So ive never seen this happen, my best friend and i were playing in the mud the other day, and we both have 97 4x4 rams, yesterday when were cleaning up his truck got underneath it and on of his leaf spring is broken in half with part of the leaf spring about 3 in. from his tire. pretty crazy lookin, doesnt really effect the ride much its the second or third spring, luckily i have a parts truck in the back that we can take the spring pack off to replace. should we replace both spring packs? the parts truck is a 95 4x4 but i dont think it will make a difference. unfortunately its gonna be a couple weeks before we can get to it. will take some pics of it as we fix it.

 

i think the 95 and 97 springs are the same. i'm lazy, i'd only replace the one side thats broke. if the ride height ended up drastically different on one side, then i'd change the other one.

 

If the broken one is driver's side, I'd take the passenger side spring off the parts truck, reverse the bolts, and use it. Passenger side leaf springs don't wear out as fast as driver's sides do in these trucks due to the fact that all the weight in a Dodge is on the driver's side.

If its the passenger side thats broke, I'd do the opposite. Save the parts truck's passenger side spring in case you ever have to replace your driver's side spring.

My two cents.