The Jackson's Project Dak!

 Visited the shop for the rundown of the needed repair and grabbed up a parts list. It was a pretty full list of stuff. Upper and lower ball joints for both sides. Funny note, well not so funny as a pain the ass. The driver side upper ball joint is rivetted to the control arm, so instead of replacing the ball joint, we replace the whole assembly. Probably should have just done the same on the passengers side. There's a single tie rod end in there, but the shop says the rack and pinion, hoses, and pump are suspect. I expect that to need more parts, so I am asking the shop to source the parts instead of hunting them down myself. Full exhaust from manifold to bumper (including 02 sensors), direct fit catalytic converter, cat back dual exhaust. Brake power booster, as the one on the truck is bad, along with the check valve. I couldn't remember if they needed the master cylinder or not, so will let them source that part if they need it. Drivability/performance concern gets a full Su...

 Okay, so got the call from the shop today. As the truck is subject to Missouri State Inspection, I have to get the front end rebuilt. Far be the inspection to have fair and equitable rules for what constitutes safety - the trucks brakes are not really operative. As in brake booster is toast. But, I have a hard brake pedal, so that passes inspection. Upper and lower ball joints, 1 tie rod end, some new lugnuts (full new set) and a new serpentine belt, tensioner and idler are on their way. I will probably get shocks front and back to round out the suspension redo, but will probably wait until I decide if we need to redo the rear leaf springs and shackles. Rust isn't a factor, but we are talking about almost 30 year old springs at this point. Maybe when we look at adding a rear sway bar. As far as the drivability issue, the truck severely needs a tune up, as well as the new brake booster air check valve (which should come with the brake booster). This check valve is wide open, so the...

After doing a ton of research online, and reviewing, in my head, what we would need to do, plus knowing that my mechanic would find the parts local instead of shopping online for the best deal, I put together my order for replacement parts for the full exhaust, from exhaust manifold, back to the bumper. Walker Direct-Fit Y-Pipes 40235  $75 Walker Ultra Direct-Fit Catalytic Converters 55191  $267 Based on feedback online, I avoided the Bosch O2 sensors, and went with the Delphi ones instead. Not really a performance option out there, which is always my preference. Delphi Oxygen Sensors ES20044-11B1  $37 Upstream O2 sensor Delphi Oxygen Sensors ES20321-11B1  $46 Downstream O2 sensor And because we were doing all of this, I figured we'd get rid of what looks like a 25 year old exhaust system. I went with a kit I found on eBay: 87 - 99 Dodge Dakota 3.9 5.2 Mandrel Bent Dual Exhaust w/ FullBoar Muffler  $212 This kit is a mandrel bent 2.5 fill exhaust running Jones...