I'll definitely grab the link mounts off the donor truck. Are the "bolts" that run through the frame just riv studs attached to a plate? The heads on top (inside the frame) seem perfectly round, which makes me think that. That would be good, since it would be a PITA to get a wrench inside there to hold the bolt head while trying to take off the nut. As far as the sway bar goes, the only other problem that I think I'm going to run into is needing shorter end links, since my current truck doesn't have any lift blocks on it. If the sway bar portion of the swap gets too complicated, I might just forego it, since I hardly ever tow (just haul); as I understand it, towing is where a rear sway bar comes in more handy.

While I'm at it, I think I'll also grab the helper leaves and frame-mounted stops off the donor truck. The only downside to that is that to get both trucks back together, I'll need 4 new U-bolts for each truck.

- Current truck U-bolts are short (only surround a 3/1 leaf pack and the axle)
- Donor truck U-bolts are extra long (surround a helper leaf, a 3/1 leaf pack, a lift block and the axle)

After the swap is done, I'll need:
- For current truck: A set that surrounds a helper leaf, a 3/1 leaf pack and the axle
- For donor truck: A set that surrounds a 3/1 leaf pack, lift blocks and the axle

Does anyone know a good place that stocks replacement U-bolts of varying sizes?

Picture of the sway bar and helper leaves I'll be getting out of the donor truck:

 

When I was looking to replace my rear sway bar links, it did not look like I could get one side off with major disassembly.... I think the gas tank was in the way.

I couldn't find replacements on the shelf when I was thinking about swapping mine out. But just about any shop that makes driveshafts or deal with driveline can make you a set.

 

Yes, the bolts for the sway bar frame mounts are rivet style bolts on a plate. I could not find those new in my searching, so I ended up using regular bolts.

I believe only one length is available for the sway bar link, which should be fine, as the sway bar can either be raised or lowered to fit.

As for U bolts, I ordered mine from these folks - http://www.springsnthings.com/ - when speaking with Laura, you will need the overall length of your existing U bolts on each truck.

 

I ended up finding U-bolts at a local spring and tire shop much cheaper than I could anywhere online, so that worked out well. $34 for four 11.5" long, 9/16" rod, 3" wide square bolts + nuts and washers. They didn't have the OEM size (M14), so I went the next size up to 9/16".

Since I also took the overload spring stops and sway bar brackets, I had a lot of hardware to remove from the donor. Here are some of the gnarly piles of garbage I ended up with. The timing of the project is actually really good, since I'm not sure some of the U-bolts would have lasted another winter. I drilled drain holes in the plates that cup the bottom of the axles to (hopefully) extend the lives of the new ones.





Replaced all the hardware with grade 8 nuts and bolts. 2WD swaybar links are a couple inches shorter than 4WD links, so I picked up a set of those as well.


I also had to replace the rear center brake line, since it all but disintegrated while removing it from the LH frame rail-mounted bracket (no picture at the moment).

The spacers/blocks that sit between the axle perch and spring pack are so corroded that the locator pins are almost completely missing.


I want to buy new blocks since the pins so shallow and rounded off that I'm not confident the blocks will stay in place. Can anyone confirm the correct locator pin size? The hole in the perch seems to be a hair under 3/4", but I may have more rust to chip out of there. I found the OEM part number (52106299AB), but it's not available anywhere; it is 1" thick x 2.75" wide x 5.5" long. Since I can't replace with OEM, does anyone have suggestions for a good aftermarket replacement? Has to be for 3" wide springs and obviously with the correct pin size. I'm seeing lots of blocks with 9/16" pins, but that's way off from 3/4"...assuming that's right. I'm ok with anything between 1" and 2" thick. Thanks in advance.

 

Another question: Is there any reason I couldn't remove the spacer block entirely and just set the spring pack on the perch welded to the axle? It looks like the pin on the bottom of the spring pack should set into the perch just fine. I understand that it would lower the rear of the truck 1".

Edit: Posting this reference image in case anyone needs options for lift blocks for their 2500/3500. My local 4x4 shop didn't have anything with a 3/4" locator pin and as far as I can tell, only Skyjacker and Top Gun Customz make a block that does. It took me a while to compile all this information...before I decided that I wan't going to use blocks at all haha. Hopefully, it helps the next guy:

 

Sure, no reason you can't. I am just not a fan of blocks between axle and spring.

 

While I was lowering the center pin that comes through the bottom leaf into the perch, I noticed a hairline crack on the outboard side. Earlier in the day, I had been banging on the bottom of the spring with a hammer to remove some of the loose rust. Nothing crazy...I was just using an 18oz hammer. Could I have possibly caused that crack by hammering on it and is leaf spring steel that brittle? I doubt that it is, since the springs need to flex haha. I'm bummed about it though, since I replaced that leaf pack only about 4 years ago with a replacement from SD Truck Springs.



Next question: Do I even worry about it? That bottom leaf is technically an overload as well and with the overloads I just added to the top end, that bottom one is rarely going to see any action. It will just be in compression the vast majority of the time.

 

It wouldn't hurt to change it out, but, if that leaf rarely sees any weight, it's probably fine. Just keep it in mind when loading up the truck.

 

Thanks. That's basically what I was thinking, too.

 

I wanted to make a final post about one of the problems I encountered when torquing my new U-bolts down. The donor axle I put in my truck had experienced so much rust/pitting that the axle tube was essentially a smaller diameter than it used to be. This caused the plate that attaches around the bottom to keep wrapping upward. I couldn't hit torque on my u-bolts and they kept bending outward. You can kind of see what was happening in this picture (and if I kept torquing, they just kept bending).


So I did the ol' U-bolt flip. Bought some 10" long, 3.5" wide round bolts and fabbed up some top plates from 0.400" thick, 7" wide U-channel. There are a few sets of Ford plates out there that will work, but why use some wimpy 0.250" plates when you can fab your own super heavy duty ones?! If anyone ever goes this route, just be careful about the proximity of the inside edge to your frame. It gets pretty close and I ended up having to cut a bit more off after I made them (one of the reasons they're lopsided).

U-channel I used vs. Ford plates


Finished product


Pre-installation


Installed


Upgraded to 5/8" U-bolts. I'm very happy with the end result and am confident that I have a setup that is going to keep my spring pack well attached to my axle for as long as I own the truck.