dodgeramforlife
Junior Member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2015
- Posts
- 9
- Reaction score
- 1
- Ram Year
- 1996
- Engine
- 318
Ok, so I found a cheap set of dana 60's on craigslist that I want to swap into my truck, mainly for the 4.10 gears and better brakes.. guy is asking $350 for them, they are off a 2000 2500 and include the steering parts and wheels.
My truck is a 97 1500 4x4 with the manual trans and 3.55 gears. 2.5 in lift in front, 4 inch in rear.
Ive done a bit of research on the swap but have a few questions and want to confirm some things before I spend money and tear the truck apart.
For the rear, I will need to grind the spring perches to fit the 2.5 in leaf springs and U-bolts. Brake lines, shock bolts etc should bolt in, right? For the U-joint I plan on combining two. Will I have to shorten the drive shaft since the rear is lifted 4 inches?
For the front, should be a bolt in job. I have heard that the control arm bolts may be different sizes for different years. If they are, can I just bore them out and use a regular old grade 8 bolt? For the U-joint I plan on combining 2 U-joints to make it work, and I belive that you dont have to shorten the front drive shaft?
If anyone knows what U-joints I need to get, that would be great. Any thoughts or comments or advise? Is the swap worth it? I really want to ditch the 3.55s, I do alot of towing/hauling with this truck and I think 4.10s and better brakes would be awesome. Thanks for reading this long post and thanks for any help!!
My truck is a 97 1500 4x4 with the manual trans and 3.55 gears. 2.5 in lift in front, 4 inch in rear.
Ive done a bit of research on the swap but have a few questions and want to confirm some things before I spend money and tear the truck apart.
For the rear, I will need to grind the spring perches to fit the 2.5 in leaf springs and U-bolts. Brake lines, shock bolts etc should bolt in, right? For the U-joint I plan on combining two. Will I have to shorten the drive shaft since the rear is lifted 4 inches?
For the front, should be a bolt in job. I have heard that the control arm bolts may be different sizes for different years. If they are, can I just bore them out and use a regular old grade 8 bolt? For the U-joint I plan on combining 2 U-joints to make it work, and I belive that you dont have to shorten the front drive shaft?
If anyone knows what U-joints I need to get, that would be great. Any thoughts or comments or advise? Is the swap worth it? I really want to ditch the 3.55s, I do alot of towing/hauling with this truck and I think 4.10s and better brakes would be awesome. Thanks for reading this long post and thanks for any help!!
