OK, I got my 49 truck together on a 90s something Dakota 4x4 chassis (came with the truck) and the front end sits low. No problem, Adjust the torsion bars up. I'm almost to the end of the adjustment, and the nose was up for about a week but now its settling back down. I'm thinking the chassis has the V6 torsion bars (or the bars in it are shot). I'm looking for a set of 2,000lbs V8 front torsion bars for a 88-96 Dakota (prefer new) but I'm not finding anything on line.

Anyone got any sources? Even part numbers and bar dimensions may help. Gene

I don't have any part numbers but, it seems parts are getting harder to find for these Dakotas. I owned a 90 Dakota and had a hard time finding cab bolts and brake parts for it back about 7 years ago. Worse case is you may have to hit up a wrecking yard.

Can anyone give me part numbers for the torsion bars on both sides of a 1993-2000 Dakota 4x4 with 2,000 lbs front end?

Also part numbers for a 1997 to a 2002 Durango 4x4 torsion bars?
I've found a few new bars listed as a part number with a picture that looks about correct.
Thanks, Gene

Gene I'm not sure if this will help but, I looked up the part numbers I got for a 1998 Durango with a 5.9 Magnum 4x4 is 52106178AA and 52106179AA for right and left. It doesn't any weight ratings on what I saw.

Thanks for the numbers, but those torsion bars are also discontinued. It would be nice if they could at least give a guy the length and diameter, but noooooo. There is an 04 Durango sitting here and those bars are an inch longer then the bars in the 96 are. I can buy the 04 bars new yet. I've considered moving the rear torsion bar anchor crossmember back that extra inch...

It looks like I'm pretty well stuck with used bars. I did find a Hollander part number for the 96 318 bars, and it pretty well tells me the part is for 87-96 heavy duty V6 or standard duty V8. Light duty V6 are different numbers, and heavy duty V8 are a different number.

I've found a pair of the standard duty V8 bars about 100 miles from home for $50 each, looks like that is the direction I'm going to go. I'll call the place tomorrow and arrange a pickup date. Hopefully the high mileage won't have much effect on how long they last. It sounds like they tend to sag over time, but doesn't sound like breakage is much of an issue. Hopefully the bars I'm getting haven't been supporting a snowplow all these years.

Once they get on this truck, they won't see much weight other then the stock front end weight. Gene

Gene. I saw that they were discontinued according to one site but, then also saw there was another place where they were $237.xx plus shipping/tax new a piece but, just going off of memory. Are you are sure the 2004 would work? I know in 2004 that's when the new Durango came out with the 5.7L Hemi and I think the only year it non-MDS in those trucks but, the 1997 body style continued through 2004 for the Dakotas however.

Part of the problem is there isn't much information covering torsion bars, they like to play the numbers game, and there are a lot of numbers to play with.
For the 87-96 Dakota 4x4, they list bars for:
V6 standard
V6 heavy duty
V8 standard duty
and V8 heavy duty.
Apparently the 4 cylinder trucks got the standard duty V6 bars because there is no listing for them.
The heavy duty V6 and the standard duty V8 have the same Hollander exchange number, but the other two are different. No one lists any size spec on those bars, so the diameter is pretty well a guess unless you have one of each to measure. With the bar still installed in the truck, you really can't get a good measurement of the bar length either, by yourself. Maybe with 2 people you could get a good number for the length. At any rate, the Hollander book lists the up to 96 Dakota bars as all interchangeable, depending on which weight bar you need. The standard V6 bars are 1400lbs and the standard duty V8 bars are 2000lbs, there was no weight listing for the heavy duty V8 bar.

Finding info on the 97-2003 (or 2004) Dakota is another bag of worms. It seems you need a vin number to get the correct torsion bar for your truck. The same years of a Durango is a stand alone number for all Durangos, I guess they only made one bar for the Durango, and its a larger diameter then any Dakota listing. It seems the 97 -03 Dakota must have had droop issues, there are anchor brackets that allow you to put more tension on the bars "to get your front end height back". Those adjustable anchor brackets sell for between $250 and $300 for a pair. I have to wonder if those lift brackets kill the torsion bars quicker because of allowing more twist on the bars, or if the original adjustment was too short to begin with. I wonder how long the extra lift lasts. I also do not know if the 97-03 torsion bars are the correct length, or have the correct hex head sizes to fit into the 96 and older Dakota.


The 04 and up to?? Durango has a very large diameter bar. The set up looks just like the set up in my 96, but the distance between the measurable space between the two ends of the 96 and the Hemi Durango (that was sitting here) gave the Hemi Durango bars another inch in length over the length of the 96 bars. I could not get my fat butt under either truck far enough to measure the size of the hex on either end of either vehicle. For the record, the torsion bar anchor crossmember on the 96 is welded to both frame rails, I briefly gave thought to moving the 96 crossmember back that extra inch and go with the newer bars that are still available.

What started this whole mess was my 49 on the Dakota 4x4 frame sits a little lower then I would like. I do not know which bars are under the frame, I used the bars that came with the frame. Had I'd known there were different weight bars, I would have kept the bars from the rusted out V8 frame under the 96, but pulling them would have been a project in itself. Lazy intruded.

I adjusted the torsion bars up to within a 1/2" of the available threads on the adjusting bolts (I went up about 4 turns on each bar, from where they were, that put the static position of the spindles at about mid way between the upper and lower stops). That lifted the front end of the truck about 2". With a month of driving and around 500 miles, the truck has settled back to where it was before. That was the point I started looking for torsion bars.

Today I purchased a set of used bars for a standard duty V8 Dakota. All I have to do is get the old bars out, and the new to me bars in, I already know the old bars want to stay where they are....Hopefully these bars won't sag like the old bars did. Gene

That's interesting that about the bars. I'm wondering if the bars on the 03-09 Rams 1500s have the same issues? I know those trucks especially the 4x4s from new always seems to sit lower in the front and the popular thing back then was to crank up the torsion bars to level out the truck. Hopefully, the used bars work out for you. As for finding a 97-04 Dakota, well good luck. A lot of them were scrapped due to rust, transmission issues, and the 4.7L costing too much to fix. I thought about a clean one a couple of years back and finding decent ones these days are few and far between.

Well, my new to me, "used" torsion bars have been in the truck for about a week.
On the adjusting bolt you could easily see where the bar height was set since the truck was new. Originally, I screwed them up another 5-6 revolutions, and they only stayed up about a week before they were right back where they started. That was why the torsion bar hunt started. My concern was not the near maxed out adjustment, it was that the bars settled that far that fast.

With the new to me bars installed, I originally set them at the same adjustment the old bars were originally set at, a short drive out of the driveway and up to the first turn, returned me back to home. I raised the new bars about 8-9 turns up and went for another ride. That one was much better, the 8-9 turns lifted the front end about 2". With somewhere around 150 miles on it since then, I had to give the passenger side bar another 2 turns up to make the truck level, but the good news is, it hasn't settled any that I can tell. There is about another 5 or 6 turns before the adjusting bolt is bottomed out, if it settles down any more I will have to lift the body up off the frame at least an inch, or maybe an inch and a half. That will require some modifications to the radiator support and the bolt on locations for the running boards. The reality is I will probably end up doing that anyway. Much better to get that out of the way before the truck gets painted.

As it is right now, when the tires are turned extremely right or extremely left, the inner turning tire will rub slightly on the inner fender where it rests against the cab floor as the truck moves forward or rearward. That slight rub is on the thread face of the tire only when turned as sharp as it will turn. A size smaller tire, or a lift of the body off the frame another inch would solve the problem, 2" would allow me to back the torsion bars half way back to the original height. At 2" I would also need to adjust the front bumper height. There is always a learning curve. Gene