hello every one. im from the 2nd gen dakota site and im lookin in to doin a sas swap with a set of 1500 axles this summer. my ? is does the ram 1500 have a speed sensor on top of the rear axle like my dak does? ive asked the guys on the dak site but no one seams to know. any help would be great.

 

Yep, they sure do.

Don't Dakotas already have a 9 1/4 in the rear, or no? I'm sure it would not be as wide though as the half ton 9 1/4.

 

that would be a pretty sweet swap!
i would try to find a whole parts truck to complete the swap, maybe even just swap bodies

 

Ive done it......i did the rear end on a 03 Dakota last year, it had the 10 bolt pattern, which isnt the 9 1/4.....put a 9 1/4 in it from a ram 1500 and it was a direct swap...has had no problems

did it in about 4 hours, on the ground, no power tools, only jacks......pretty easy job.

 

I believe the Dakotas are the 8 3/4.

 

If I'm not mistaken, Dakotas with a V8 had 9 1/4's.


To the OP, what do you plan on doing for front suspension? Coils or coilovers? Although you will need custom mounts on the frame for the coils and control arms, I bet the factory installed mounts on the axle will work for you.

If I had to guess, the stock coil buckets on the axle will be a little too wide for the Dakota frame if using regular coils, but that is just a guess (I have never really even looked close at a Dakota before). If you go coilover, you could probably use the same mounts on the axle and simply lean the tops in a bit to some custom mounts on the frame.

 

How much wider was the half ton axle?

 

I'm almost positive the Dakota my 318 came out of was 8 3/4.

 

Done some digging and the Dakotas came with the 8 1/4 but the 9 1/4 was an option on the tow package best I can tell.

 

thanks for all the replys guys. my dak has a 8 1/4 rearend and if im not mistaken the 1500 rear axle is a lull bit wider then the dak rear. and 4x4 dakotas come with tbars in the front so ill have to cut every thing out and start from scratch. to make my life a lull easyr im gonna go with leaf springs in the front to. there isnt any rocks in easter n.c so i aint worried to much about extrem frex. lol.