I have a 99 1500 5.9L magnum 4x4. I pull a lot of trailers for my horse refuge and have been debating on upgrading to a bigger truck. The truth of the matter is that I can't afford a new truck, but a friend told me that I could upgrade mine to a 2500 for just 2-3k. I was told that the motor,tranny, and rear end are the same between the two, that I would only need to beef up the suspension and maybe buy a superchip to help performance. Has anyone else atempted this? If so what were the results and can you give me some pointers please. Thanks in advance for any and all help

 

You could easily stiffen up the suspension if you wanted to, but the frames are actually different.

 

And along with the right suspension gearing is key. If your running a high gear you should swap them out for a lower set.

 

Thanks but what about it being 4x4. Isn't it already lower geared? and how much different is the frames?

 

i would think a 2500 frame is balkyer and stiffer then a 1500.. suspension is alot stiffer.. 2 inch bigger coils in the front and more leaf springs ( or stiffer) in the back.. differentials are bigger.. believe they are dana 60's or something.. and we have 44's.. and stock 4x4 gears in a 1500 are 3.55's.. 2500s might be 4.10s.. so i'd say try and find 2500 coils at a dunk yard... 4.10 gears will really help for towing.. and maybe find a set of 2500 leaf springs.. i wouldnt worry about the axles they should be fine with the 4.10's

 

Thanks for the info. What about my transfer case? If I change the gearing in the rear do I have to change it there as well? And the other mods like the springs and stuff, can that be done at home by a shade tree mech or do I need to have someone do it for me?

 

nah you wont need to touch the transfercase.. you change out your front and rear differental gears.. and you can change the springs and all yourself... pretty simple to do if you have the time and tools

 

Have you ever priced a set of 4.10 gears for the front and/or rear? How reliable do you think a ste out of a dunk yark would be? Also will the same gears out of the 2500 fit right into the same diff on a 1500?

 

theres a guy on pavementsucks.com named superhawk2002 i think that turned his 1500 gasser into a 2500 CTD... amazing intesive conversion but he had a blast doing the work!

 

I don't think that he planned on doing any heavy work with that truck though. Just some wheeling.

One KEY thing that has been overlooked in this thread are the axles that the 2500s use. The heavy duty trucks used Dana 60/70/80 axles. They're one of the reasons why they're able to handle the loads that they do...along with the stiffer suspension and frame. The braking system is also designed for heavier loads.