Well I just bought a new Dakota, this is my first 1st gen, and I've got a couple of issues I've searched on but I didn't find any real specific information that seemed to apply to my 1994.

I just bought this a guy that I thought lived near me, turned out there were over 100 miles away. Buying a $800 truck and then driving it back 100+ miles through Houston traffic was entertaining!

I just fixed the headlights, the switch was replaced, but the harness/plug was so badly melted that the headlights still didn't work. I removed their bypass switched harness and wired in a new pigtail/plug for the headlight switch. They work great now! So that was an easy fix. I also ordered the Putco headlight relay harness to take the load off the switch. I have a 1974 Scamp 318 and had two dodge trucks before so this wasn't my first rodeo there. New tires are going on today, some 235/75/15 Goodyear Wranglers.

The ABS/Brake lights are on, so I ordered a rear diff speed sensor, which I hope fixes it, but there is also a recently replaced rear brake line and the brakes are spongy. I imagine the RWAL valve needs bleeding?

4x4 is not working, as I understand it the 4x4 is actuated by vacuum on ALL of the 1st gen models? If that is the case it should be just a matter of verifying vacuum and confirming the cannister is working.

Last question. This truck appears to have seen action in the northern winter weather, I have a lot of rust on the front suspension components, flaky, chunky rust. I am going to grind and clean as much as I can, then coat it with some por-15 I have already.

I'd like to replace the front A-arms and torsion bars, is there anywhere to get these outside of the junkyard? Do 2nd gen parts fit? Rockauto and most of the parts stores come up empty, they only have parts for the 2nd gen Dakota's,

Thanks!

 

Not sure about the A-arms....I didn't have to replace them on my truck. But I've been tracing out all the wiring in these trucks and might can help you on the brake light/ABS light. Both of these are fed from the Anti-lock control module behind the instrument panel on the right side of the truck. The ABS light solely is fed from this. The Brake light gets it's feed from both this module and the switch on the front proportioning valve at the front of the frame. Since both your ABS and brake lights are lit, probably common to the Anti-lock module. This module gets its power from fuse 10 which incidentally also feeds the turn signal flashers. Since you mentioned you're messing around with those, make sure you still have power to the module, and that the fuse is in tact.

 

Fuse and blinkers are good. I reset the lights so I can start from square one. As soon as I turn the truck on and hit the brake a few times the lights come back on. I'd imagine it's a poor master cylinder, or the brakes need to be bled.

I am going to try bleeding the brakes this week and see if there is air stuck in the module or a line somewhere. I have a feeling the previous owner put in the new brake line, then bled only that line. It also happens to be the line connected to the RAWL module under the master cylinder.

 

Do the key dance and see if you get any codes. I recently had a code for the intake air temp sensor. Changed it and the code was still there. Turns out it was the air filter being clogged. The FAQ page has a lot of info too. Nice looking rig. I would have expected more rust in southern Texas.

 

I'll check for codes as well, I just had a stalling issue today. I'm betting the IAC is in need of a good cleaning, it has started to idle rough as well, no CEL though.

Tomorrow it goes to the tire shop to get two new tires mounted and have a rounded lug removed. Apparently the previous owner used cheapo lugs with fake aluminum caps over a regular style nut. I can safely say I have never used those or realized they were a thing!

As far as rust, it's in pretty good shape. I think the frame/suspension rust is a by product of mudding with it and not cleaning the chassis. I'm still trying to hose off clumps of mud from the top of the gas tank. But this is actually the first rusty vehicle I've had. Generally stuff doesn't rust here unless it's neglected. I'm also rather religious and paranoid about maintenance and keeping my stuff clean.

I believe this is vehicle number 31 for me, and by far the most neglected. Even my 2 door Yukon doesn't appear to have been beaten off road this bad. The Scamp...well I nicknamed it the Skank. It was neglected and underwent a rather amateurish restoration before being passed around and taken to rather questionable mechanics. I just got done rewiring the entire front end harness for it, removing a bad vinyl top, fixing a botched intake upgrade, tuning and rebuilding the carb, now I found out the brake booster has a hole in the diaphragm. One day I'll drive it though!

Of course I say one day I'll finish my 1989 Firebird Formula LS swap car I've had since high school. All the while my 2016 SS sits in the driveway because we take my girlfriend's car everywhere (I make sure I always keep it maintained, meaning my junk never gets worked on and her's is always reliable).

And I'll be rebuilding the front end of my brother's Navigator this weekend, so I'm working on the Dakota during the week after work. I just need to get it over with and start a shop already.

 

[QUOTE=elementaltoad;3328057]




The ABS/Brake lights are on, so I ordered a rear diff speed sensor, which I hope fixes it, but there is also a recently replaced rear brake line and the brakes are spongy. I imagine the RWAL valve needs bleeding?

4x4 is not working, as I understand it the 4x4 is actuated by vacuum on ALL of the 1st gen models? If that is the case it should be just a matter of verifying vacuum and confirming the cannister is working.

Last question. This truck appears to have seen action in the northern winter weather, I have a lot of rust on the front suspension components, flaky, chunky rust. I am going to grind and clean as much as I can, then coat it with some por-15 I have already.

I'd like to replace the front A-arms and torsion bars, is there anywhere to get these outside of the junkyard? Do 2nd gen parts fit? Rockauto and most of the parts stores come up empty, they only have parts for the 2nd gen Dakota's,

Thanks!

First, ONLY the 1991 had the vacuum operated 4WD, the rest are either mechanical or electrical. On the manual shift, the shaft between the lever and the arm would freeze, and then either the bushings would break, and the arm fall out, or, the arm would bend. On the electric operated ones, the motor on the transfer case would go bad, or the wiring would fail.

As for the control arms and torsion bars, summit racing, JC Whitney, Autozone, PEP Boys, and sometimes even NAPA have them, or can get them, but they are a bit pricey.

I have owned, exclusively, first gen Dakotas from 89 to 95, and have even rebuilt 3 of them from bare frame, due to living in the northern snowbelt in northern N.Y., and, of all of them, the 1991 is all by itself for most of the parts.

 

Good to know, I will crawl under it when I get it back from the tire shop and take a look. I misspoke but I do have the manual shift 4x4 on the floor. I was wondering if all of the front differentials were vacuum operated for the shift fork that locks the front diff together.

 

The only ones that were vacuum were the early to mid year 1991 models, after that, they got rid of the vacuum actuator, and all the 4WD operations were handled internally by the transfer case itself. How it works on the 1992 and up is, you select 4HI or 4LO, and it would engage a chain and gearset inside the transfer case, that would then activate the front driveshaft. The front axle on the 1992 and up doesnt have the vacuum unit at all. On the 1991 ONLY, it had a shift fork that locked the front diff together, using vacuum, on the 1992 and up, the shift fork was moved to inside the transfer case. If you go to this post, ( http://forums.4wdmechanix.com/topic/...ctuator-motor/) albeit on another forum, it will explain it a bit more.