1994 dakota exaust manifold

My the exaust manifold cover in my truck is turning a red color indicating that it is getting extremely hot. What does this mean. What can I do.

I bet the catalytic converter is plugged or plugging. When mine plugged, the passenger side manifold got so hot that two of the 4 bolts holding it onto the head broke off and fell out.

I took the catalytic converter out and replaced it with pipe....The exaust manifold is still turning red almost orange in color. I noticed the fuel filter was clogged and so i replaced it...Its driving better but the exaust manifold is still turning extremely red..

does anyone have any idea why this is happening...any response will help..thank you.

I agree with BleedDodge, you have a restriction somewhere in your exhaust. Try this, disconnect your exhaust pipe from the manifold and let it run, if it still turns red, your problem is more than likely at the manifold, if not, your problem is downstream in the exhaust system. Do you have any performance isssues, i.e. top speed of less than 50 MPH or any else excessive?

I have disconnected the exhaust pipe from the manifold. And it still turns red. It doesnt have nearly as much power as it usually had. Where i could normally drive 85 miles an hour i now can drive no more than 50-55.

replace your catalytic converter; they don't take long to plug up.

ok...but what reason do you have for that.

There are wax pellets inside the converter that are used to cause chemical reactions. Over the course of time, they melt and become a sooty powder that gums up the pathway of exhaust flow. There's a way to check if you indeed have a plugged cat; attach a vacuum gauge to the intake manifold.
1. Raise RPM to 2000 and quickly release the throttle.
2. If there's no restriction, the gauge will drop to no more than 2 in-Hg or more its normal reading.
3. If the gauge doesn't show more than 5 in-Hg or more above its normal reading or to momentarily hover around its highest reading for a moment before it returns, the cat is plugged or you have another restriction in your exhaust. If your manifold is turning orange, you might have a restriction in the manifold; pull that off and see what could be binding it.

Also, I work for a Dodge dealer, and I have replaced quite a few faulty catalytic converters. The ones that go are usually Dodge trucks with the 5.9 V8, notoriously, Ram Trucks, earlier models.

He said he disconnected the exhaust pipe from the manifold, and it still turned red. The cat doesn't have anything to do with it. I just read now that he doesn't even have a cat, he replaced it with a pipe.

yeah, thats right i have already taken it off.

Sounds like a bad computer with a lean condition .

how does a computer go bad

turns out the timing was off by a tooth..thanks for ur help