ok the front end is out of the truck . ball joints are bad track bar is bad, drag link TE is bad ect. and now i find out the u-joints in the front axle are bad. i already know how to upgrade the steering with lifetime parts and thuren track bar and possible cross over steering. but what i want to know is how do i upgrade the ujoints. i just looked at ctm's and besides the price of $283.00 a peice they need to be mounted in "high quality CHROME-MOLY axle shafts." so those are out any other cheaper but not stock suggestions

 

if you are talking just the u-joints you can get spicer pieces from any driveshaft or 4wd shop for about 20-25 a piece and they are better than stock

 

CTM are strong, and would be great for a pulling truck/off roader/trailer queen, but they just don't work for the street. They have great strength at the sacrafice of high wear. They eliminate the needle bearings in the joints, so they are able to use larger cross shafts and thicker caps, but since its effectively a bushing instead of a bearing, they wear much quicker.

You are looking at spending a good amount of money on your existing axle. Have you thought about swapping in a Ford D-60? You would get real locking hubs, larger axle shafts, kingpins instead of weaker ball joints, and other benefits. If you have a friend who's good at welding and fabricating, and are good at sourcing used parts, you could probably swap in a Ford axle for around what you would be spending to rebuild yours, or not much more. Just a thought.

Jim

 

I will agree with both the above posts.
CTM's are GREAT u joints but they will not last with street use for very long.

Spicer joints are the way to go for cost.


Dan

 

I don't want to hyjack the thread but if you put in a ford d60 is there anyway to keep the ABS?

 

nope not putting in a ford d60 just need to replace the u joints so i will probably just go with the spicer ones thanks is there a web sight to get those from

 

You should be able to get spicers at your local parts store.

Also, if you but in a ford d60, wouldn't you have to change gears? You couldn't just swap the front gears because dodges are 3.54 instead of 3.55. I am not sure but that sounds like a lot of extra money.

 

The ring and pinion is not interchangable between the Ford and Dodge versions of the D60. The Ford D60 front end is a high pinion unit that uses reverse cut gears that do not interchange standard roation/standard pinion D60 housing like what Dodge uses.

 

There is no noticable difference between 3.54 and 3.55. In fact, many vehicles come with a mismatched set...many Jeeps have 3.54 at one end and 3.55 at the other. There is more difference than that just in the diameters of your tires from manufacturing differences or a couple lbs. difference in air pressure. But I can understand not bothering to go with the Ford axle when you just need some replacement parts. Hopefully sometime next summer I'll have a place to work in, and be able to put a Ford D-60 and leaf springs in the front of my truck. No more death wobble, no more track bar, no more worn control arm bushings...

Jim

 

no more track bar that sounds so nice

 

Really? My buddies '97 F-350 has a track bar. Maybe a better design, but there is a track bar. I agree a Ford D60 would be way nicer but I will stick with coils. Coils flex much more than leafs. Plus my Dodge has a tighter turning radius over the same wheel base F-350.

 

Not only that, but braking is much straighter and safer and handling on rough roads is noticably better with the 4 link/coil front end on our Dodges when compared to the Ford leaf spring front end. There are some simple fixes for the track bar and OEM control arm bushings will easily last just as long as spring eye bushings on the leaf springs. IMO, converting to leaf springs is taking a step backwards.

 

putting a kingpin axle up there will still make you come away with some wobble. the slop in the kingpins will give it to you.

as said, ctm's are not for your application.

the gears at 3.54/3.55 will not make a difference.

jeremy

 

I am a coverted ferd guy and trust me to know what i'm saying, leaf springs suck. The ride quality for the Cummer is one of the reasons i switched, my old F350 rode like a tank. I think no matter wich axle we have dodge or ferd they all have parts that wear out , I dropped a ton of cash on ball joints , all new bearings and i still hated the way it drove. The other point is i haven't had all the maintenance problems the rest of you have had with the dodge front end yet either, mine only has 80,000 on the ticker. Did i mention i love my Dodge and i wish i would have bought it sooner.

Steve

 

The king front ends do have adjustable preloading and can be shimmed so you don't have any slop issues but regardless, the 92 and later Ford F350 D60 front had balljoints anyway.