1998 Doge Durango

The Bronco version 2 on the page you listed would do what I want to do. The trails I would use the truck for are manly logging roads and state forest land. I would need a winch though because there are a few muddy spots. Other than that I would use it for snow if we ever get another decent snowfall again. Weather here is not what it used to be. All the good snow seems to fall north and west of me now.
 I truly would be happy with that setup. Thank You for drawing my attention to that.

Under this plan I would use the durango to tow the bronco to and from. Do you think it will handle it? I do not know the weight of the Bronco II yet. The one nice thing about the bronco is I can flat tow it at will with no damage. However if i break it I am stuck till it is fixed. Or I have to get it towed 200 miles back home that will not be cheep.  
<We only live once. Enjoy it or die.>

I'm unsure off the top of my head what the B2 weighs, but I'd assume it's around 3500 lbs. The Durango you've got will pull between 5500 to 6000 lbs depending on motor, 4x4 or 2x4, and axle gears. My 4x4 with 5.2 v8 and 3.92 gears pulls 5700 lbs with trailer brakes. Add about 1700 lbs to the trailer weight if it's a full size double axle that's built pretty heavily and that's around 5200 lbs. You'll be able to do it, as the Durango is a beast when it comes to towing, but you'd want to be careful. And watch the tongue weight. You don't want to go over 520 lbs with that combo.

And yeah, that B2 is pretty sic. It just about inspired me to go out and buy a Bronco II for myself.  
My current ride:
1992 Ford Explorer

You would not be disappointed if you did get a Bronco II. The one I have has done everything I have asked it to do in stock form with BF At's. And they turn on a dime.

As far as my Durango I have no idea what gears it has. The option sticker that should be in the glove box is missing and I do not think the axle tags are there either.I will have to look again though to be sure. I guess the a dealer should have that info provided the gears were not changed before now. I still need to finish my reserch on this one. I just got it not too long ago. However i am not totally foren to it I had a 97 Dakota 4wd with the 3.9. And that could pull quite a bit to.

I just wish the Durango's axles were on top of the springs and not below. I will take care of that in time. If I remember correct the Dakota's axle was below the spring. Its been awhile since I had it.  
<We only live once. Enjoy it or die.>

You would not be disappointed if you did get a Bronco II. The one I have has done everything I have asked it to do in stock form with BF At's. And they turn on a dime.

As far as my Durango I have no idea what gears it has. The option sticker that should be in the glove box is missing and I do not think the axle tags are there either.I will have to look again though to be sure. I guess the a dealer should have that info provided the gears were not changed before now. I still need to finish my research on this one. I just got it not too long ago. However i am not totally foreign to it I had a 97 Dakota 4wd with the 3.9. And that could pull quite a bit to.

I just wish the Durango's axles were on top of the springs and not below. I will take care of that in time. If I remember correct the Dakota's axle was below the spring. Its been awhile since I had it.  
<We only live once. Enjoy it or die.>

It's true, the Dako is spring over and the rango is spring under axle.

I'm sure that if you take in your VIN to a dealership, they can tell you. If you have the factory literature that comes with the truck, it'll tell you where you can find the axle ratio on the door tag, IIRC.  
My current ride:
1992 Ford Explorer

Ok for now I am thinking a swap between the two for the rear. And with that brings about the drive shaft and front. Would I need the drive shaft off the Dakota or is the one I have on the Durango the same part? The front look higher on the Dakotas I pass on the road. Is there differences in the a arms different mounting brackets or what? And there is the front drive shaft same question as the rear.
32's would go nice.

 Not to diss the Durango but I think It will be my tow rig. I do however need some extra clearance because the roads going into camp are not always level And i still would like to use it on the more accessible trails.

  Trans upgrades other than a trans cooler which I do not think I have. I will look again though to be sure. I do not like the thought of trans failure. what needs to be beefed up? It is showing signs of needing a band adjustment. Mileage is right for that. I have to assume the band adjustment is meant to take out slack from worn parts. Current mileage 109000. How much can I expect from it if the band adjustment is successful? Or is a full upgrade of some sort more of what I need to be thinking?  
<We only live once. Enjoy it or die.>

Once again: do not swap out the entire rear axle! Get the rear leaf springs from a Dakota and have leaf spring brackets welded onto the top of the axle. You can use longer shocks with your stock shock mounts or have some shock mounts welded on with the leaf spring brackets. The axles are exactly the same between the Rango and the Dako with the only exception being the position of the spring bracket locations.

For 32s, I'd just trim the fenders. Some Durangos came stock with 31" tires (others had 29s), so 32s are not that much bigger. Trim the fenders or crank the torsion bars a little and get lift shackles for the rear.

Your transmission should last another 40,000 miles or so depending on how much maintenance you put into it. Dodge transmissions are known for lasting around 150k miles. There are exceptions. Diesel Rams go through them faster. My Rango has 174k on it and is fine for now. If you're towing, you'll also want to make sure you have the 3.92 gears. The higher gear ratios don't lend themselves to towing. They strain the transmission and engine more when you get up to the max towing capacity of your rig. If it were me, I'd also get a way of monitoring axle temp.  
My current ride:
1992 Ford Explorer

What/where is a good source for the leaf spring brackets? And by your information on the trans I need to start planing a rebuild/replacement. Who can I turn to to get a trans beefed up? Or is that something I can/should discuss with my local trans shop?  
 Would I gain any benefit to relocating the shock mounts? If so what would be the best location?
 Is it true that cranking the torsion bars causes the ride to be stiffer? If the difference is substantial then what would be a cost effective way around that?  
<We only live once. Enjoy it or die.>

You can get the leaf spring brackets from most tractor supply stores or go to a fabrication shop and tell them what you need. They’re not that hard to make. And if your trans is doing good, than 150k failure probably won’t happen, but if you’re having issues, then it might. I’d have it rebuilt at a trans shop. And the trans shop is where you’d want to discuss upgrading it, as I don’t know a whole lot about transmissions.

You can keep the shock mounts where they are, but you won’t gain more travel by running longer shocks. You’ll just be spending money unneccesarily on long travel shocks. As I recall, the lower shock mounts bolt onto the lower leaf spring brackets. If it were me, I’d have shock tabs welded onto the spring brackets.

As for torsion bar cranking, it’s a touchy subject. A torsion bar “re-index” is the same as cranking the bars. As long as you’re keeping it under about 2” of lift, cranking the bars should be fine. Since you’d need about 1”-1.5” of lift, a crank should be fine. It’s also very easy, anyone can do it themselves. If you don’t want to crank your torsion bars, there’s no other cost effective method of lift other than just buying a 2.5” lift.  
My current ride:
1992 Ford Explorer

The reason I inquired about relocating the shock mounts was functionality and to have them be more effective. But now that I think about it they are already close to the outer most point they can be.

If I remember correct from my Dakota all I needed to do to crank the bars is turn 1 bolt per bar. And that caused a slightly harder ride. I will try cranking the bars first. But due to a back injury and a chewed up leg the harder ride may cause a problem so I may still need a remedy for that.

 Trans I will do a full Preventive maintenance service. But I still think a rebuild will not be to far away. I would rather pull a load with a fresh trans than one with 108k on it. I have had a trans fail on the road once that was not fun at all. And I still question the reliability of the one I have now. It does not seen to be shifting right.  
<We only live once. Enjoy it or die.>

If your torsion bars are slightly worn out, cranking them won’t make them as harsh, but yes, it will change the ride slightly. Unfortunately, there are no other ways to get 1.5” of lift w/o getting a lift kit, though, so it’s a give-and-take type of situation. I’d say trim the fenders and a little bit of the back doors for clearance still. The fender/quarterpanel/bumper design on our trucks are pretty crappy and don’t allow for very large tires without trimming, even with a big lift, so you might be trimming anyways if you plan on going bigger than a 33.

And if you have doubts about your transmission’s shifting with a little over 100k on it, than it’s probably gonna need to be rebuilt at 150k. At 174k, the only thing I notice with my trans is how it keeps jumping between 3rd and 4th at full throttle when I’m doing about 80-85 (don’t ask why I’m at full throttle doing 85…shhhh!...)  
My current ride:
1992 Ford Explorer

Well mine shifted ok at full power all the way to 105. It seems to slip once and a while during normal driving. That is why I am thinking band adjustment. As far as yours jumping between 3rd and 4th did you consider throttle cable adjustment? I think they have one I will have to check. I am going to put off tires for it for now. I will still do the shackle flip though to get it started. That is what the rear plans are called right?  
<We only live once. Enjoy it or die.>

Haha, nice! Speed demon, are ya? And I'm pretty sure that my throttle cable is adjusted properly. In all fairness, my Subaru Outback used to do that, too, so maybe a lot of vehicles do it, idk for sure. My Explorer didn't do it and I got it up to the point where the speedometer pointed straight down to "D" on the gear display underneath the speedometer (about 100 or so, I figure).

And a shackle flip is something a little different. What you're doing is a shackle lift.  
My current ride:
1992 Ford Explorer

I re verified my previous info and it is correct as stated above. Who knows terrain hills temp the list gos on. And yes if I had the ability to go the speed of light I would without hesitation.

 And in other news I found 4.10's in the rear axle the other day. Or at least that's what the tag says. I believe it.  
<We only live once. Enjoy it or die.>

4.10s? Wow, you'll be fine with trailering. What motor does it have?  
My current ride:
1992 Ford Explorer