Dakota header compatibility

I soon will have a 95 Dakota 2wd with the 5.2. I see the headers selection is a little better when you start at 1997/98 and go newer from there. Looking at images of new replacement manifolds it looks like the only difference in manifolds is the passenger side lost the EGR provision for 1996. The driver side used same P# into the 2000s. So I'm thinking the fitment is the same and buying the 97 on up headers means I weld in the EGR provision. I'm keeping the 318 magnum in tact and stock for now and want compatible headers with bigger than 1.5" primaries. Spintech offers this but they are specd for 97 and newer. The contact at Spintech said the firewall is different and thus their header will not fit my 1995 engine bay. Specifically I like these headers. They list 1 7/8" primaries and a 3" collector. https://spintechmufflers.com/dakota-durango-and-ram-mid-length-headers/

Well I feel like I have made a small fun accomplishment. I checked the LKQ self serve lots in my radius and the neighboring city had a 1993 Dakota with a V8 in their yard. I loaded some tools and drove 22 miles and got me a pair of the first 2 year larger outlet exhaust manifolds. These will go on my 95. Yea its not gonna be a big power improver but they are a better unit than what is on my 1995 I have plus it was fun extracting them. The laying on my back on some floor mats in the frozen mud wasn't that much fun but it did take me back to my teenage years in the 80s roaming junkyards looking for steel crank 440s and 383s!

Congrats on the score. While your taking the manifolds off. I would look and see if maybe it has a set of Engine master EQ heads on it. They were used to replace a bunch of cracked stock heads

Great to hear you found those manifolds. Maybe you can run true dual with an H-pipe and dump the mufflers maybe under the bed for more performance?

I didn't think to look for that. I have read the latest EQ heads are no longer Australian made but Chinese made. Does this mean they are a substandard item now?

The last pair of new EQ heads I bought were the same chinese heads everyone is selling with worse flow than even a stock head, very rough casting and they will always be the last new EQ heads I buy unless I find some NOS New Zealand made ones. I would just as soon run cracked stock heads as it don't cause any trouble and some of them came that way brand new.

I dont know about the new Eq heads. Sorry I was talking about the EQ heads that were made in Australia. Which look like this.

https://www.hughesengines.com/Index/standardperformanceeqheads.php.


The newer ones that are made in China have a frost plug on each end.

https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/magnum-replacement-heads.459887/