There are some questions you will be asked so let's get them out of the way.
-----General Info-----
1. Year?
2. Drive train?
(engine, transmission, transfer case)
3. What side tires do you plan to run?
4. What type of wheeling will you be doing?
(#3 & 4 will determine the recommended axle for your swap)
5. What are your fabrication skills like?
(To determine how much you can make vs how much you have to buy)
6. Are you willing to cut off factory mounts from your truck?
(This will determine you minimum lift height to clear the axle)
7. Are you willing to trim fenders?
-----Parts List-----
Listed below are the basic items you will need to do the swap.
1. Axle
2. Leaf springs
3. Leaf spring hangers
4. U-bolts
5. Shocks
6. Shock Mounts
7. Brake Lines
8. Crossover steering
9. Front drive shaft
10. Wheels and tires
Before you can say this axle is what I want to run or I don't need that axle, you need to know what type of wheeling you will be doing with the truck or just street driving.
-Axles: There are many types of axles you can run and there is a decision process that has to be made to narrow down the axle selection until you get to 1 axle. Then the axle must be found and acquired.
(EX- GM: Dana 60, Dana 44, Corporate 10 bolt. Ford: High pinion Dana 44, High Pinion kingpin Dana 60, High pinion ball joint Dana 60 ETC.)
-Leaf Springs: General rule of thumb the longer the leaf spring the more flex you will get. Although not always the case it is still for the most part true. Sometimes the longer leafs are to soft and flexy for street driving but I say that all depends on the driver. I personally have already got my 52" springs but am looking into running 56"s. Unless my measurements are wrong the 52"s and the 56"s are the same from the front mount to the center pin the 56"s are just longer on the ass end.
-Leaf Spring Hangers: Weather you buy a kit, Make your own, or cut some off a truck you will need them. Depends on what you want to do/can do yourself, do you want them welded on or bolted on.
-U-bolts: Pretty much self explanatory.
-Shocks: Depending on the amount of lift and the leaf spring choice you can determine what size shock you will need to run. I have helped my buddy on his truck and we used stock 52" rear leafs with removed overloads and 14" stroke shocks and used every but of the shock travel.
-Shock mounts: Weather it is a shock hoop or a ford shock mount you need to know your shock size first to determine where to mount the shock mounts.
-Brake Lines: They need to be long enough to not be pulling on themselves at full droop but also need to be kept away from moving parts. (you can get creative with protecting them.
-Crossover Steering: Crossover steering is needed because the steer box is on the driver side and the steering knuckle is on the passenger side. So the drag link connects your steering box to your axle and your tie rod connects the knuckles. hence the name crossover steering.
-Front Drive Shaft: This is one of the last items you will need because unless someone with your exact setup is willing to give you measurements from theirs you have to take measurements and find one that will work or have one made.
-Wheels & Tires: Totally up to you based on your taste in wheels and tires.
If I missed anything or need to be corrected, point it out. There are people on this forum that are better equipped to answer your questions and point you in the right direction but this should get you going.
