The Dodge Durango is mechanically quite similar to the Dakota. Take special care when raising your Dodge Durango to replace the leaf springs; you must lift the rear only with a jack or hoist placed under the frame rail crossmember which is located to the aft of the rear axle.
Lift the vehicle and support it safely by the frame; be careful not to bend the side flange. Then support the rear axle with a hydraulic jack, transmission jack or similar to release tension on the leaf springs. Remove the wheel(s) and tire(s) nearest the spring or springs you intend to replace.
Check whether or not the shock absorbers are bolted to the spring plates. Remove them if they are; if not, leave them alone. Then unbolt and remove the U-bolts and the spring plate.
Disconnect the shackle and frame mounting bolts from the front and rear of the spring and pull the spring out of the truck. Place a new spring in the truck and secure it at front and rear, then hand-tighten the U-bolts to secure the spring plate to the axle. Reconnect the shock absorbers to the spring plate only if you removed them in Step 2, and replace the wheel(s) you removed.
Lower the truck and perform a final torque, tightening the spring shackle and bracket nuts as well as the U-bolts to 90 foot pounds of torque.
