Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Wanted to give my thoughts and hopefully provide any help to anyone that may be considering this swap. I just finished up converting my inverted Y link to the much better inverted T link today. Most of my ends were pretty worn out and sloppy so I decided it'd be best to switch setups when I replaced everything.
First of all, my truck is a 2000 2500 quad cab 4x4 auto.
Impressions after driving are pretty good. Overall my steering is tighter and wander is less, but I'm sure this is mostly due to having gotten rid of all the sloppy ends I've been driving on. I'm running it with no steering stabilizer. I probably won't even run one because a steering setup that isn't predictable and solid without one won't become good with one. They can help in certain situations, but most of the time it's just a bandaid.
First off, I bought all the parts from AutoZone mainly because their website and instore catalog was the easiest to use to figure exactly what it was I needed. I wasn't sure about the need for using my model year end at the pitman arm, so I purchased both year models and got the '00 model year one that I ended up using from Napa.
For reference, I term my parts as follows:
The draglink is what runs from the pitman arm to the knuckle on 2000 years and pitman arm to tierod (that runs knuckle to knuckle) on '98 years.
The tierod is what runs from draglink to driver's knuckle on 2000 models and knuckle to knuckle on '98 models.
Tierod end is the generic term I use for the misalignment joints used on the ends of all linkages.
I sourced all '98 2500 4x4 steering parts. The draglink parts for this year are the same thread and sleeve as used on my 2000, hence why using my year tierod end at the pitman arm works. The '98 tierod, however, is a larger diameter and thread and thus necessitates the "heavy duty" sleeve from the '98 model year. My stock 2000 steering tierod sleeve and thread size was the same as the thread size on the draglink. For the '98 model year the draglink is the same thread as the 2000, but the tierod threads are larger.
One problem I had making sure what I had was what I needed was the terminology used by the parts stores. It's horrendous. I hope to clarify below.
Here are the 1998 part numbers and good descriptions for the entire steering setup. These are AutoZone parts numbers, but they cross reference to other stores.
To build the draglink on a 1998:
ES3497 - This is the short tierod end that attaches to the pitman arm
DS1459 - This is the long portion of the draglink that attaches to the tierod
ES2012S - This is the adjusting sleeve used to attach the above two parts together. The thread on this is 1-18
To build the tierod on a 1998:
ES3496 - This is the short tierod end for the tierod that attaches to the driver's side knuckle
DS1456 - This is the long portion of the tierod that attaches to the passenger side knuckle and has the tapered hole to accept the draglink
ES3498S - This is the adjusting sleeve used to attach the above parts together. I'm not certain of the thread, but it's bigger than what's used on the draglink and it's bigger than what's used for the tierod on 2000 model years.
Now, since the '98 draglink parts are the same thread as the 2000 draglink parts and the ends of both years used at the pitman arms are the same overall length, I went ahead and bought the tierod end for the draglink at the pitman arm for a 2000 model year truck.
So, instead of using part ES3497 for a '98 model year, I used the part for a 2000 model year which I got from Napa and is part number NCP 2693179.
Everything has worked out fine and my truck steers great. If I wanted to I could easily retrofit my steering stabilizer or a different style (like a stud on the end of the shaft style) to this setup using the stock mount that's on my axle.
Now, for anyone that's done this, I ask if you have used the '98 model year end at the pitman arm on a 2000. I ask because I compared the parts I got for both years and they looked very similar. They are the same length, same thread size, and for the life of me I could not see any difference in taper on the stud. There may be some small difference as I didn't whip out any cool tools to measure it, but why would Dodge change that taper anyway? Granted, the same question would go for why did they change this steering setup after '99.
I hope this helps someone as getting everything straight on my 2000 for sure before I started was a chore. Luckily it all came out well. I setup my toe to be about 1/8" in and my steering wheel is almost centered. So, I have a little more adjusting to do to make everything perfect and next week I will take my truck to my alignment shop to have everything done on the machine.
If anyone wants, I can take pictures next week too. Any questions and I'll be happy to answer.
First of all, my truck is a 2000 2500 quad cab 4x4 auto.
Impressions after driving are pretty good. Overall my steering is tighter and wander is less, but I'm sure this is mostly due to having gotten rid of all the sloppy ends I've been driving on. I'm running it with no steering stabilizer. I probably won't even run one because a steering setup that isn't predictable and solid without one won't become good with one. They can help in certain situations, but most of the time it's just a bandaid.
First off, I bought all the parts from AutoZone mainly because their website and instore catalog was the easiest to use to figure exactly what it was I needed. I wasn't sure about the need for using my model year end at the pitman arm, so I purchased both year models and got the '00 model year one that I ended up using from Napa.
For reference, I term my parts as follows:
The draglink is what runs from the pitman arm to the knuckle on 2000 years and pitman arm to tierod (that runs knuckle to knuckle) on '98 years.
The tierod is what runs from draglink to driver's knuckle on 2000 models and knuckle to knuckle on '98 models.
Tierod end is the generic term I use for the misalignment joints used on the ends of all linkages.
I sourced all '98 2500 4x4 steering parts. The draglink parts for this year are the same thread and sleeve as used on my 2000, hence why using my year tierod end at the pitman arm works. The '98 tierod, however, is a larger diameter and thread and thus necessitates the "heavy duty" sleeve from the '98 model year. My stock 2000 steering tierod sleeve and thread size was the same as the thread size on the draglink. For the '98 model year the draglink is the same thread as the 2000, but the tierod threads are larger.
One problem I had making sure what I had was what I needed was the terminology used by the parts stores. It's horrendous. I hope to clarify below.
Here are the 1998 part numbers and good descriptions for the entire steering setup. These are AutoZone parts numbers, but they cross reference to other stores.
To build the draglink on a 1998:
ES3497 - This is the short tierod end that attaches to the pitman arm
DS1459 - This is the long portion of the draglink that attaches to the tierod
ES2012S - This is the adjusting sleeve used to attach the above two parts together. The thread on this is 1-18
To build the tierod on a 1998:
ES3496 - This is the short tierod end for the tierod that attaches to the driver's side knuckle
DS1456 - This is the long portion of the tierod that attaches to the passenger side knuckle and has the tapered hole to accept the draglink
ES3498S - This is the adjusting sleeve used to attach the above parts together. I'm not certain of the thread, but it's bigger than what's used on the draglink and it's bigger than what's used for the tierod on 2000 model years.
Now, since the '98 draglink parts are the same thread as the 2000 draglink parts and the ends of both years used at the pitman arms are the same overall length, I went ahead and bought the tierod end for the draglink at the pitman arm for a 2000 model year truck.
So, instead of using part ES3497 for a '98 model year, I used the part for a 2000 model year which I got from Napa and is part number NCP 2693179.
Everything has worked out fine and my truck steers great. If I wanted to I could easily retrofit my steering stabilizer or a different style (like a stud on the end of the shaft style) to this setup using the stock mount that's on my axle.
Now, for anyone that's done this, I ask if you have used the '98 model year end at the pitman arm on a 2000. I ask because I compared the parts I got for both years and they looked very similar. They are the same length, same thread size, and for the life of me I could not see any difference in taper on the stud. There may be some small difference as I didn't whip out any cool tools to measure it, but why would Dodge change that taper anyway? Granted, the same question would go for why did they change this steering setup after '99.
I hope this helps someone as getting everything straight on my 2000 for sure before I started was a chore. Luckily it all came out well. I setup my toe to be about 1/8" in and my steering wheel is almost centered. So, I have a little more adjusting to do to make everything perfect and next week I will take my truck to my alignment shop to have everything done on the machine.
If anyone wants, I can take pictures next week too. Any questions and I'll be happy to answer.
