually worthless. Really cold this weekend, will take it for a test drive after checking the other rear brake.

 

[olds307 and 403]

The drivers side was close, only needed minor adjustment. I pulled the passenger side and cleaned the drum and shoes again and set it up tighter. The adjuster might not keep adjusting but this is the first time I have touched brakes since owning this truck. I also ended adding another part liter to the trans. Hopefully it will shift easier when cold.