was wondering if anyone has done this or heard of it done and can point me in some kind of direction. was thinking of doing the swap in my 2000ram 2500 4x4.

 

I have seen it done quite a few times. But I gotta ask... WHY? Seems like quite a step down from coil springs and a 5 link.

Are you planning on swapping the front axle for an older Ford 60 that was set up for leafs already? This would be much easier than retrofitting your current axle... but I still personally see no real gain in doing this swap.

 

yes i do have an 79 ford hp that I'm considering putting under it. couple factors have me contemplating it. my brothers 03' 7.3 power stroke goes down the road smoother then my dodge with new shocks. and my buddy's 00' f250 with 6 inch lift leafs goes down the road smoother as well.
The leaf spring swap is just a thought. I'm trying to find out if i can do a manual hub swap to my 2000 ram d60 the cheap way. like you can with the 94 -99 d60's. but I'm not sure what is different on the knuckle. just weighing my options and trying to get more info. if the manual hub swap can be done cheap like the 94-99 d60's i will keep it under there and get a track bar kit. so i need info.

 

Gotcha. Yeah, not sure on the hub conversion on the "cheap". But they did change the knuckles somewhere along the lines. What are you saying, the older 2nd gen 60's have interchangeable parts with early model hubs for an easy swap?


To be honest with you though, I would be fabbing that '79 60 under your truck with coils or coil overs. The main issue with using the stock sized coil springs though is not having much room with those king pins. Coil-overs are almost the only way to go unless you fab really odd coil buckets in the axle... or of course, go with leafs. Hmmm, decisions decisions.

 

yep i found stuff on the 94-99 d60 hub conversion. everyone says that the knuckles changed in 2000. they don't say how they changed. i was going to have the part store order some unit bearings to see if the knuckle opening diameter changed.if its a little smaller i could turn the spindle down a little. i think someone said something about the brake setup wont work on the 2000 and up. but I'm not sure still trying to find out. ems makes a cheaper kit then dynatrac. but at 900.00 i don't think its cheap at all. i can get another 78-79 hp d60 for that maybe even less. if ems and dynatrac can make something for it, i think if had more info i think i could too. just trying to do this with out having to rip my truck apart and do all the foot work. also do it for 250.00 or less no matter witch way i go. i have leaf springs and the 79' hp60 already. but thats worth more then 250.00. and if i go with the coil overs thats 1000.00 or so.the reason for the thoughts on all this is that the unit bearings are 300.00 a piece and ball joints are not cheap either and mine need to be replaced after 217,000 on them.

 

Yeah, for sure put that 79' under there... one way or another. It will be cheaper in the long run, not to mention much more stout.

I have read on other forums about people who have purchased the EMS kits trying to get part numbers and such for the parts in there kit. They are more than likely just off the shelf regular old parts... just need to figure out which ones.