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00:09:36 - 12/20/2024
V6 Dakotas
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Greg
Dodge Dakota
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7/24/2004
22:03:37
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 Subject: Rattling noise after header installation
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Message:
Ok, I have a 94 Dodge Dakota 3.9L V6. I have Autolite 3923 Sparkplugs, a 180 degree thermostat, an Edelbrock air cleaner, a BM 150 Electric Fan, and a Flowmaster 40 series muffler with dual 3" chrome tips.
Yesterday the headers I ordered, which are JBA silver ceramic coated headers, came in and today my dad and I installed them. I might add that the installation only took about 3 hours and was really not that difficult. Hardest part for us was bolting the new headers back up to the y-pipes. Stock header bolts came off very easy too. Anyways, after the installation, we check all the bolts, make sure they are tight, and I leave his house. When I get out on the road and press down on the accelerator, I immediately hear this rattling noise that sounds like it is coming from the exhaust.
My first thought is the cat, but I had the cat checked by the exhaust shop that put my Flowmaster on and decided that that wasn't the problem. Well, I let the truck sit for a few hours until about an hour ago when I go to get gas and decide to open her up a bit and see if it still makes this noise. Of course, it's still making it and is really noticeable in 5th gear when driving at about 1k rpms. I have no clue what this could be. I thought maybe we had dropped a nut down into the y-pipe when bolting the headers up to them or something, but then figured that the nut would have probably already came out of the exhaust by now. So what do you all think is the problem?
On a different note the headers did make some improvement in the sound of my exhaust, minus the rattling. The crackling/popping noise (exhaust detonation I suppose) that would happen when I would rev the engine and let the rpms drop back down rarely occurs anymore and the tone is more mellow. It really sounds good now. It also improved my mid to top end. The loss in low end that people say probaly did happen, but I can't really tell it. Once you hit about 2k rpms, the truck just starts pulling hard and keeps pulling. These were a good investment in my opinion and will really help when I get a new throttle body here in a couple of weeks.
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Greg
Dodge Dakota
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7/25/2004
00:58:05
| RE: Rattling noise after header installation
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Message:
Ok I would just like to point out a few things here... First of all, if you had dropped a nut down into the exhaust it would not be gone simply by running the motor... It would make it to the cat and then hit the honey comb looking insides and then could go no further... Even if you had the cat gutted or had a pipe run through it the nut would either get trapped in the lower area of the cat "gutted" or wind up trapped in the muffler "pipe ran through cat"...
2nd thing Even though the headers were tight to begine with ussually with become loose after initial start up, so they need to be rechecked and if like all other headers will need retorqing again and again up to the first 1000 miles of use... Y-Pipe bolts will also need to be retightened after the first few miles, esspecially if your headers were like mine and had to nearly be forced to bolt up to the Y-pipe...
3rd This rattling noise your hearing could be predetenation... My truck before I built the top end in it would sound almost like it was coming from the transmission "almost as if the gears or something were about to come out of it" and after running higher octane gas and high concentrations of fuel system cleaner it all went away...
I would check the header attachment bolts first though and if all else fails brake out the ol' homemade pipe stethascope and see if you can't pin point the sound... The engine bay will always make the noise sound like it's coming from somewhere else...
Hope I was of some help...
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JohnB
Dodge Dakota
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7/25/2004
09:24:02
| RE: Rattling noise after header installation
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There's an exhaust heat shield on the driver's side that's attached to the y-pipe. After many years (My dak is a '94 as well), the tab used to attach the bottom of the shield broke, and it gives a nice rattle under accel and sometimes deccel. Just weld it back up and no more rattle.
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Greg
Dodge Dakota
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7/25/2004
13:10:39
| RE: Rattling noise after header installation
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Message:
John that sounds like that may be what is causing it. We were banging and hitting that thing when trying to get the header to fit right on the engine on the drivers side. I'll check it today when my dad comes back over to retighten all the bolts down.
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don
Dodge Dakota
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7/27/2004
18:14:30
|  RE: Rattling noise after header installation
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Message:
i was planin on putting a set of headers like edlebrooke shorties and i also was lookin at a new tb, if i also got a chip and upgraded my pulg wires, would that give me a noticable increase in power???
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