Here you can find information regarding the assembly of the Dodge Dakota front end. In this guide we will cover the
essential repairs for the front end of this vehicle. Included within these repairs
is the inner and outer tie rod removal and change, the front wheel hubs installation, ball joint removal and
installation, the upper and lower control arms, and the front strut installation. Along
with the repair procedures we also include the corresponding bolt torque specs for each fastener involved. These
guides are intended to assist in each procedure to help diyers with the job.
Dodge Dakota Tie Rod Change/Removal
To install a new tie rod on a Dodge Dakota you must first remove the old one from the vehicle. This can be
done by raising the vehicle up by either the use of a floor jack or a vehicle hoist.
Once the vehicle is in the air you can remove the corresponding tire for the side that you want to change the
tie rod on. Once the tire is off you can now access the old tie rod and remove it for replacement. On this vehicle the
tie rod is apart of an entire rod system which controls the steering of the vehicle. If any of the steering rods are loose
be sure to replace them appropiately. The outer tie rod itself connects with another inner portion of the rod through the use
of an inner tie rod. This inner tie rod screws into the power steering rack and can be torqued down to 50 ft-lbs.
Be sure to inspect and measure your old tie rods so that the new ones can be installed
correctly. Whenever steering components are changed I recommend having an alignment done after the job to ensure the vehicle is in good
functional condition. When putting the tie rod onto the vehicle the tie rod end nuts get tightened down to 60 ft-lbs.
Be sure to install new cotter pins to ensure that vehicle safety is maintained.
Dodge Dakota Outer Tie Rod End Torque Spec : 60 ft-lbs
Dodge Dakota Inner Tie Rod Torque Spec : 50 ft-lbs
Front Wheel Hub Installation
The front wheel hub on the Dodge Dakota is different depending on whether the vehicle is 4WD or RWD. On rear wheel drive models the
front wheel bearing gets tightened down to the steering knuckle using a single center nut. On the AWD versions there will be a hole
located in the center of the steering knuckle which allows for the front cv axle to come through and attach to the wheel hub using a similar single nut.
Regardless of whichever version you have the steps will be relatively the same with the exception of working around the center cv axle.
To start off we will want to jack up the vehicle and remove the tire on the side you wish to replace. From here we can move
to the braking system and remove the caliper so that the rotor can then be taken off of the vehicle. With the braking system removed we can now gain
better access to the front wheel hub and its single center nut. From here simply remove the center nut either by using a breaker bar or an impact gun.
With the nut removed the front wheel hub can be removed from the vehicle with ease by simply pulling it away from the steering knuckle. The new
wheel hub can be installed by putting it in the place of the old one and reinstalling the nut. Start by hand tightening it down and then torque the nut
to 185 ft-lbs. Be sure to use a large enough torque wrench for this as that is a rather large amount of force. From here we can reinstall the wheel
and torque down the lugnuts to 100 ft-lbs.
Dodge Dakota Front Axle Nut Torque Spec : 185 ft-lbs
Front Ball Joints Installation
The Dodge Dakota has two sets of front ball joints being the upper and lower ball joints. The most common one
for replacement is the lower ball joint which on this vehicle is attached to the lower control arm. To install a new lower ball joint
you will need to either press out the old ball joint or replace the entire control arm as an assembly. If you choose to replace the entire arm
be sure to check out the control arm section on this webpage. If you choose to press out the ball joint you will need a ball joint pressing tool
which looks like a giant c clamp and comes with many different pressing plates. Find the correct sized plate and press out the old ball joint
and then press in the new ball joint. Once you can the new lower ball joint in place you can reinstall the steering knuckle to the lower control arm
and torque down the lower ball joint nut to 94 ft-lbs. The upper ball joint is very similar to the lower ball joint in that it will need to be pressed
out of the upper control arm in order to replace it. Once you can the new upper ball joint in place and everything is ready to go be sure to torque down
the upper ball joint nut to 60 ft-lbs.
On the Dodge Dakota there are two control arms being the upper and lower control arms. Both of which have 3 fasteners that
hold the part onto the vehicle. There are 2 bolts with nuts that hold the control arms to the vehicle frame. There is also a ball joint which
fastens the control arms to the steering knuckle. On the upper control arm the frame bolts need to be tightened up to 100 ft-lbs. The ball joint nut
gets tightened down to 60 ft-lbs. On the lower control arm the frame bolts get tightened down to 129 ft-lbs. The lower ball joint nut gets tightened down
to 94 ft-lbs. When tightening up the lower control arm fasteners be sure to set the wheel height to a level that it would be at during riding or when on the
ground. This is best done with a bottle jack under the suspension.
To replace the front shocks on the Dodge Dakota you will need to lift the vehicle up into the air and start by removing the tire on the side you want to replace.
With that removed we can now remove the bolts and nuts
that hold the shock to the vehicle frame and lower control arm. Starting with the lower end there will be either 2 small bolts if the vehicle is a RWD model
or a single bolt if a 4WD model. If RWD simply remove the 2 bolts and move the lower portion of the shock up through the control arm. If 4WD remove the single
bolts and pound it through the shocks lower eye hole.
With the bottom bolts removed we can move to the upper nut which holds the strut to the vehicles frame. Once off the old shock should be removable
from the vehicle. To install the new shock simply place it into the location as the old one and begin to hand tighten up the upper nut and the lower bolts.
Once all the fasteners have been hand tighten you can torque down the shock upper nut to 19 ft-lbs. The lower bolts can be torqued down to 21 ft-lbs if RWD and
80 ft-lbs if 4WD.
The front swaybar on the Dodge Dakota consists of a series of brackets that hold it to the frame of the
vehicle and a couple of endlink nuts that fasten it the the outer side of the car. To remove
the swaybar you will need to jack up the front of the vehicle and remove both the endlink nuts as well as the
brackets. To install the new swaybar you will need to move it back into the place as the old one
and torque the endlink nuts to 15 ft-lbs and then torque the bracket bolts to 27 ft-lbs as well.
Dodge Dakota Front Swaybar Bracket Torque Spec : 27 ft-lbs
Dodge Dakota Front Swaybar Endlinks Torque Spec : 15 ft-lbs
