DRW

A new pitman arm is not required, I made the decision to replace mine based on two factors. I had read that sometimes removing the pitman arm was difficult to the point of breaking tools and second my existing pitman arm had 200k miles on it. For the relatively small cost of a new part I chose to avoid any problems or frustration in removal of the arm and replace an old part with new.

I think that the stock wheels on the 97 are 16 inch so I can only guess that the 16s off the 2001 will fit. My question and maybe yours is whether the 16 inch aluminum wheel will fit over the 2001 brakes. I know that the 17 inch wheels fit nicely.

I dropped the tank recently to replace the fuel sender. Pretty straight forward as there are only a couple of straps, filler hose and supply/vent lines to remove. The tank was pretty empty and I used a couple of jacks to lower and re-lift the tank. Maybe it is just me but I found that re-installing was a bit of a bother as my 2wd truck does not have a lot of ground clearance and getting access to see and reconnect the fuel lines was a bother. I ended up jacking the truck so I could sit underneath which allowed me to use both hands to reconnect the fuel lines. The fuel line connection is shape keyed kind of oval and with only one hand it was near impossible to match the shape of the tank and connecting hose. With the truck lifted a bit to allow me to sit and then using two hands it was easy. I think that crawling underneath and using jacks to lower and lift the tank would have been difficult on a gravel surface.

Pretty sure they will, I have a 96 and am running aluminium 17 inch wheels off a 2010.

Brian, I do not have a box brace, however I plan to add one in the few weeks. I have driven a 96 like mine with stock steering gear and a box brace (DSS) and I could tell it was better than my stock setup before the Borgeson upgrade. I will also add that my front end had a lot of play and I suspect that ball joints and tie rods are also worn contributing to the play.

I installed the Borgeson in my 96. Installation is easy but I also installed a steering shaft and new pitman arm, since it was all new the install was easy. The parts kind of pricy, but once installed the drivability is a lot better. Eliminated almost all play in the steering. The steering touch is lighter and quicker. 3.5 turns lock to lock vs. 4.5 with stock.

The warranty is from Borgeson and it is 3 years.

My OEM steering box was leaking and I chose to replace with the Borgeson. I thought about rebuilt or replacement OEM but was concerned about the long term durability. That and the borgeson makes the steering lighter, more responsive.Borgeson 800112 is ~$360 from Amazon, free shipping.

I would call it a brace, however as sold it is called a "stabilizer". http://www.solidsteel.biz/dss.htm Are you familiar with the mod required for the brace?

I have a Borgeson steering gear and have recently obtained a DSS steering stabilizer. I have read here that the DSS needs to be modified to work with the steering gear. Does anyone have the details of the modification?

I have the d80 in the garage and getting ready to swap. Since I dont know when it was last serviced I plan to change the fluid before install. I cant seem to find a listing for the fluid capacity that is clear. Documentation indicates a differenent capacity for a D80 in a 4x4 vs a 4x2 application:Lube Capacity 4x2 6.8 pints ( 3.22 L ) 3.4 Quarts4x4 10.1 pints ( 4.79 L ) 5.05 QuartsAre the 4x2 and 4x4 axles actually have a different capacity, or is it a different "fill level" depending on the drive configuration?

Thanks for all the info. I picked up the axle last weekend and just need to gather a couple parts and then find a few hours to swap in.

Thanks, for the quick replies. The donor rear end is SRW and since it is from a 96 2500 no disc brakes.

I am investigating a gearing change for my 96 12v automatic (2500) which has a dana 70 (4.10). I have an opportunity to pickup a dana 80 that has the 3.54 ratio I would like, so I does anyone know if that will bolt in as a replacement rear end or are there other issues that I would need to address?