Today I got finished with my brake job.
The wife was out of town last week, so I used that time to use her Dart to drive to work, and work on the truck at night... a little bit each night, one corner at a time.

This is what I installed...
Front: 1500 discs, 2500LD calipers and pads, ABS sensors.
Rear: 1500 drums and shoes, spring and adjuster kits, 2500HD cylinders, ABS sensor.
All the 2500 parts I used on my 1500 are a direct bolt on fit.
I used Mopar sensors, and the rest is AC Delco Durastop.

Braking ability is significantly better with the 2500 parts... it feels like it should when braking, not like a loaded semi with no room to stop (as it did before).
The new sensors fixed the ABS & Brake light issue.
I'm very pleased with the outcome.

The difference is the front calipers have a larger piston in the same casting (80mm compared to the stock 75mm), and the rear cylinders similarly have a bigger bore in the same casting (28mm compared to the stock 24mm)... the same casting is also used on GM 3500's with a 30mm bore, in case you want more... the 2500LD, 2500HD, and 3500 RAM use the same rear cylinders, and master cylinder/booster is the same on all sizes of the RAM (1500-3500).
As a note; the 2500HD and 3500 use a dual piston front caliper with different mounting to the 1500 and 2500LD single piston front caliper.

The only thing I didn't replace was the hoses, but they still look in good condition (flexible and no cracking).

For those interested, these are the part numbers I used for the upgrade;
Front right 18FR741
Front left 18FR742
Rear 18E112 (1 each for left and right)

 

2 front shocks (had OEM stamped 97 on them ) , Front axle u-joints both sides , all 4 ball joints, and 2 shiny new hub assemblies . Next week ,prop shaft u-joints.

 

Put some oil in it, maybe one of these years I'll think about fixing the leak...

 

installed an oil catch can and a new mopar pcv. Been running it about 2 weeks. About 300 miles. Cant believe just how much oil the Pcv lets through. You can see a little bit of oil in the container. Im using an air tool water separator that I bought at Home Depot. Had to close off the drain cuz the original design is that it seals when it is pressurized. Well this has a vacuum pulling through it so the plug is always open. Removed the original filter and installed part of a copper scrubby for my baffle. Mounted it from the heat and is easy to access.

 

A catch-can is definitely worth adding.
Most of what little oil I do add, can be found in the catch-can.

 

Had the failed accumulator in my newly re-built 46RE transmission replaced. Overdrive is back!

 

Installed JBA stainless shortys on Sunday. Love em

 

greased up the front end. checked all fluids including front and rear axle as well as the transfer case. i have a leaky upper trans cooler line i can fix.
recently i replaced the water pump, seeing all the space the fan shroud occupies really has me interested in investing in an electric fan set up.

fixes to be done:
passenger side u joint is gone!!!!
upper transcooler line, just the rubber and the fittings
valve covers and gaskets
trans drain, filter, gasket and fill

last tune up i did was with cheap parts. im thinking about getting a dui tune up kit and ngk plugs in the near future. has 10 mm wires, a 4500v coil, cap and rotor and pick a color of your choice. here is a link to check it out http://m.summitracing.com/parts/dui-dgetkkt-rd

 

Ordered new headlights lenses and LED bulbs, installed some (supposed OEM) fog lights and stuck in some LEDs just to check them out. It doesn't seem like the LEDs are brighter than the halogens. I might switch back...

 

Went to put on new brakes on the front and the top caliper bolt snapped off.


Put it in the shop for them to deal with.