dodge springs

dodgedog

Active Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2008
Location
sylva, nc
I have a 96 dodge 2500 that rides like a wooden wheel wagon. it acts like it is pissed off at the road and is trying to punish it. ive tried different shocks but no luck. anybody swap front springs out of a newer style dodge like 2004 to 2012 in to a 96 to make it ride better?
 
Stock coils or lifted? Could take a ride in an old solid axle Toyota. Will make you feel much better about your trucks ride.
 
Tires will make a difference as will tire pressure. Is it a gas truck?
 
its a diesel. I bought it new in 96. it came with 245/75/16 and since ive had 285/75/16, 315/70/16, and it now has 305/75/16. ive played with tire pressure and it helps some. the newer dodges ride a lot better than my old 96. ive looked at the front ends of these and they look similar as far as trailing arm length, shock and spring location. was just wondering if the front springs was the difference in ride quality. thanks for the feedback. looking for ideas to improve ride
 
You could definitely have a set of coils made. Probably 250 to 300 bucks and they'll tailor them to your needs and the weight of the front end of the truck.
 
Shackle flip in the rear, long arms in the front. As far as I know no one makes softer 2nd gen coils anymore. Swap in some coilovers...
 
If you've already got a leveling kit on the front, Carli makes 3 inch progressive rate coils. They ride pretty nice. I have the full Performance 2.0 kit on my truck and its night and day from the stock stuff. It rides way nicer than my cousin's 2013 too.
 
Let some air out of the tires.

I run 60 in the front and 32 in the rear empty. Rides pretty nice.
 
thanks for the ideas. my question is has anybody swapped in front springs out of 3rd gen truck, friend of mine lifted his 2013 truck and I can get his stock front springs. is it worth the effort to swap them in, has anybody tried this yet?
 
I have procomp extreme all terrains on the truck now, writing on sidewall calls for 65 psi cold, I run 30 psi all around when not towing.
 
dodgedog said:
writing on sidewall calls for 65 psi cold
Click to expand...

That's the max inflation pressure, not the recommended pressure. I'd put more than 30psi in the front. There's 4500# sitting on the steer axle.
 
I usually run 45 in my fronts and 40 in the rear until I haul something. Then I might bump it to 60 +/- depending on what I'm pulling.


It won't cost you anything to get his old springs, but I'm not sure if they're the same diameters, heights, or rates. The newer trucks probably weigh more than yours does, so it may ride even worse.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
It won't cost you anything to get his old springs, but I'm not sure if they're the same diameters, heights, or rates. The newer trucks probably weigh more than yours does, so it may ride even worse.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the new stuff is stiffer. When I bought the Carli stuff for mine, they recommend the Hemi coils for a second gen. Not the diesel coils. 3rd gen and up has separate springs listed for diesel or gas.

But it's worth a shot if they're free. Worst case you can always swap back to the 2nd gen springs.
 
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