2001 Dodge Dakota Ehaust Noise...

marauder12 · 10-12-2013, 08:04 PM

Hello,

I have a 2001 Dodge Dakota and have just recently starting hearing a what sounds like a exhaust noise (sounds almost like a tractor running) coming from the left side of the engine(facing the engine from the front) I can't find any holes coming off the exhaust... Not sure where the noise is coming out of... The noise gets louder when I press on the gas pedal. Thanks in Advance

82Stang · 10-13-2013, 07:41 PM

It is a common issue with the 2001 Dakota to have the exhaust manifold bolts break off. Or the gasket on that side may have blown a leak. Look closely to check these.

marauder12 · 10-13-2013, 07:52 PM

If that is the case... What do they do for inspection for this? Would this cause the vehicle to fail the inspection? Probably real expensive to get it fixed?

Thanks

82Stang · 10-14-2013, 03:20 PM

This does not make the truck fail inspection. Unless the CEL (check engine light) was on, which will make it fail.

Blt2Lst · 10-15-2013, 03:55 PM

I recently had the same issue with a friends 2001 Dakota 4x4 with 4.7 engine. It would make a ticking sound when cold that sounded like a exhaust leak. The noise would go away as the engine heated up. Eventually, the noise got worse and did not go away after the engine heated up so it was time to repair. I was able to feel the leak by placing my hand near the exhaust manifold/head confirming that there was a leak.
As mentioned above, this is a common problem with this vehicle.
The repair is fairly straight forward. After removing the plastic inner fender, the exhaust manifold is very accessible. Simply remove the heat shields and all exhaust manifold bolts (I think 8 on each side) and 2 more for the exhaust pipe flange and remove the exhaust manifold. With any luck, the broken bolt/s will be sticking out of the head and will come out using pliers. If the bolts are broken off flush with the block, the procedure is more involved for removing them.
I used Felpro maniflod gaskets and bolts from the hardware store. The bolts were M8-1.25 x 45mm long stainless steel grade 10.9 and I reused the washers on the factory bolts. Total cost for parts was less than $20.
Using these bolts does not allow for the reuse of the heat shields since the factory bolts have a stud on top to hold the heat shields in place. Our heat shields were rotted away and we decided not to replace them.
This would have been a very costly repair at the dealer but can be easily done by a DIY mechanic..

marauder12 · 10-19-2013, 08:43 AM

Thanks for all your guys help... I did find the leak it was where the exhaust manifold and my cat converter connected... I took it to a exhaust expert and he did the repair. Wasn't too costly he repaired both sides and was about 200 dollars.

DeltaP · 10-20-2013, 08:15 AM

Just curious as to why Blt2Lst used stainless bolts. I'd hate to be drillin them out if and when they break.

Blt2Lst · 10-21-2013, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeltaP

Just curious as to why Blt2Lst used stainless bolts. I'd hate to be drillin them out if and when they break.

Because that's what the hardware store had in a grade 10.9 which is going to be stronger than the grade 8.8 that the factory bolts probably are. I also used anti-seize on the bolts and torqued to specs.
So far so good on the repair, it's been about 6 months since I did this and all seems to be well and no exhaust leaks.
Should one happen to break off flush with the head in the future, well, we'll deal with that if the time comes..

Also to any one doing this repair, The plastic rivets that hold the fender well in place can be purchased at Harbor freight along with the setting tool..

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