Has anyone done this? I've read through some archive files and gathered a lot of information on the swap. I've done lift kits before on old Chevys but I've never messed with anything that had coils in the front.

Problem: ½-Ton suspension doesn't allow me to haul heavy enough loads. 1 pallet of fire pellets will bottom me out easily. I don't have the $ for a ¾-Ton truck

Purpose: Simply hauling heavier loads, I don't plan on off-roading this truck (I have other toys for that). I basically want the capability of a 3/4-Ton. I want to keep my ½-Ton axles.

Solution: Either add air bags, rear suspension overloads or swap out to HD suspension.

Known: I've read that the front coil springs are a straight swap over, I need to be careful about getting the correct coil on the respected side because they are different. My rear leaf springs are 2.5" wide, and the majority of ¾-Ton rear leafs are 3" wide. I can swap out my shackles to take care of this.

Questions: I'm not worried about the rear suspension as much, that's pretty straight forward. However I'm concerned about how swapping the front springs will affect the steering components and sway bar. Will I need steering correction components (drop pitman arm)? Will my alignment be affected? Will my steering wheel change the natural position that it rests in? If so how can I adjust it without spending lots of $?

I'm sure the drive lines, shocks and brake lines will be long enough to accommodate the (approx) 3" of lift that I should expect.

Alternative: Does anybody know of any tried and true methds of stiffining a Ram 1500 rear suspension?

 

you will need spacer between the frame and the sway bar and need to get a drop pitman arm and a new track bar either a lowing bracket for the trac bar or a adjustable track bar and you can get away from not having a alignment done

 

Aychancellor - You seem to have the need for rear suspension changes but, are overly concerned with the front. You don’t haul a pallet of pellets on your hood. Your concern should focus on the rear. I think all you need is an overload, or load assist, spring for the rear.

Here’s some info for you. Keep in mind I don’t know what year or suspension package you have.
For the front: You can put in stock diesel coils to stiffen the front. There’s a bazillion part numbers out there. When I went to diesel coils they were not set for different sides of the truck. You may want to see if you can find them online or at a salvage yard. This will only lift the front a couple of inches. You do not need to drop the sway bar, make any changes to the pitman arm, track bar, or control arms. You only need to do those items when you get up to a 5” lift. As with any suspension change you should get an alignment afterwards.

For the rear: You cannot just swap out the shackle cause your front hanger is still 2.5” wide. There are some springs from ¾ ton vans that will fit but, they may be hard to find. Your option here is for an overload spring or adding additional leaves to stiffen it up.

If you are not going for a lift and only want to carry a heavier load then I would say overload springs. If you want a lift and some stiffness all around then diesel coils in front, try to find the 2.5” ¾-ton springs for the rear, or add some thicker springs in the rear.

 

Thanks for all the info! The truck is a 1998

You're right Aubrey, I'm not loading a pallet of pellets in the front however I would like an even lift all around (even though it will only be a few inches). I didn't consider trying to track down a 2.5" wide 3/4-Ton leafs for the rear.

Thats odd, I read here that the front springs differ on each side... but I'm certainly no expert.

I guess I'll look around for a set of springs to see if I can find a matching front and rear set from a 3/4-Ton truck with 2.5" wide rear leafs, that should give me an even balance between the fronts and rears. If all else fails I'll just look for a set of rear leaf stiffeners. Thanks for the help

 

Sounds like you have done a lot of your home work and have pretty much got everything figured out to me. I agree with aubry... if you are not looking to upgrade for a lift necessarily, I wouldn't mess around with the front at all.

My suggestion would be to simply have a set of air bags installed, and use them when needed.

The setup I had on my 2nd gen was diesel coils up front and 2 extra add-a-leafs in the rear. I liked it allot, as I thought the stock suspension was simply too soft for even every day driving. I gained just over 3" of lift in the front and about 1 1/2-2" in the rear. But, when I did hall some heavy loads, it would still sag pretty bad in the back... thats why I would suggest gong with air bags.

Always remember though... just because you "beef" up the rear suspension to handle heavier loads does NOT mean you can safely hall super heavy loads. You should still never exceed the manufacturers towing/hauling specs... within reason

 

Not necessarily. I had 3 1/2" of lift with all the stock components in the front of my yellow truck for over ten years and never had a single issue.

And sure, he wouldn't HAVE to do the alignment, but I guarantee his tires would wear out, because the alignment would be off.

 

you can eye it up pretty good for the alignment but your right alignment is recommended no one want to be buying tire every couple months for toe issues lol and i would do a drop pitman so theres not too much stress on the ball joints cuz of the angle change of the couple inches of drop but thats just me

 

Yeah, with 3" of lift and stock components, the axle will be shifted to the drivers side an inch or more and the bushings on the sway bar extensions will wear out quicker too.

 

FYI...i was going to do the same thing....i had no problems finding 2.5 leaf springs from a 2500....check http://car-part.com out....best place for salvage yard parts.

 

aychancellor - yes, on the V8 motors the springs are different from side to side. Not sure on the other ones though. When you get into lift springs some manufacturers do not do a left and right spring. I got 2" lift diesel coils and they were not left and right. I do not know if stock diesel coils are left and right. They may not be.

I think if you throw stock diesel coils up front and find the 2.5" 3/4 ton rears you'll be fine. That's as much as you're going to want to do since you still don't have the brake system to woah it up. If you do that, you don't need to change any other components on the front either. And since you're not messing with steering or with your control arms you won't need an alignment.