Gibson Cat Back for '96 Dakota

From: Robert Allen (boballen@sky.net)
Date: Sun Aug 18 1996 - 04:16:25 EDT


Hello folks; looking for ideas.

I have a '96 Dodge Dakota V8 and just purchased a Gibson exhaust system
from RV Performance Specialists. I was dismayed to find that they merely
shipped me (I think) the '95 system -- no allowance made for downstream
oxygen sensor.

Background: '96 model vehicles now have a more sophisticated emissions
control package. One of the things that is new are two oxygen sensors;
one on each side of the catalytic converter. The goal is to monitor cat
deterioration. On the Dakota, the second O2 sensor is about 15 inches
back from the cat and about 3 inches from the muffler. The Gibson 3 inch
system has a longer muffler that would have you cut out the section
where the O2 sensor is mounted.

The solution would appear to mount a new O2 sensor with the Gibson but
the question is where. Also, an O2 sensor uses a large metric size
(somewhere around 11/16th's of an inch) and I can't find a jam nut to
weld into the Gibson system.

The Gibson kit includes a 3 inch to 2 1/2 inch reducer to clamp onto the
Dakota just after the cat. It would seem a natural to mount the sensor
on this reducer. I was wondering if anyone has succesfully done this. It
would seem logical that the exhaust system manufacturer would have
thought of this but, apparantly, it ain't so. Anyone seen such a simple
accessory?

Finally, mounting the O2 sensor with the Gibson muffler will move the
downstream sensor some 6 inches closer to the cat. I don't know if this
would cause a problem. The other option is to mount it after the muffler
which would make it about 40 inches after the cat. The Dakota uses
heated (4 wire) O2 sensors.

Any ideas, feedback, or similar experiences would be wonderful.

Thanks in advance, Bob Allen, Kansas City

boballen@sky.net
 



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