I have a new set of disks and pads i need to get onto my 1995 nissan in the next week. Just changed the front springs on my old ford and a new manifold so i`m taking a break for a few days, those rear drums on yours must have been rumbling a lot during heavy braking though down to bare metal :).
+MonkeyHunch1 Actually not as much as you'd think. I actually thought from the sound of it that the front driver was metal on metal when I was braking. The drums weren't really grooved badly and I might have been able to get away with just having them turned. I replaced them because of the way the metal was separating in layers and I wanted some new parts that might last another 22 years. I would have got some used out of a salvage yard if any of the yards within 50 miles of me HAD a Dakota, but none did. Honestly I'm sinking a lot more money into this truck then I actually would have too to make it safe and better to drive. Given the shape of the body, it's pretty much pointless unless I actually plan to have the rust holes repaired at some point. I might eventually do that once I finish with the suspension over the end of this year and the start of next year. That will include front ball joints, front wheel bearings, upper and lower control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, and leaf spring shackle bushings. I don't know if I'll get the diff guts for the front any time before next year as I haven't found any leads on a scrap yard that'll sell me the guts without the entire front diff housing (WHICH IS ALSO THE ENGINE MOUNT) and I don't want to spend the money on a new limited slip or locking diff just yet. It'll probably wait until next year when I rebuild the rear diff and go through the rest of the drive-train, eventually leading to dropping in a rebuilt engine. It'd be some time after that when I make the decision on if I'm going to have the rust fixed professionally or if I'm going to try and bodge something myself.
Have you ever changed the seat belts in this truck? I have a 1995 with two broken buckles. Even if I could find a donor Dakota, I don't really want to put the same buckles on it because broken ones seem to be a common problem. I'd rather upgrade them with a set of belts from a newer Chrysler. I don't suppose you might know of any that might fit without too much modification?
I haven't had any issues with my seat belts but I do know that the only real design differences between cars that goes into them is the plastic covering the fabric part of the belt to make it stick out where it's supposed to and the length of the anchor point (buckle side) strap. I believe the covers slide off the lower belt assembly once it's unbolted so if you can find a buckle side assembly relatively the same length you should be able to swap everything over. The tension mechanism needs to bolt in the same orientation as the original as well; obviously. If a newer Dakota doesn't have what you need, I'd check into some other Chryslers such as Neons, Cirrus (stratus sebring and breeze are the same thing) and intrepid (New Yorker is the same) as they may have what you need. Otherwise you're going to have to look into automotive racing harnesses or have something custom made. DON'T modify the existing belt yourself if you can't find anything. Someone illegally modified the seat belt on the toyota I had and they didn't use the right kind of thread for the stitching; or near enough of it. The stitches let go when I crashed and I didn't have anything holding me in the truck when I endoed it. I almost followed the windshield out of the truck, even though you can't see it in the video. Again, DON'T DO IT YOURSELF! You might not be as lucky as I was.
