Lot's to fix, need some help
 

Hey everybody,

I have a 1994 Dakota SLT, 5.2 L V8 2WD, and she's had some problems over the years and I want to see if you guys can help me fix them.

Let's see, my roof liner is falling down, anyone have a quick and easy way to fix that? I was thinking of just taking it down one day, spraying some glue and trying to get it to stay back up. There is a hole in the middle however, so I might have to fold it over in the middle and then glue it.

The entire bottom of the truck is completely rusted, it's bad. I'll try to get a pic up tomorrow hopefully when it's done raining. Should I spray some bedliner on it, paint it, or what?

The exhaust is AWFUL. Completely rusted out. Where the header tube meert the exhaust tube is currently screwed together using galvenized screws because it would no longer stay on otherwise. My muffler is completely rusted and falling apart, and my catalytic converter hasn't worked since I bought the truck. Also, the L pipe coming out the back continuously falls down because where it attaches to the muffler is also completely rusted. So, do any of you know where I can get a decent replacement for basically my entire exhaust system? I would prefer to make it a dual exhaust.

I don't know if this is a common thing or what, but whenever I do floor it (mainly getting on the highway), the truck revs up and surges forward and then slows down. Basically it feels like you are hitting the brakes and you go forward in your seat. Then it catches and does it one more time and then it's good to go. Recently I have just been putting it in 2 and then throwing it into D when it needs to shift.

My headlights are awful. I mean I drive with my brights on down the highway at night time and I can still barely see very far in front of me. I've tried the toothpaste trick, but it didn't make too much of a difference. Anyone know where I could just get a lens replacement, or would I have to replace the entire assembly?

My air conditioning does not work. I believe it is due to the control cable. It is like a braided steel wire that slides in and out as you move the temperature up and down. However, mine is frayed on the inside so it won't go in any further to get my air to cold. I've dealt with it for the past 6 years, but if anyone knows where I could find the replacement part I would enjoy having air conditioning for the first time in my truck. I've already been to my local Dodge dealership and they said that they had discontinued the part.

Seat belts. I have no idea how, but in one summer the drivers seat belt receiver broke, and the passengers belt got stuck in the receiver and refuses to come out. As i have the bench seat, this means I have to use the receiver intended for the middle passenger. Anyone know where I can pick up a few receivers for cheap? My local salvage yard wanted $50 each for them, which I think is ridiculous.

Unfortunately, I let some bird **** sit on the roof for a little too long and it ate through a bit of the clear coat. Then the hole gradually got bigger and bigger to where it is now a circle about 5 inches across. Anyone know of a way to fix that without having to repaint the entire truck? I've basically been told just put some wax on it, and other than that I am out of luck.

Wow. Sorry for the long post, just lots of things I have been wanting to fix and just stumbled across this site.

Thanks for any help!

Dayton

Headliner: They make a spray adhesive for reattaching the cloth to the headliner. Make sure you remove the old adhesive first.

Bottom rust: Is it rusted through or is it just surface rust? Since I don't know if your truck lives in the rust belt, I am assuming it doesn't and that it's surface rust. I don't know if they still make it but Duro used to make a rust treatment and then it was made by Permatex. It was called Extend. You would remove any rust scale (which could open up holes). If it is still solid after that you can brush the Extend on the rust. As it sets up it combines with the rust to form a polymer that stops the rusting. It takes a while to set up hard. It will have a slightly rough texture. After it has hardened it can be painted. The main thing is that you need to stop the rust - not just cover it up. Of course if it is rusted through you need to patch the holes or replace whole panels.

Headlights: It's a common problem on all headlights with plastic lenses. Ckeck the parts stores for a headlight lens reconditioning kit. I've seen it, but I just don't remember where. My neighbor does body touchup & paint and he wet-sanded my lenses with 600 grit sandpaper and sprayed them with clearcoat. He says that it gives them some UV protection. You would have to buy a complete headlight assembly to replace the lenses.

Air conditioning: Try the salvage yards or Ebay for a complete control unit. If you can't get the control to the cold side, you probably can't even get outside air ventilation without heat. That would be miserable. Does the AC compressor run? If it doesn't, does your system still have pressure? If you have a refrigerant leak, Interdynamics makes a R-134a Super Seal kit. You have to get the pressure up to where the compressor will run, add the Super Seal, and immediately top off the refrigerant. If you don't add refrigerant after adding the sealer it could permanently seal the fill port. I waited a couple of days before using the AC because I was putting in more refrigerant than the system required and the pressure was still low. Then topped it off and it is still cold after 7 months in a system that wouldn't hold for 3 months before.

Bird **** on paint: Can you lightly wet sand it like you would the color coat before clearcoat and then clearcoat the area?

Exhaust: Where is that truck? I have a 95 3.9L that came from northern Ohio and I've had it for 10 years. I assumed that the exhaust was still original in 2002 when I bought it and the exhaust is still solid. But, the body is rusty. So I haven't had to deal with exhaust problems. Check with the parts stores and on the internet to find out who makes them and compare materials and parts.

Surging: Try adjusting the throttle to transmission linkage. Also could be transmission governor?

Seat Belt: Again try Ebay and other salvage yards. They aren't all robbers. Sometimes if you can find one that will let you pull your own parts they will be cheaper since they don't have to pay someone to remove them. The receivers are probably pretty much the same across most Chrysler products in the same range of years, but the belt lengths could vary a bit.

Well, this is even longer than your post. I hope you can find something in it that you can use. Good luck.

I recently restored my headlights, using the 3M headlight resto kit, on both my Dakota and PT Cruiser, and they came out great, and didnt take long to do, if u can use a power drill and follow directions its simple. Here is some before and after pics of my Cruiser. The drivers side was worse but came out just as good. You can either clear coat them, Meguire's plastic U/V block, to keep them from yellowing again.
Before
Attachment 49165
After
Attachment 49166