[99Dak707]

So I'm looking to do a SAS on my 99 Dakota Sport (3.9 5spd)
I've found a '96 Ram 2500 with D44 front and D60 rear about 2hrs from me.

My fab guy says the D60 rear will be quick and easy. What I'm worried about is the D44 front swap.
He says with confidence that he can do it but he's never used a Dodge axle in a SAS and has never done a SAS on a Dakota.

He talked to the guy with the parts truck for me to confirm all the specs he wanted to know and I can get the 2 axles, rear leaf springs, and front coil springs with all the brackets accessories and whatnot for $500. I'm worried he may have me buying all the extras to do the coil setup but may be overlooking a big problem or something due to the fact that he has not done this job before.

Is this logical or should I just go for the axles and do a leaf sprung setup? Any obvious problems you Dodge guys have experience with?

I have full faith that he can make whatever he wants to do work, I'm just trying to keep the whole thing under $5k.

Please tell me someone has experience with a similar swap and can tell me what to watch out for

 

[4Lo]

There is a reason why you never see Dakota guys using Dodge axles. The differential is on the right hand side of the axle. You need a left side drop to line up with the transfer case. Use matching axles for matching bolt patterns.

 

[99Dak707]

My guy said I couldn't use Dodge axles for this exact reason. But he noticed that it is a drivers side drop in the pics and the owner of the donor truck confirmed. Is this rare from the manufacturer or flat out unheard of?

 

[99Dak707]

I realized that this is the wrong place to put this. Can anyone point me to where I need to put this question so that I can hopefully get some answers?