Was playing around with the idea of going to the junkyard to pull the center link, idler am, and tie rods as one piece and put it on my 96 Dakota. Considering that's where I got a steering box off a 94 3.9 4wd for cheap and no leaks and is tight compared to the one coming off mine. Anyways would doing this possibly save me the trouble of having to get an alignment. I don't see why I couldn't due that assuming the donor parts are still good and not worn compared to mine where all the tie rod boots are torn and have play. Just trying to save a few dollars to get my truck back on the road and driving after sitting for such a long time. Another thing I cant manage to figure out is why my alternator is not charging. After swapping a couple of alternators in and still no luck on a working gauge and no luck manually measuring with my volt meter. Is there anything I should check to possibly fix this problem. Such as bypassing the ECM controlled voltage regulator if that happens to be the problem. Any advice on either question would be appreciated. Just so I can get my truck up and running before it gets too cold here in Iowa and the snow starts flying.

 

No, you should still align.

And I'd NEVER use those parts used off a boneyard car, unless I was 100% positive they were super ultra low miles (like motor blew as they were pulling out of the shop!)

Parts are too cheap, compared to human lifes, for front end parts. And use good parts; you can get good parts fairly inexpensively. (I like Proforged now; also ACDelco Professional Grade or genuine Mopar.)

Do you have the factory service manual for your truck? It should have troubleshooting to isolate the wiring, the alternator, or the PCM for a charging problem.

I'd consider the external regulator; put a 6 to 10 ohm 50W resistor in place of the current field wiring and the ECU won't even complain about it.

RwP

 

I need to get a FSM for my truck. First Dodge product I've owned and worked on and have most experience with GM products, Dodge is still a little bit of a mystery to me but so far much simpler to work on compared to my Buick. I'll have to look into pricing for all the front end parts I'll need. Sadly it's an extensive list but from what I've come to understand it's definitely a Dodge truck thing with front end parts not having a long life span especially on their half ton trucks. As for the alternator I got the one that's on it from a boneyard the truck that it was pulled from was a 97 Dakota with a 5.2 but not sure if the part was still good considering I didn't know when the truck arrived on their lot. Probably going to go the best route and get a reman unit from a parts store and if that doesn't help anything I'll start tracking down the wiring. As it is my truck has a long to do list before it's road worthy again.

 

I presume your truck is a 1996? Check the FAQ post in the sticky - about 30% to 40% down is a link to the 1996 FSM. Get it. NOW.

Proforged may be a familiar brand to you if you're from the GM family; they got started with after market improved parts for early Camaros and Chevelles from what I understand.

Since you talk about taking the idler arm etc. I presume your truck is 4WD. Be sure to check for ALL possible slop points; it's irritating when you replace "But it's gotta be the $CERTAIN_PART" and that's not where the slop is

I think you'll like your Dakota. Which motor do you have it in?

Also, see if you can find an alternator/generator/motor rebuilder in town; the reman's can be somewhat hit or miss for quality also. (Ideal if you can find a shop that's been around since the 1950's or 60's, like the one I use in Shreveport LA.)

RwP

Edit: Herp derp. If you put on a 1994 4WD recirc ball gear box, of COURSE you're 4WD. The 2WD were all rack and pinion. *mutters at self about reading and cogitating*

 

If I remember right there's one rebuild shop in the town I'm in how long they've been around is beyond me but I remember driving by them and seeing alternator rebuild on a sign on their window. Might be worth a look for me would probably be cheaper to do so than buying a new one. I at least have 3 Dakota alternators laying around. Not sure how though. I like to hoard old parts I've replaced for some reason. I figured if I were to go the route of swapping the entire steering setup from another truck would definitely have to make sure all parts were still good and no slop. I had to replace my gearbox due to the input seal springing a leak and pissing all of the fluid out going down the road. I tried rebuilding it but the rebuild kit I got covered a lot of different gearbox models and it didn't have a single seal or bearing that was close to be correct at least compared to the OEM but for all I know the parts guy didn't have any idea what he was doing. Main reason I don't go to oreilly autoparts anymore. Never seem to have the parts I need and the quality seems poor compared to what I could get elsewhere. I still need to do some research and replace upper and lower ball joints also due to the boots being torn unless I caught them in time and can just swap the boot and the joint is still good. I also have the 318 V8 which is the motor I wanted. So far it has 175k and still running strong minus a coolant leak that I need to hunt down on top of many other things. It's definitely a project.

 

Just an update I found the problem for the alternator not charging. There was a broken wire underneath the fuse box and the engine ground was corroded and hanging on by a thread on the eyelet. A new alternator and a couple wiring repairs and it charges at 13.8V at an idle. I also have new tie rods and adjuster sleeves on the way to get the steering sorted out and get the truck on the road before the snow starts flying here in Iowa.