All,
Been working on a 1988 Dodge Dakota 3.9/Automatic Trans that has been on the farm for the last 5 years. Been sitting most of that time as it was a "family drop off"...no run...they gave up and bought something newer. Trying to get it up and running again before winter closes in...probably this week it appears.

Been doing maintenance on it past couple weekends...during the exhaust maintenance I noticed the muffler rotted out and replaced it but I also noticed that the first pipe to Exhaust manifold appears to have a very decent gap. As you would expect its making a little noise as well from the gap. The rest of the pipes appear very solid. It appears the prior owners tried to replace the O2 sensor and ran into some issue as well. I found the new O2 sensor (in its box) in the glove box. I have already replaced it.

Can someone confirm whether there are Exhaust Donuts on this vehicle. I am not seeing anything on RockAuto or AutoZone.

Looking over the Exhaust studs it appears also that they may "pull thru from the top" possibly?. Meaning the Manifold is machined to except a bolt head and the Stud would "hang" there and accept a nut/spring from the bottom?

I can not tell as it appears someone has messed with it in the past.

I would expect a Spring(2) which I am not seeing as well with the Bolt and Nuts but possibly its not a thing..

Can anyone confirm on their 1988 or there about exhaust or have a blow up image from a manual?

I have one brake line to replace (just found) and if I can get this Exhaust finalized she is ready to be on the road again.

Thanks everyone,
Chris



.

 

On my 94 there were no springs, just the bolt from the Y pipe to the manifold. Might be someone cut the Y pipe short? Or a hanger is not holding it up high enough?

 

All,
I was a little naïve on it getting back on the road that week..

I have found two more brake lines bad and have since replaced. I still have a brake light but the brakes appear to work. Checked the emergency brake its not operational but the pedal is all the way up. Reservoir is filled. Not sure what else would throw the brake light

I changed the trans fluid as it was needed. The valve covers were leaking bad but I believe that was related to the fact all but 3 of the 12 nuts could have been taken off with my fingers.

As I went this far, this weekend is the flush and refill of the cooling system along with hoses and a new thermostat. Not to mention all the "soft" hoses for fuel are going to need replacing as they are leaking.

Anyways, I got under there and took a look at the exhaust some more. It for sure is a pull thru from the top setup. Meaning the Manifold is machined to except a bolt head and the Stud would "hang" there and accept a nut at a minimum.

I wish I had a parts diagram of the manifold/flange area as that would for sure tell me if this was standard.

Unfortunately the nut and bolt combination around the flange is rusted/decomposed decently and as the bolt falls in the manifold machined recess area its about impossible to get a decent grip on the end of the bolt so it spins.

The auto parts companies show just generic studs that would fit numerous vehicles and they screw into the manifold.

I would just cut the studs but the fuel leaks are at many points and the fuel issue will have to be cleaned up first before just cutting off the stud and replacing with like bolts/nuts.. They are bouncing around so that should be the easiest solution.

Thanks everyone,
Chris

 

All,
FWIW...I confirmed that this exhaust manifold is a stock setup please see the below image I found in the 1988 Dodge Dakota factory Service Manual.



Clearly a nut and bolt combination without springs nor a Exhaust Donut.

Still on the truck but the fuel hose\clamps are on its way. (Amazon)....says its going to show up on Monday...

Thanks,
Chris