Albino99

I own a 1999 Dodge Ram Sport 2500. I plan to keep it a long time and was wondering if I should invest in buying one of those front manual hub conversion kits? My front bearings were replaced 4 years and I specifically remember the mechanic complaining about how the earlier years of Dodge's (94-99) have unit bearings that are difficult to work with. I also learned that the front rotors are not traditional "slip-on" units, instead they are tapered press on fit. This seems like a real horrible design for maintenance and not cost effective. A manual hub kit would certainly make things simpler. The other big question I have is does anyone make a "Big Brake" kit for any of these manual hub conversions? I really wanted the 3rd gen brake upgrade, but that is only possible on 2000 and later pickups. I wonder if anyone makes an oversize rotor/caliper for the manual hub kits? If so, I would be really interested! If anyone is running one of these manual hub conversion kits I'd like to know how difficult it was to install and also what benefits you saw with fuel economy, steering/handling, braking. Thanks.

Ed ke6bnl

I have a 98.5 and I had to remove the unit bearing to replace the brake rotor BUT it was not pressed on.

AlpineRAM

On the older (pre 2001 IIRC) trucks the brake rotor is behind the flange that holds the wheel on the hub, and therefore you need to remove the hub and press out the wheel studs to change the rotors.
A crappy design for a brake job, but still acceptable IMO for something needed to be done every 200 k miles if you use good rotors and "gentle" pads.
You can "easily" remove the unit bearings by loosening the 4 bolts about 5 turns, using a short extension and a bigger socket wedged between the head of the bolt and a protrusion of the axle body and then turning the steering wheel. Alternate between bolts and even a stubborn rusted in bearing is out very quickly.
Then install a "sacrificial" wheel nut on each stud about 5 threads, smack it with a very big hammer and the wheel stud falls out.
My personal best for removing both unit bearings with rotors and separating the rotors on a truck in a parking lot is less than 30 minutes.. the snow crawling down my neck into the coveralls really helped to motivate me.. Got it finished in less than an hour. New Disks, pads, some new wheel studs.

Albino99

Yeah, my pickup does have the unit bearing design. I just think it's a goofy setup. My underlying thing is that I want to install bigger brakes (larger diameter rotors) for increased stopping power. It seems like only one or two companies make a bolt on kit for big brakes on the 94-99 pickups. The kits are $500+ and don't include everything you would possibly need. I see folks swapping in mid 90's Ford Dana 60 front axles to achieve locking hubs, bigger brakes, bigger spline count, etc. I just don't want to go through a huge upgrade like that. I'm looking for something I can bolt-on in the driveway.

u2slow

I helped two buddies put Ford locking hubs on their 2ndgens. A 94 and a '99.
- 78-79 F250/350 rotors
- 78-97 Ford D60 stub axles
- 78-97 D50/60 hubs and spindles (re-drill spindle to 4-bolt unit bearing pattern)

If you want to go 35 spline and CAD delete:
- 99-04 superduty long side axle (~3/8" short of ideal, but works)
- 78-79 F350 short side axle (trim ~1/4")

Big brakes.... put on complete 95-97 F350 outers. Rotor is 1/2" larger OD, and dual piston calipers. Otherwise, you can look at Speedhouse or Torq for ideas using 14" rotors.

Albino99

Great Information! I have been reading a ton of articles online about people doing this conversion. The bad part is trying to locate all the pieces for an affordable price. These parts are very popular for jeep builders (mud & rock crawling rigs). I recently purchased a set of 17" 3rd gen wheels to help provide more rotor clearance in the future. I guess a person needs to search craigslist, local wrecking yards, and online marketplace postings for the axle parts.

Albino99

I was wondering if anyone is running a Yukon gear or Synergy locking hub conversion............. how does the brake rotor mount? Does it mount from behind like the OEM pressed style or does it simply slip on over the wheel studs?

Albino99

I decided to take the plunge and do a mid 90's Ford F350 front dana 60 locking hub conversion. I scored a 1997 F350 SRW Dana 60 front axle this weekend. Lots of benefits with this hub swap...........I am especially looking forward to better braking with the Ford twin piston calipers! Has anyone else done one of these conversions?

patdaly

I've been looking for a couple of years for an affordable F350 axle to do just that, mid 1992 to 1997 are the axles you want.

Should be a straight bolt on, you will either need to flip the shift collar on the axle or buy the conversion solid axle for the disconnect side, other than that I cannot see a thing that will mess you up.

Albino99

Welp, I did it! My 99' Dodge has been converted over to 1997 Ford F350 manual locking hubs with twin-piston brake calipers. All I need to do now is bleed the brakes tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to my first drive. Pictures coming soon for those who have been patiently waiting to see the outcome.

torquefan

Sounds good. So, you used your original Dodge axle housing, and just replaced everything from the knuckles outward with the Ford stuff? Obviously the ball joint stud tapers must be the same, as well as the spacing between the upper and lower ball joints, for the swap to work?

Albino99

Yes, a direct bolt-on. The only issue is the drag link to knuckles requires spacers for torquing the nuts down. The new setup also extends the wheel/tire out about 3/4" on each side, not a big deal.

Albino99

I took the truck for a test drive today. First impressions............. the steering feels a little lighter when turning. The worst part about the drive was my alignment, it is all jacked up now. The truck needed a lot of attention to keep it between the lines. I expected the alignment to be off anyway. The brakes felt much better than the old single piston Dodge calipers. I was impressed with how much better they stopped the truck.

I am thinking now is a good time to ditch my stock track-bar and install a high quality "3rd gen style" in its place before going through all the trouble of an alignment.

Albino99

Here is the results..................

u2slow

Any track bar that's not worn out will hold an alignment. Luke's Links on a stock one keeps the wear in-check nicely.

HD steering is a better setup, and makes a DIY alignment even easier (separates toe and draglink adjustment). Make sure you have enough caster to prevent wandering... more that factory 'spec' is generally a good thing.