2006 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4wd SLT - "Rumble"

[CR-Venturer]

Updated photo showing the repaired body damange. Pic taken on our expedition to the Rockies Sept 2023:


Far from body shop perfect, but it's way less noticeable and won't rust away now.

My text task is going to be to disassemble the bed rack and swap the uprights from side to side, so that the bins are on the driver's side and the tools and recovery gear on the passenger side. This will allow the spare wheel to be centered in the bracket once again and further to the passenger side of the vehicle.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Got the uprights swapped over today with the help of a neighbor and a couple of very tall homemade sawhorses I had around. Just put the saw horses in the bed to support the tent and the top of the bed rack, then unbolted the uprights and swapped sides, then bolted it all back together.

Took a bit of fussing around with stuff, but we got it all done in just under an hour. Now I can see a bit better out the back, my spare tire is centered on its mount again, and when I eventually get an awning, the bins will be under the awning :)

 

[CR-Venturer]

I made a minor improvement to one of my side bins today, adding a shelf in the middle. It's about half the depth of the bin. I may try using this bin to hold my camp kitchen stuff, but even if I don't end up going with that setup, the shelf is really nice to have.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Big day for Rumble today. I installed the Evergear 270 degree batwing awning from Princess Auto today. Cost me $233 Canuck bucks, shipped to my door, taxes in. I've been considering this since the expedition in September of last year, and at that price with free shipping, I couldn't say no. As I type this, I'm out bush camping with my 5 year old son and making great use of it :)

 

[CR-Venturer]

Rumble is currently in the garage undergoing repairs. I'm doing basically the entire front end suspension: struts, upper control arms with ball joints, complete tie rods, sway bar links and lower ball joints.

I hit a bit of a snag with the lower strut bolt as there's no way on this planet it's coming out without an impact, but my buddy has one and I'm borrowing it tonight, so should be good to go after that.

 

[Sparksalot]

Rumble is currently in the garage undergoing repairs. I'm doing basically the entire front end suspension: struts, upper control arms with ball joints, complete tie rods, sway bar links and lower ball joints.

I hit a bit of a snag with the lower strut bolt as there's no way on this planet it's coming out without an impact, but my buddy has one and I'm borrowing it tonight, so should be good to go after that.View attachment 285110

 

[CR-Venturer]

Rumble is currently in the garage undergoing repairs. I'm doing basically the entire front end suspension: struts, upper control arms with ball joints, complete tie rods, sway bar links and lower ball joints.

I hit a bit of a snag with the lower strut bolt as there's no way on this planet it's coming out without an impact, but my buddy has one and I'm borrowing it tonight, so should be good to go after that.View attachment 285110

View attachment 285111

Right? Especially in rusty Edmonton, metal parts have a tendency to amalgamate into a single chunk of iron oxide. In the case of the lower bolt, though, a lot of the problem is the lack of room to use the +5 Pipe of Leverage on the breaker bar.

 

[Sparksalot]

Right? Especially in rusty Edmonton, metal parts have a tendency to amalgamate into a single chunk of iron oxide. In the case of the lower bolt, though, a lot of the problem is the lack of room to use the +5 Pipe of Leverage on the breaker bar.

That's where a lift would be so nice.

 

[CR-Venturer]

The sweet, sweet taste of victory.

The first serious battle was getting the tie rod end out of the steering knuckle. I had to cut it off with a sawzall and press it out with a ball joint press. It shot across the room like a champagne cork lol


The bottom shock mount bolt was an absolute bear to get out. It took a solid three minutes with the high torque impact (to say nothing of gallons of penetrating oil) just to budge it. Then trying to get the bolt out was a nightmare. Persistence and some very creative use of a ball joint press won the day, however the bolt was horribly rusted and slightly bent, so I had to cut the head off to drive it out backwards. I ordered a new one from the dealer. Assembled some while waiting for the chance to drive to town for it.

(Breaker bar with +5 Pipe of Leverage bending like a licorice stick)

RIP shock mount bolt - it was rusted to crap and slightly bent.

Sweet, sweet victory. Next the shock bolt goes in and the knuckle goes back on.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Finished the driver side and started on the passenger side. Once again the Sawzall proved the MVP as the tie rod and the bottom ball joint flatly refused to come out of the knuckle. Used the ball joint press again to great effect.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Sweet victory. Rumble rides again. The fresh suspension rides beautifully, and no more horrible squeaking from the ball joints.

The new springs ride noticeably higher than the old worn out ones, so Rumble is showing a little squat.


Next mod will be a set of helper springs in the back end.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Finished installing the helper springs in the rear, and wow, what a difference! With the new suspension up front and the springs in back, it feels like a new truck. Almost completely eliminated the sag in the rear as well, which is great.

Before:

And after:

I might tighten up the helpers on the driver's side a little bit more. I think that side was worse in terms of sag.

I'm currently playing with the idea of fitting a JK winch bumper on the Dakota. The mounts are very similar, and I think it may be possible to fit it with a DIY adapter plate.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Not technically a rig upgrade, but a minor improvement to the RTT setup; got a set of magnetic LED lights with USB charging and motion sensor option, as well as a hanging organizer. The red bar is an old broken metal broom handle that just so happened to fit perfectly across the tent. The two lights and the organizer were $20 each, all in.

 

[CR-Venturer]

So, I had a crazy idea I wanted to test out. So far, it looks extremely promising that it might work. Can anyone guess what it is? (No, it's not fitting a cardboard bumper, you jokers...)