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DakHunter
Dodge Dakota
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9/28/2004
18:36:59
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 Subject: Stainless steel exhaust (OEM)?
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Question for y'all...
When I bought my Dakota 4x4 new in 2001, I saved the old sales brochures for whatever reason... I remembered reading in the brochure that 2001 Dakotas come with a "full stainless steel exhaust system including tailpipe and muffler". (It's the first item listed on one of the pages in the middle of the brochure.)
Well I happened to be under my truck the other day doing some maintenance, and I noticed how nasty, old and rusty my exhaust system is looking already (less than 4 years since I bought it). The pipes are almost rusted right through from the engine all the way back to the tailpipe. I can see this truck is going to need a COMPLETE exhaust system replacement within a year or two.
Don't you think this is false advertising? Should I go raise a stink at the stealership and demand a new exhaust system under warranty? In my opinion, this is a manfacturer defect because stainless steel is not supposed to rust - especially after 3.5 years it should not be rusted right through.
I am pissed about that...
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Maybe
Dodge Dakota
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9/28/2004
21:00:30
| RE: Stainless steel exhaust (OEM)?
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You might have some recourse under the emmision warantee, not sure. Check with the stealer.
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prple-gaseatr
Dodge Dakota
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9/28/2004
21:57:54
| RE: Stainless steel exhaust (OEM)?
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there are different grades of stainless steel, not all are (stainless) exhaust parts will fail eventuailly, but still, a 3 year old truck, something is screwy and i would demand a new system
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
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9/28/2004
23:15:08
| RE: Stainless steel exhaust (OEM)?
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Where do you live. When I lived in upstate NY, it seemed like an exhaust sytem would only last about 2 winteres because of the salt. 3 years was pretty good.
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DakHunter
Dodge Dakota
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9/29/2004
10:26:07
| RE: Stainless steel exhaust (OEM)?
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BC Canada... We don't have much salt around here. On the rare occassion that we see snow, they usually put sand or gravel on the roads.
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figols
Dodge Dakota
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9/29/2004
12:00:28
| RE: Stainless steel exhaust (OEM)?
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Dodge can call it stainless steel, but i you ask me it is probably the cheapest grade of stainless steel you can get. My 00' QC exhaust rotted out within a couple of years, but it started looking cruddy with in one year. GM on the other hand uses stainless for most of their exhausts. Over the years the baffles in the mufflers may blow out, but the pipe and muffler casing will still look close to new. I had a '90 K1500 that had 290K miles on it with the original factory exhaust. It still was solid and only showed some rusting around the welds. The rest of the truck was starting to rust though.
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Kowalski
GenIII
9/29/2004
15:41:11
| RE: Stainless steel exhaust (OEM)?
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Guys are right about it being a cheap grade of stainless. My '00 has surface rust but is still solid; the clamps seem worse than the pipes, ground strap just separated from the clamp bolt it was on. Anyone know why the exhaust is grounded ? Ground strap is back by the muffler; if it has anything to do with the O2 sensors I would think it would be closer to them. Exhaust from the cats forward is covered by the federal emissions warranty for 75,000; I had a cracked Y pipe relaced for free around 70,000 that way on another truck.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
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Ted
Dodge Dakota
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9/29/2004
15:47:34
| RE: Stainless steel exhaust (OEM)?
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Everyone uses the same material for their exhaust systems, aluminized 409 stainless. It is a cheap formulation of stainless made specifically for exhaust systems. You will start to see some surface corrosion in a year or two or maybe so discoloration. It will typically last about 10 years before it rusts through. They switched to this to meet the more stringent warranty requirements on emission control equipment.
Ted
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Figols
Dodge Dakota
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9/29/2004
16:32:35
| RE: Stainless steel exhaust (OEM)?
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I don't buy that Ted. If they all use the same stainless why do some rot out before others in the same driving/living conditions? Why would GM's stainless exhaust last & look better longer than the average Dodge exhaust? Nothing personal Ted, but I don't buy it. My experience tells me otherwise.
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Ted
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2004
16:18:48
| RE: Stainless steel exhaust (OEM)?
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GM may spec the heavier aluminized coating or may be running thicker tubing. The base 409 stainless is the same. 409 is often called "muffler stainless". Other factors that will affect exhaust life is exhaust gas temp and drainage. The hotter the exhaust gas, the shorter the life of the exhaust system. aluminized 409 is the cheapest material that will meet the emissions wattanty. That is why they all use it. I used to design mufflers and emission control systems for medium and heavy duty trucks. They are finally just starting to use 409 instead of plain aluminized steel.
Ted
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