Setting up this thread as a sort of repair log. While I am using this post mostly as a log, please feel free to chime in with questions or suggestions if you feel like it. Call me an idiot if I am being one I welcome all input.

I bought a 99 Dodge dakota 4x4 at a Copart auction that had been wrecked. Only 94000 miles on it and seems like it was well taken care of. It needs the bed replaced along with the rear axle, as you may have noticed in the pics below.

Here's the first of many questions as I commence the project: I have found a low mileage rear axle complete that has 10" drums in the rear, my truck only has 9" drums.. Will the 10" brakes fit behind the original 15" wheels? I think they will, but would appreciate confirmation. EDIT: Never-mind about the drum size.. I just looked up the vin for the donor truck and it came with 15" wheels also, so it will work.

Here's the carnage:

I originally thought that the bed had kissed the cab but it didn't










Looks worse than it is.. no frame damage


Slight dent in the fender.. can be fixed later with paintless dent removal.

Tons of AZ dust to clean off once it's rolling again.

Axle housing it bent where the seal goes.. gotta get a new assembly.

Brand new tires.. still have the little nibs on them.

It looks like there's enough room for 10" brakes back there, but want to make sure.

 

1st day: removed bumper, fender flares, tailgate and hardware, taillights, spare tire, and removed all bed bolts. The bed is just sitting on the frame for now until I get the new axle, then I will remove it. I also found a clean bed in the junkyard for $275. Gonna need a trailer to go pick it up.

 

Wow, looks good. Should be a nice truck when you are done.

 

 

Good clean truck. Looks like it got hit recently too, as I don't see any rust where the paint left the metal. Should be a nice ride when you get done.

 

Thanks,The build sheet says it was delivered to AZ so I imagine it's been an Arizona truck all it's life so rust isn't an issue, thankfully. The only reason that the drum is so rusted is because they threw the tire in the bed with the drum facing up. we had a few heavy rainstorms recently, so I imagine that drum filled up and rusted out when it evaporated.

 

Today I ended up cleaning the interior out. Here's some before and after pics.. Also noticed this seat has built in cup holders that slide out. What a cool idea.


Notice the front edges of the seats.. They are stained with I don't want to know what. I hit them with LA Totally awesome cleaner/degreaser which worked well.


The carpet will probably need to be replaced. I don't know if it is worth the effort to try and save this one.

Cool Idea for cup holders.




Driver's side seat still needs a bit more work, but is passable now.

Here's a better look at the axle housing without the brake backing plate in the way. I snapped off the brake line but I was going to replace it anyways.. Do the u-bolts look bent? It almost looks like the spring pack has shifted slightly.

I'm thinking the previous owner was a woman with a kid/kids based on the stuff I found.

She had good taste in sarsaparillas.. I haven't had one of these in a long time.

 

Be careful when you remove the U-bolts. If the axle shifted at all, it may have sheered the bolt holding the spring pack together, and that could get real exciting. (but, it really doesn't look like it moved.....)

 

Holy crap this week was a busy one. Too much work, not enough time.

I pulled the bed off and sent it to the scrapper. Also found an open diff 3.55 geared axle for a decent price and was wondering Can I swap in the LSD carrier from the broken axle to the new axle? Are the housings the same? I would also throw new clutches in before installing and make sure to keep the ring and pinion set matched.

I watched a guy on Youtube do the same thing on his axle but it was a 9.25 where mine is an 8.25.

Here it is without the bed:

 

Out with the old, in with the new old.. I picked up the new old axle and attacked it with a wire wheel to knock off the rust and caked grease. After that I opened it up to check the condition of the ring gear and spiders and they all had slight wear, but the wear pattern looked ok. Checked the backlash which came in .005" which is within spec still. No play at the axle ends, so wheel bearings are OK, but I will change them anyway when I swap out the carrier for the LSD carrier.

Once it was all cleaned up, I shot it with a rust converter/primer then a satin black topcoat. All things considered, I think it turned out alright, forgot to get before pics of the axle.

I pulled the old axle (The leaf pack didn't explode!) and slid the new one into place. I still need to torque everything down, but the truck is on all fours again.